Sweet and Savory Five Spice Granola

This recipe and post are brought to you as part of a sponsored partnership between the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network, and the Yoplait More Fruit campaign. I was compensated for my time, but as always, all opinions are my own.

Wanna know what's new? Well, for starters, granola that's not all sweet. This savory granola hits all of the right notes. It's salty, but a little bit sweet, hot, and full of exotic spicy flavors. I love it sprinkled on a salad instead of croutons and it's a much healthier option than chips for your guests to snack on. It's also an especially pleasant surprise when it's paired with another new thing - Yoplait's Original yogurts. GUYS - our favorite Yoplait flavors just got better, because they're kicked up with way more fruit. It's pure parfait happiness.

One of the major benefits of being an empty nester is that you get to eat All Of The Snacks. And - you get to choose the snacks that you really want, and no one will eat them before you get to them. No more hiding them in "mom's cabinet" because all of the cabinets are mine now!  Snacks also take on a whole new meaning when your kids are grown. They often become dinner when you're not in a cooking mood.

Sweet and Savory Five Spice Granola|Craving Something Healthy

I'm not really into food rules, but I do have a few guidelines when it comes to snacking - especially when those snacks turn into dinner;

1. Never eat out of a package - put it on a plate (or in a bowl, or pretty glass);

2.  Make a snack out of at least 3 different types and colors of "whole foods", like dairy foods, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and

3. Make it delicious and savor every bite - don't just eat it because it's there.

Yogurt is one of my absolute, all-time favorite whole foods to include with my snacks because it's packed with protein to hold me until my next meal, and important minerals like calcium and potassium to fuel my body. And now, Yoplait original is packed with more fruit, which means even more nutrition in every container.

Sweet and Savory Five Spice Granola|Craving Something Healthy

Yoplait's sweet, creamy Harvest Peach flavor is so happy to share the cup with my slightly sweet, but mostly savory granola, and a handful of fresh berries. See how easy it is to combine those 3 healthy, whole foods into a balanced snack?  Or a meal. Who needs to cook?!

[bctt tweet="#ad @Yoplait yogurt just got better. More fruit, more flavor, more nutrition, and even better for your snack. Here's how I like to eat it. @BellInstitute @HealthyAperture #yoplaitmorefruit" username="CraveSomeHealth"]

Recipe

Savory and Sweet Five Spice Granola

A delicious homemade granola for snacking
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Asian
Diet: Heart Healthy, Vegetarian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 16 4 cups
Calories: 168kcal

Ingredients

For the Hot Pepper Honey

  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 serrano pepper sliced length-wise, stemmed and seeded

For the Granola

  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • ½ cup roasted cashews
  • ½ cup pecan halves
  • ½ cup roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice Powder
  • ¼ cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 cup honey sesame sticks

Instructions

To Make the Hot Pepper Honey

  • Place the honey and serrano peppers in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the honey mixture cool. Remove the peppers and pour the honey into a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

To Make the Granola

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, and line a baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oats, cashews, pecans, pepitas, salt, and Chinese Five Spice Powder.
  • In a measuring cup, mix together the coconut oil and hot pepper honey. Pour the oil-honey mixture over the oats mixture and stir well to coat everything.
  • Spread the granola onto the baking sheet in a single layer. 
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the granola just starts to turn lightly golden. Stir once or twice during baking so the oats and nuts bake evenly.
  • Remove the granola from the oven, let cool, and add extra salt if necessary. Store the granola in a jar, tightly covered for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

You can make the hot honey several days in advance if desired. Store the honey in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 157mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag me @CravingSomethingHealthy!

Do you ever eat your snack for dinner? What's your favorite Yoplait flavor? Check them all out at Yoplait.com

Eat well!

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4 Comments

  1. This looks so good-I love the idea of a sweet & savory granola-yum! Good to know about the empty nest snacking benefits-I’ve got 3 1/2 years to go 🙂

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