Cashew Turmeric Granola
Joy Wilson is well known for her daily dabbles in butter and sugar as her blogging alter ego, Joy the Baker. A California girl and longtime New Orleans resident who now calls Bellville, TX home, Joy is a 100% taste buds-taught baker and home cook. She's a three-time cookbook author, photographer, teacher and storyteller who has been sharing recipes and real-life reflections with a devoted community since launching Joy the Baker in 2008. What began as a small baking blog has grown into a beloved culinary platform including her Baked In newsletter, and The Bakehouse Texas, her small-batch pop up bakery.
- Breakfast
Pressed into a slab before baking, so you get granola-bar chunks instead of loose flakes.
Twenty minutes in the oven turns raw cashews, oats, and turmeric into a healthy granola recipe clocking in around 250 calories and 5 grams of protein per half-cup serving, which is light enough for an everyday scoop over a higher-protein yogurt. My smart swap is dehydrated fruit instead of dried. Raspberries stirred in after baking stay tart and chewy without the sticky sugar concentration of typical dried fruit. Turmeric does double duty, tinting the oats gold and cutting the maple syrup’s sweetness so the batch reads more savory than dessert. Cocoa nibs add bitter crunch, flax and sesame seeds bring texture and healthy fat, and a tablespoon of optional date syrup is the trick for real clumps instead of loose crumbs. Press the mixture into an even layer before baking to give it a chunky, granola-bar bite instead of standard flaky texture.
Nutrition (per serving)
| Calories | 250 |
|---|---|
| Protein | 5g |
| Carbs | 26g |
| Fat | 16g |
Ingredients
| Raw cashews | 1½ cups |
|---|---|
| Old fashioned oats | 1½ cups |
| Sesame seeds | 2 tbsp |
| Flax seeds | 2 tbsp |
| Ground dried turmeric | 1 tsp |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 tsp |
| Fresh grated nutmeg | ¼ tsp |
| Black pepper | Few grinds |
| Coarse sea salt or kosher salt | ½ tsp |
| Maple syrup | ⅓ cup |
| Coconut oil | ⅓ cup |
| Vanilla extract | 2 tsp |
| Date syrup (optional) | 1 tbsp |
| Dehydrated raspberries (or other dried/dehydrated fruit) | 1 heaping cup |
| Cocoa nibs | ⅓ cup |
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 Heat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2 Grind half the base.
In a food processor or spice grinder, pulse half of the cashews and half of the oats to moderately fine. It’s ok if there are still a few chunks here and there.
3 Combine the dry ingredients.
Transfer the oat and nut mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the remaining cashews and oats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper.
4 Mix and coat.
In a small bowl, whisk together maple, coconut oil, vanilla, and date syrup (if using) until well combined. Pour into the oat mixture and toss until everything is evenly coated.
5 Press into a slab.
Spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and press it into an even layer, about ½-inch thickness. Baking a mixture that’s pressed together will help create a granola-bar-like chunkiness.
6 Bake.
Bake for 20 to 26 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned. Check the granola halfway through baking and see if you’d like to use a spatula to flip the granola over in sections (breaking it up a bit) to brown on both sides.
7 Cool and finish.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before breaking the granola up further. Toss with dehydrated raspberries and cocoa nibs. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for weeks, though it’s so good, it really won’t last that long.
Notes & Tips
- Storage: This keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for weeks, no fridge needed. Although, the fridge won’t hurt if you want to be extra sure that the oils won’t go stale.
- Freezing: Freezes well for up to 2–3 months in a sealed bag or container. Let it come to room temp before eating so the clusters keep their crunch.
- Swaps: You can sub raw walnuts in for cashews. Dehydrated strawberries or bananas also work in place of raspberries. Date syrup is optional; skip it and you’ll get looser crumbles instead of clumpy bars, but the flavor holds.
- Don’t crowd the pan: This batch is sized for one rimmed sheet pan. Doubling means two sheets, or two bakes. Crowding the mixture keeps it from pressing into that even, granola-bar layer and it won’t crisp right.
- Freeze-dried works too: If raspberries are hard to find, dehydrated, freeze-dried works too: just expect a crispier, more brittle bite instead of the chewier texture dehydrated fruit gives.
Joy Wilson is well known for her daily dabbles in butter and sugar as her blogging alter ego, Joy the Baker. A California girl and longtime New Orleans resident who now calls Bellville, TX home, Joy is a 100% taste buds-taught baker and home cook. She's a three-time cookbook author, photographer, teacher and storyteller who has been sharing recipes and real-life reflections with a devoted community since launching Joy the Baker in 2008. What began as a small baking blog has grown into a beloved culinary platform including her Baked In newsletter, and The Bakehouse Texas, her small-batch pop up bakery.
