Along with chocolate, pumpkin spice may be one of the most adored flavors in our house. Because it only comes around once a year, I’m happy to go pumpkin spice crazy! This homemade pumpkin spice granola recipe isn’t an everyday recipe, but it’s a healthy treat for those mornings where eggs just won’t do it. It’s also a perfect way to celebrate the changing seasons and use up any leftover homemade pumpkin puree. This recipe uses soaked oats for a healthy, gluten-free breakfast treat.
Why Soak Granola?
All living things have defense mechanisms and other properties that help them survive long enough to reproduce. In animals, these protective properties include sharp teeth or claws and the ability to run away. Plants can’t run away and may not have anything sharp to defend themselves.
One way that grains ensure survival for the next generation is that they can pass through the body of an animal (mostly) undigested. On the other side, it is a pre-fertilized seed ready to grow. Gluten, other lectins, enzyme inhibitors, and phytic acid are what allow the grains to pass through the digestive system without harming the seed (the “grain” itself).
These compounds are beneficial to the plant but they can be harmful to humans, especially in large amounts. Phytic acid is especially damaging to bone and tooth health. It has even been linked to tooth decay. Luckily, there are methods of preparing grains that help break down these compounds, making the grains more digestible. One of these methods is soaking.
How Does Soaking Work?
Soaking grains helps make them more digestible (and more nutritious) by activating phytase, a compound that helps break down phytic acid. Certain grains with high levels of natural phytase (like wheat) can be soaked with an acid medium to reduce phytic acid.
Oats are a low phytase grain. Grains with low levels of phytase need to be soaked with another grain that contains enough phytase. This recipe uses buckwheat groats because they are gluten-free and high in phytase.
Want More? Similar Recipes to Try
If you love pumpkin spice as I do, you’ll want to try these other recipes:
- Coconut Flour Pumpkin Bread – A nutritious alternative to traditional pumpkin bread.
- Gluten-free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie – I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but this pumpkin, coconut combo is amazing. It’s also completely grain free.
- Pumpkin Spice Latte – A healthy (and inexpensive) version of a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. No added junk!
- Pumpkin Pancakes – This tasty recipe is grain free and so easy to make.
- Pumpkin Smoothie – A pumpkin spiced drink that uses a pumpkin replacement squash (cushaw squash). Still healthy and amazing!
- Grain-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake – One of my favorite desserts ever, this recipe is a perfect combination of pumpkin and cream cheese.
- Pumpkin Spice Meltaways – A fun, no-bake treat for the kids. Can be made sugar free too!
- Pumpkin Chili – Not exactly pumpkin spice, but a new way of using pumpkin when it’s in season.
These pumpkin recipes can keep you enjoying pumpkin all season long.
Pumpkin Spice Soaked Granola Recipe
Ingredients
For Soaking:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup yogurt or kefir (or kefir)
Remaining Granola Ingredients:
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 cups nuts
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup butter (or coconut oil, melted)
- ½ cup maple syrup (or honey)
- ½ cup dried fruit
- ¼ cup coconut flakes
Instructions
For Soaking:
- In a large bowl, mix together oats and water.
- Mix in the yogurt or kefir.
- Cover with towel and let soak for 12-24 hours.
After Soaking:
- After soaking, roughly chop the pumpkin seeds and nuts and add them to the soaked oats.
- In medium size bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, salt, melted butter/coconut oil, and maple syrup/honey.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture over oat mixture and stir well.
- Dry in a dehydrator at 105°F or an oven at 200°F for 12-24 hours or until dry and crunchy, stirring occasionally.
- Once cool, add the dried fruit and coconut flakes if desired.
- Store in sealed glass jars.
Notes
Nutrition
Are you a pumpkin spice lover? What do you use it for?
Liz
October 23, 2013 at 12:11 PMHi,
Do you drain and rinse the oats as you do the nuts? Thanks
Cathy
October 23, 2013 at 12:55 PMSounds delicious! I think you may have left out the raisins or another dried fruit in your ingredients list, judging from the photo. How much did you add? Thanks!
Heather
September 26, 2014 at 4:42 AMHi Cathy, I think she just adds some to each bowl as she serves 🙂
susanna
October 23, 2013 at 12:58 PMdo you know how much this makes? also, is it safe to leave an oven on and leave the house. thats a long time to have the oven on…have never tried it.
thank you
Jenessa
March 11, 2014 at 12:29 PMI do, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I have an electric range.
Purelytwins
October 23, 2013 at 8:27 PMsounds wonderful!!
need to pull our dehydrator back out
Eve
October 24, 2013 at 12:01 PMWhat a great recipe! I don’t buy cereal and am also the party pooper in the house! Ill definitely be surprising the family with this for the weekend! Thanks Heather!!!
Angela
October 25, 2013 at 6:59 AMI’ve been reading that oats really need some flour added to the soaking medium since they don’t contain any phytase (necessary to break down the phytic acid). Is this accurate?
Genevieve
December 12, 2014 at 2:40 PMI was wondering the same thing, but was thinking about adding some buckwheat too it, since it is one of the grains highest in phytase.
Al Green
October 30, 2013 at 12:08 PMFirst of all, I love the name of your blog. That’s really clever.
I’m passing this recipe onto my wife. She is in love with “early morning oats”, which is a recipe she makes with yogurt.
I think she will really like this one.
Leah
October 30, 2013 at 2:52 PMHow long do you think this will keep on a pantry shelf?
Oge @ healthy quick meals
November 5, 2013 at 3:44 PMThank you Heather and Katja for this wonderful recipe! It looks both healthy and tasty. I would like to second Susanna’s question on whether it is safe to leave the oven on and leave the house since it takes quite some time. And Cathy- there was an optional 1/2 cup raisins at the very end of the recipe.
Katy
December 4, 2013 at 8:17 AMI was so excited to make this for my husband, who loves granola. However, I just took my first batch out of the dehydrator, and it has a funky bitterish sourish taste and the texture is not granola like. I used whey instead of yogurt, could that be the problem? It tasted amazing when I licked off my fingers after spreading it out on the trays, but now that it has been dried, I don’t think he is going to be willing to eat it. I hate to think of the expense and waste of all of those good organic gf ingredients. What did I do wrong?
Christine
January 7, 2014 at 6:49 AMI’m excited about the pumpkin spice granola (tried to pin that too but Pinterest says its not pinnable).
Sarah P.
January 9, 2014 at 11:43 AMWhat kind of oats did you use: whole groats? steel cut? old fashioned?
kristie
October 19, 2014 at 11:17 PMDo you drain the soaking water before adding the other ingredients?