Today I thought I’d share with you one of my best granola recipes, one I make with the first falling leaves every time I find a big, fat, sweet potato. How to beat the root veggie’s chewy and tender texture? And that honeyed sweetness! What’s not to love?
This particular sweet potato granola makes for a satisfying quick breakfast, made with old fashioned oats, mashed sweet potatoes and pecans -- you'll also love the addition of semi-dried sweet potatoes in this recipe!
In a nutshell, we’re mixing chewy oats, crunchy pecans and sweet semi-dehydrated sweet potatoes. Coconut oil brings it all home, and it all comes together in the oven. Yes, making granola is as easy as it sounds.
And, by all means, customize this recipe with your favorite nuts, seeds and dried fruits; you do you. Let this one be the start of the exciting journey called homemade granola. You’ll never buy granola again!
HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE THIS GRANOLA RECIPE
**I’ve linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link
- Sweet Potato – You’ll need mashed sweet potatoes for this recipe. You can steam, bake or boil them until soft but here’s the easy method: Wash and wrap a whole sweet potato in a microwave-safe silicone bag (like this one) or in a plastic wrap, then microwave on high for 6-7 minutes (or more depending on the size of the potato). You can make sure it’s cooked by sticking a fork or toothpick into the center. Let them cool somewhat before handling and mash it with a fork.
- Dark Granulated Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice in this recipe but coconut, date and maple sugars which are healthier alternatives to regular brown sugar. For the lower carb, lower calorie option, you can use a sugar-free substitute such as monk fruit sweetener or, stevia powder (but you’ll have to convert the amount of stevia according to package directions).
- Coconut Oil - You can use regular coconut oil, but I like to use refined coconut oil, like this one, because there's less coconut flavor/scent. But for this recipe, you can also try using olive oil, avocado oil, or regular canola oil. If you want to reduce the added oils in this recipe, you can also use almond or pecan butter, too.
- Oatmeal - You can't forget about this ingredient for granola! You can use old-fashioned (rolled) or quick-cooking oats, but I wouldn't recommend using steel cut for this recipe. If you want to keep this strictly gluten-free (some oats are produced in the same facility as wheat), be sure to buy the one with the GF label like this one.
- Pecans - or other nuts or seed of choice
- Semi-dried sweet potatoes - you might not have heard of these, but these are just like what it sounds. Semi-dried sweet potatoes are sweet potato pieces that have been dried / dehydrated halfway so that they maintain their chew and moistness - the texture is almost like dried apricots. It's a perfect addition to granola since it adds a fun texture! You can purchase these online or in most Korean grocery stores.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find semi-dried sweet potatoes in any of the local grocery stores other than my Korean grocery stores. Thankfully, Amazon has them, so I recommend people buy them there if you can't find them anywhere else, like this one below.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
How to Make
Healthy Sweet Potato Granola
STEP 1
First, prepare mashed potato by steaming, baking or boiling them until soft. For a quicker method: wash and wrap a whole sweet potato in a microwave-safe silicone bag (like this one) or in a plastic wrap, then microwave on high for 6-7 minutes (or more depending on the size of the potato). You can make sure it's cooked by sticking a fork or toothpick into the center. Let them cool somewhat before handling and mash it with a fork.
STEP 2
Mix the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, oil (or almond butter) in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in the oats.
STEP 3
Spread out the oat mixture in a thin layer on a parchment lined sheet pan, and bake in a 300F preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Take the sheet pan out of the oven and stir in the pecans. Turn over the entire mixture with a silicone spatula to help the granola dry out evenly.
Bake 10 minutes more until the oats look well toasted, then remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
STEP 4
Stir in the semi-dried sweet potatoes (diced or whole) and enjoy over a bowl of yogurt!
Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:
- Pumpkin Granola - I love to use pumpkin puree instead sweet potatoes for this granola recipe. You can also add 1 tsp of cinnamon powder with the oats before baking to make them tastier.
- Do you like Chai or Cardamom? Try adding a tsp of Cardamom Powder or Chai Tea Powder to the batter with the other dry ingredients.
- With natural flavoring / extracts. Feel free to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (I didn't feel like it was essential so I left it out in this recipe), or other flavorings or extracts, such as caramel flavoring, hazelnut extract or almond extract.
What are some ways you can eat these?
- Sprinkled over yogurt or a smoothie bowl
- LIke cereal - just add milk
- As is, like a snack
How to Store
- Once completely cooled, you can store this sweet potato granola covered at room temperature in an airtight container - typically for 3-5 days. For longer storage, you can place them in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container to store in the fridge or freezer up to 3 months.
Final Tips
- Baking time of this granola recipe will vary based on your oven temperature, how thinly pread out you baked the granola, as well as if you've used parchment or silicone mats to line your pan. So keep an eye on them towards the end of the baking process. You may need to add a few more minutes depending on how moist the granola turns out.
You'll Also Love these Fall Recipes
Sweet Potato Granola
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Mashed Sweet Potato
- ¼ cup Dark Granulated Sugar Of Choice Like Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil Coconut Oil or Almond Butter
- 2 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- ⅔ cup Pecans
- ½ cup Semi-Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes Optional
Instructions
- First, prepare mashed potato by steaming, baking or boiling them until soft. For a quicker method: wash and wrap a whole sweet potato in a microwave-safe silicone bag (like this one) or in a plastic wrap, then microwave on high for 6-7 minutes (or more depending on the size of the potato). You can make sure it's cooked by sticking a fork or toothpick into the center. Let them cool somewhat before handling and mash it with a fork.
- Mix the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, oil (or almond butter) in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in the oats.
- Spread out the oat mixture in a thin layer on a parchment lined sheet pan
- Bake in a 300F preheated oven for 20 minutes
- Take the sheet pan out of the oven and stir in the pecans. Turn over the entire mixture with a silicone spatula to help the granola dry out evenly.
- Bake 10 minutes more until the oats look well toasted, then remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
- Stir in the semi-dehydrated sweet potatoes.
- After the granola is completely cooled, you can store in an airtight container.
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