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!
It looks delicious in the Green Monster! Do you need to soak the buckwheat before baking? (I realize this is a searchable question, but I’m curious as to what you did!)
Hi Jill, I didn’t soak it, but I will have to try that sometime. I also wasn’t sure if the wetness from soaking would impact the overall result or not? I know some people soak buckwheat and then dehydrate the kernels until dry before using, so that is an option. If I try a version with soaked buckwheat (without drying it before baking) I will be sure to update my results in the recipe!
Good to know! The only time I’ve cooked with/eaten buckwheat was in your Raw Breakfast Porridge, so I just wasn’t sure if soaking was for all buckwheat dishes or just raw. Thanks!
Hm, I am pretty sure that soaking would have an impact on the recipe. Buckwheat gets pretty soaky… maybe it wouldn’t stick together anymore.
I’m so behind on posts, but I make granola with sprouted buckwheat (soak for ~8 hours, then drain and sprout for 3 days, or until sprouts are 3-4mm long). It doesn’t affect the overall result at all (if anything, you just need less wet ingredients).
I’ve also found that pumpkin puree is an awesome addition to the wet ingredients!
Ladies, I soaked my buckwheats before didn’t impact the final result. I did drain quite well and then had them sitting in a glass jar in my fridge for a few days before making (not intentionally).
Love these clusters!
I haven’t had a green monster all winter (I know, I’m crazy), but seeing this recipe makes me want to have one to top with the delicious granola. Granola is so tempting!
Yet another reason why I MUST try your homemade almond milk recipe! This granola looks awesome, especially on top of a green monster. Love that they’re oil free, too!
This sounds out of this world!!
This sounds incredible! I was just trying to think of more uses for buckwheat groats… now I know. I always have a hard time getting granola to clump, too, but maybe it’s because I use too much maple syrup… will try it with brown rice syrup next time. Thanks!
what a delightful looking granola!! so great to see an alternative to oats, and such a great use of almond pulp! everything I have tried so far to use up pulp have been terrible, and not worth the time. I love that the pulp is not the ‘main ingredient’. Love the use of coconut syrup and sugar as well, I’m trying to keep low-glycemic so it’s perfect… can’t wait to make and devour this!
Looks Delicious!!
I really need to make homemade granola. Nope, never have but I know right where to come when I do because you have several I’ve been itching to try!
This looks like a fantastic idea! It’ll be a great way to use up the buckwheat groats I have, no soaking required!
I have been wanting to play around more with buckwheat for ages, so thanks for this recipe!
Hi Angela,
I am so excited to try this. However, I have nut allergies, and find it impossible thus far to find sunflower butter or sunflower seeds (that are not INSANE expensive) that do not carry allergy warnings.
Any suggestions? I have no idea what Whole Foods carries…I am in Calgary and we don’t have that, but plenty of other whole food stores.
Thanks!
Joanna
Hey Joanna,
The brand I buy is Sunbutter and it’s found in a lot of every day grocery stores around me (like Superstore/Loblaw) It says it’s produced in a peanut and tree nut free facility. I can’t recall the price, but it tends to be around the same range as other nut butters. maybe you can find a deal online for cheap?
Ok, thanks! I will check again … see what I can see. I’ll reply with anything great, just so others know too :)
can’t you make your own – blend in a good blender and add a little oil as needed?
With patience no need to add oil, just blend longer. If freeze the seeds first and blend frozen it works better/faster/smoother end product. Food processor will work too but takes a looooong time
I’ve had a bag of buckwheat in my cupboard for what seems like forever, now I know what to use it for! I’ve been making my own granola lately and this will be a nice change of pace from the oats.
Yumm!! I love granola and am going to start experimenting with making my own almond milk, so this is perfect!
That green monster looks amazing. I’ve been hearing a lot about buckwheat recently. I think I’ll pick some up soon and try it out. Thanks for the great recipe!
hahaha, i know EXACTLY what you mean about a fresh batch of granola being completely unavoidable when passing through the kitchen! yesterday morning a made a batch of lisa & nicole’s cinnamon bun granola and the hubs and i put a MASSIVE dent in it before breakfast time even came today! :D
Yum! Thanks for this!
But where do you get your buckwheat groats?
I live in the city as well, but haven’t seen them anywhere!
-Alanna
I usually buy from Whole Foods bulk bins or online :)
Q: Do you know how dangerous it is to have freshly baked granola sitting on the counter during a long winter evening?
A: Yes, I do, because I make a batch of granola (usually your Lightened Up Summer Granola) every week to take for lunch/snack at work, and I can’t keep my hands out of it while it’s cooling. Even after I put it in the jar! But this week, like Jess above, I made the cinnamon bun granola, which also has buckwheat groats, so now I have to buy more to try this!
By the way, I made your cake balls last night and will dip them in the coating and decorate tonight.
I just made this with raw quinoa- it worked out so well! added a little coco powder to it also :)
I made four cups of granola and it was gone SO fast. It’s deadly straight out of the oven and still amazing as a cold cereal.
HA! Great minds think alike! I make buckwheat granola with peanut butter, coconut oil,and 2 T maple syrup to bind it all together. I feel amazing after eating it since the magnesium in the buckwheat helps with relaxation and to stabilize blood glucose levels. It’s also a complete protein with all 9 essential amino acids. Thanks, Angela
Yummmm you read my mind. I’ve been trying to think of new, portable, breakfast ideas I can bring to work. Ding ding ding ding – granola! I think I might try the Summer Granola though, because I have no idea where to find raw buckwheat groats!