Delicious homemade granola with no added fat or oil! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, this vegan granola is full of whole grains, coconut, and walnuts! It's bound together with aquafaba, the leftover liquid from chickpeas that you'd usually throw out. This recipe makes a great granola for eating with yogurt, milk, or fresh fruit - or eating by the handful!
Using a hand mixer, preferably with a whisk attachment, beat aquafaba on high until white and foamy. It won't be yellow anymore. This takes me about 2-3 minutes.
Add maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla if using. Use the mixer to beat it together for about a minute to combine.
Add oats, coconut, and chopped nuts. Stir everything together with a spatula or wooden spoon until everything is coated.
Spread on a large baking sheet in as flat a layer as you can.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (If you have clumps they will be chewy, not crunchy.)
Cool completely at room temperature. Add dried fruit if desired. Store in airtight containers. Granola will last for a few weeks.
This granola has coconut and nuts, so it is not fat-free. However, there is no added fat in the form of butter or vegetable oil.
This is a very lightly sweetened granola, perfect for mixing into yogurt, as I find most granola to be too sweet. For more conventionally sweet granola, use ½ cup maple syrup, or use sweetened shredded coconut.
I've used both old-fashioned and quick oats. Do not use instant oats (too powdery) or steel-cut oats (which won't cook properly).
Maple syrup makes this granola vegan. You may use honey instead. Do not use pancake syrup.
Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas. You may also use aquafaba from home-cooked beans. See the description in the blog post above for details.
This is a fine-grained, crumbly granola, created by stirring often to make sure that the liquid cooks out. It should not form clusters, because the clusters will not become crunchy at all.
Adapted from my Cherry-Almond Granola, with aquafaba inspiration from Minimalist Baker
Calorie counts are an estimate only, using unsweetened coconut. Adding more syrup or sweetened coconut will increase calorie count.