Granola is back on The Dimpled Date! OH YEAH baby! This scrum-diddly-umptious (is that how you spell it??) granola is fruity, floral, sweet, healthy, crunchy, and pink. How could you not love it?! The legendary flavor combo of raspberry and rose shines in this granola, and even if you're not a fan of rose water, you'll still love this granola. This granola is light and perfect for spring, adding a pop of color and a burst of flavor to add a little brightness to your life and awaken your senses just in time for warmer weather. Like usual, this granola is beyond good and is naturally colored. It's also 100% date-sweetened, but there's an option for maple-sweetened granola. Treat your tastebuds to this springtime flavor bomb to add a little pep in your step and start your day off right!
This granola captures all the fun and lightness of spring with its clean sweetness, bright color, and fruit & floral forward flavor. It is incredibly delicious and makes for a nutrient-dense yet light and satiating breakfast.
This granola is vegan, gluten-free, and sweetened strictly with whole dates, but if you want you can sweeten it with maple syrup or another sweetener (see "Substitutions" section). The pink color comes naturally from dragon fruit powder.
To be completely serious, I think this flavor of granola is one of my favorites that I've created so far. It's right up there with my Golden Milk Granola and Matcha Almond Granola. My top 5 favorite granolas on The Dimpled Date so far are (in order):
Check out all these must-trys, I guarantee you'll fall in love with Dimpled Date granola.
If you're a lover of floral flavors, you'll love this granola. But even if you're not the biggest fan of rose water or flowery flavors in your food, try this granola. I think you might surprise yourself and find you like this granola.
Have a new type of granola you want to see me make? Wanna share where this granola ranks in comparison to other Dimpled Date granolas you've tried? Like this post and leave a comment!
Substitutions
I wouldn't substitute any other kind of oats for the gluten-free rolled (old-fashioned) oats because quick oats, instant oats, and steel-cut oats all take different amounts of time to cook and have drastically different textures. If the oats don't need to be gluten-free, you can sub regular rolled oats. Possibly, you could omit the oats and instead use gluten-free/vegan/sugar-free crispy rice cereal. You want a good amount of texture and volume to replace the oats and something like a gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free crispy rice cereal would do the trick I think without adding too many extra calories or fat. (***PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE NOT tried this recipe with crispy rice cereal in place of the oats and therefore CANNOT guarantee good results***). If you try this recipe with crispy rice cereal, let me know how it turned out in the comments! The coconut oil can be replaced with your neutral-flavored healthy vegetable oil of choice, such as avocado oil or sunflower oil. Possibly, you could try using olive oil with varied results, knowing that olive oil has a slightly more robust flavor. Technically speaking, another possibility is using melted vegan butter instead of the melted coconut oil, although I don't know if the melted vegan butter will pair well with the flavor of this granola. However, it might work! To reduce the fat in this recipe, you could potentially substitute 2 Tbsp out of the 1/4 cup of coconut oil (per single batch) with 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce (in other words instead of using 1/4 cup coconut oil, use 2 Tbsp coconut oil PLUS 2 Tbsp applesauce). Or for oil-free and to reduce the fat even more, it might work to replace the 1/4 cup coconut oil entirely with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce.
The coconut butter is important for a more neutral flavor, but you can try using creamy almond butter, unsweetened creamy cashew butter, or mild creamy tahini with mixed results. The rose water is key because this is Raspberry Rose Granola, but if you're not a fan of rose or don't have it, you may omit it for a simple raspberry granola. Likewise, the natural raspberry extract shouldn't be replaced because raspberry is one of the main flavors in this granola. However, if you don't want to use raspberry extract, you may replace it with natural strawberry extract, natural orange extract (start w/ 1/8 tsp and add more to taste), OR almond extract for different flavors. Alternatively, you can omit the raspberry extract for a simple rose water granola.
