
Do you know how dangerous it is to have freshly baked granola sitting on the counter during a long winter evening? And by dangerous, I mean it totally feels healthy enough (vegan, oil-free, buckwheat!) to keep picking away at all night long. You can be sure we did. Each time one of us left the kitchen with a couple clusters in hand, we’d say, “OK, this is the last piece of the night!” only to be tempted back into the kitchen during the next commercial break.
This granola stands apart from the crowd with its lightly sweet, oil-free clusters of crunchy cinnamon-coated buckwheat and sunflower seeds. There isn’t an oat in sight, but we hardly noticed or even cared. For those of you who were pleading for a recipe using almond pulp, you’ll be happy to know that I threw my leftover almond pulp into this batch and it blended seamlessly. I’m sure it also works just fine without it though.
Added on top of a Green Monster for breakfast, I couldn’t take those pictures fast enough! Snap, snap, slurp, slurp.


Blissfull Buckwheat Granola Clusters

Yield
12 Servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This granola stands apart from the crowd with its lightly sweet, oil-free clusters of crunchy cinnamon-coated buckwheat and sunflower seeds. There isn’t an oat in sight, but we hardly noticed. It's not very sweet and a bit earthy, so if this isn't you thing you might want to add more granulated sweetener to taste.
Ingredients
For the dry ingredients
- 1.5 cups raw buckwheat groats (not Kasha)
- Leftover almond pulp (I had about 1/2 cup or so)
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or other granulated sugar of choice)
For the wet ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup (or brown rice syrup)
- 3 tbsp sunflower seed butter (or almond or peanut butter)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. If using almond pulp, it will remain a bit chunky, but not to worry.
- In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients until combined. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated and wet.
- Spread granola onto baking sheet in a uniform layer. Bake at 300°F for 20 minutes, roughly flip granola, and bake for another 18-20 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. Granola will be lightly golden on the bottom and will harden a lot during the cooling process.
- Cool completely on the pan and then store in a glass container on the counter for up to 3-4 weeks (just an estimate).
Tip:
I assume this recipe also works without the almond pulp, so if you don’t have any still give it a shot.
If you don’t have coconut nectar, feel free to use brown rice syrup. Honey would work too if that’s part of your diet. These sticky sweeteners help the granola clump together. You can also use maple syrup or agave, but I don’t think the clusters would hold together as much.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
PS- If you are looking for an oil-free oat-based granola, check out my Lightened Up Summer Granola. It’s probably the most popular granola recipe on the site.
Happy crunching!
Just wondering — is there a specific reason to not use kasha? Is it because of its nutritional properties or rather that the actually texture of the buckwheat when roasted won’t work well in the recipe? Thanks! :)
Hi Natasha, I use raw buckwheat groats because I like the taste better (kasha is toasted and has a strong flavour) – that being said Im not really sure how much of a difference it would make in this recipe given that it’s toasted anyway! Let me know if you try it out.
i just made this with hazelnut pulp (FINALLY got a vitamix and made amazing vanilla cinnamon hazelnut milk – also delicious!) and oh man…this is not going to last long :)
Hi
I am vegan and take many recipes from your site. I live in Waterloo and uanble to find raw buckwheat. I find Kasha every where I go. Can you tell me which Canadian site sells this product so that i can buy it.
i appreciate.
Thanks
Shazia
I buy mine here: http://www.upayanaturals.com/Buckwheat_Groats_Sold_in_various_quantities_Raw_p/upa-0666.htm
or at whole foods
hope this helps!
This is amazing! I have pcos and gallstones so I’m trying to eat better. Your recipes make it so easy, keep up the great work!
I wasn’t sure what to expect but I just made this recipe and it is sooooo delicious and addictive. I had to make substitutions as it was a spontaneous event and I didn’t want to go to the store but turned out great anyways. I used peanut butter, brown sugar and maple syrup as I had those in my cupboard. Also the first time I used buckwheat in a recipe! This granola texture reminds me of sesame seed bars you used to get on airplanes but way better!
Thanks Angie for another great recipe!
I almost never post comments after having made recipes and I try out a lot of different recipes. But, I made this last night and it was amazing! Seriously, what a great, fabulous snack!! Thanks for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it Danica! Thanks for letting me know :)
This is really good. I used almond butter, maple sugar and brown rice syrup. I wanted a more vanilla taste since I like french vanilla granola, but I don’t miss the strong vanilla taste (which is not as intense in my experience in homemade things) in this.
Firstly, I reference your recipes daily! Thank you! I can always find something wonderful ;)
I made your Blissful buckwheat granola clusters with minor variations due to items lacking in my pantry. I used cashew butter, brown rice syrup and added a couple handfuls of cashews. Absolutely wonderful! I broke it all into bite size clusters and stored it in a glass jar but the next morning, its all stuck. . .It’s absolutely worth chiseling out but wanted to know if your finished product sticks. Thanks again for all the great recipes :0)
These are amazing! I just made them yesterday and am absolutely addicted! I didn’t have any almond pulp on hand so I just left it out and also added flax seeds which is great for a boost of omegas. I had coconut nectar for a few weeks and couldn’t find a use for it until now! I’ll be making this again for sure :)
These are currently baking up in my oven for a lovely Sunday breakfast, and my house smells like Cinna-bons. Drool. I cannot wait to plunge into a bowl of these with ice cold hemp milk. Thank you for yet another thoughtful, mouth-watering recipe.
Also- I make my own almond milk every week and would love, love, love to see another almond pulp recipe without requiring a dehydrator. I currently have unbelievable stores of pulp sitting in my freezer.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s delicious!
Hola! I’ve been reading your website for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Porter Tx!
Just wanted to mention keep up the great job!
Hi there,
I’m really looking forward to making this but just need to stock up on ingredients.
Just wondering if you can use coconut palm sugar??
Thanks x
Yes coconut palm sugar and hazelnut butter will work ok. But I would not sub the coconut nectar syrup for the palm sugar as it will throw off the dry/wet ratio. Hope this helps!
Oh and also, would hazelnut butter be okay?
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Delicious with almond milk and or yogurt and banana. FYI – Substituting 1 tsp of cacao for 1 of the 2 tsp of cinnamon likens this to a crunchy healthy count chocula. It wasn’t what I was aiming for…it just happened! :)
Just made this to use up some nut pulp (mixed nuts). I followed the recipe to the letter, and it worked well. The only comments I want to make is that it is very hard to flip a whole pan of half baked granola. I broke mine to flip it, then pressed on it to ensure an even layer
Another thing is that it is very sweet for my taste, although I’m sure the husband and kids will love it that way. Might try to reduce or even omit the coconut sugar next time, the honey and applesauce should be enough to sweeten it
Anyway, I’ll still eat it :-)
These clusters are delightful! I cut the coconut sugar by half and replaced the apple sauce with mashed sweet potato. The scent that fills the kitchen is intoxicating. Cinnamon is my favorite spice, that’s probably why.
Great way to use up the leftover pulp!! I have so much in my freezer!
Instead of the coconut syrup etc how about mashed, ripe banana? Or more apple sauce might even work?
Could someone tell me in grams how much does the total (4,5-5 cups) weight. Please it’s to estimate the nutritional value of each serving. Thank you so much