For sweetening this granola, I use Detoxinista's date paste recipe. The date paste keeps this granola fruit-sweetened, but if you want you may use a different sweetener. In place of the date paste, you can use 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup agave, 1/4 cup coconut nectar, 1/4 cup date syrup, OR 1/4 cup honey (if not strictly vegan) per single batch. OR you may use 1/4 cup coconut sugar OR scant 1/4 cup maple sugar. For 100% sugar-free, you can try using 100% pure liquid/powdered monk fruit to taste. I have to experiment with banana-sweetened granola, so hang tight for granolas like that. The raw nuts/seeds should preferably be mild, but any kind will work, such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, Brazil nuts (chopped), macadamias, sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), etc. Just make sure they're raw, unsalted, and unsweetened and chop if need be. Hempseed, chia seeds, and/or whole flaxseeds may be used as well. In place of the nuts/seeds you can use extra gluten-free rolled (old-fashioned) oats OR gluten-free/vegan/sugar-free crispy rice cereal. Alternatively, you may omit the nuts/seeds, knowing that this will reduce the volume of the granola slightly. The vanilla extract can be replaced with an equivalent amount of scraped vanilla bean, pure ground vanilla beans, OR sugar-free vanilla powder/paste/syrup. Technically, you can omit the vanilla or you might be able to replace it with almond extract OR sugar-free coconut extract, starting w/ 1/4 tsp and adding more to taste. The unsweetened raisins are optional, but you may use dark/red or white raisins OR your unsweetened dried fruit of choice, such as unsweetened dried cranberries, unsweetened dried sour cherries, unsweetened dried blueberries, OR unsweetened prunes (chopped). Or you could sub finely chopped fresh dates (in addition to the date paste as a sweetener). The unsweetened shredded/desiccated coconut is also optional, but you can use a handful of chia seeds, hempseed, OR whole flaxseed in place of it. The dragon fruit powder is optional as well and is used to color this granola pink, but you can replace it with beet powder OR natural/vegan/GF/sugar-free pink/red food coloring. The unsweetened freeze-dried raspberries are also optional, but you can substitute unsweetened freeze-dried strawberries, unsweetened freeze-dried blueberries, unsweetened freeze-dried blackberries, and/or unsweetened freeze-dried cherries.
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Enjoy! <3
-K.
Raspberry Rose Granola (Vegan, GF, Date-Sweetened, Naturally Colored)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 to 30 minutes
Servings: abt 3 cups granola
Ingredients:
-2 cups gluten-free rolled oats (AKA gluten-free old-fashioned oats)
-1/2 cup mild raw & unsalted nuts/seeds of choice (I used almonds, cashews, and walnuts), chopped
-1 Tbsp red/pink dragon fruit powder OR enough natural/vegan/GF/sugar-free pink/red coloring to color (optional // for a pink color)
-handful unsweetened raisins OR unsweetened dried cranberries OR unsweetened/unsulphured dried fruit of choice (optional // chopped, as needed)
-small handful unsweetened shredded/desiccated coconut (optional)
-small handful unsweetened freeze-dried raspberries (optional)
-1/4 cup coconut oil
-2 Tbsp coconut butter ("coconut manna")
-1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp date paste (Detoxinista has a great recipe!) OR 1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
-3/4 tsp pure rose water
-3/4 tsp natural raspberry extract
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Make the date paste ahead of time. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper OR a large silicone baking mat. Chop the nuts/seeds to desired texture.
2. Add the oats, chopped nuts/seeds, (optional) dragon fruit powder, raisins, desiccated coconut, and freeze-dried raspberries to a large mixing bowl and manually stir together to combine. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan on the stove over very low heat, melt together the coconut oil, coconut butter, and date paste until just melted, stirring frequently (the date paste won't be fully incorporated and that is OK). Wait to add the vanilla, rose water, and raspberry extract. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. Pour the melted and slightly cooled coconut oil, coconut butter, and date paste over the oat mixture and add the rose water, raspberry extract, and vanilla extract now. Stir together until fully incorporated. If using the natural/vegan pink/red food dye, add that now and stir well.
5. Spread the granola out onto the lined baking sheet into a single even layer.
6. Bake in the preheated oven (at 325 degrees F) for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping the granola halfway through.
7. Allow to cool (the granola will form clusters and the flavors in the granola will develop further as it cools).
8. Serve with unsweetened coconut milk yogurt, fresh raspberries, and dried rose buds/petals. Or, serve with unsweetened plant milk of choice or use as a topping for a vegan berry smoothie. You can also use this granola as a garnish for a mug of warm dairy-free rose moon milk. Or enjoy for breakfast atop vegan/gluten-free raspberry waffles, raspberry rose pancakes, or rose crepes or on top of raspberry chia pudding. For dessert, enjoy on top of vegan raspberry ice cream/frozen yogurt, raspberry cupcakes/cake, or as a garnish for a raw raspberry rose cake. Or, simply enjoy on its own. Serve. Enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Can also be stored in an airtight container at room temp for less time.
Nutrition Facts:
Per Serving (1/2 cup):
Calories: 311 Total Fat: 22 grams Saturated Fat: 15 grams Sodium: 0% (DV)
Total Carbohydrates: 26 grams Fiber: 6 grams Sugars: 9 grams* Protein: 5 grams
Calcium: 3% (DV) Iron: 8% (DV) Potassium: 3% (DV)
*This sugar is all-natural and comes from fruit and therefore doesn't count towards the AHA's recommended daily sugar intake limit of 35 grams per day.
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