Chai Latte Granola

posted in Recipes on 8/21/2014

You only need 7 ingredients for this super simple recipe—most of which you already stash in your pantry and fridge! Even better, you don’t need to heat up a pot and boil sugar to make a simple syrup like with most granola recipes. Just whisk, mix, and bake!

Yield: about 3 cups

Serving Size: about ½ cup

These crunchy clusters taste exactly like the drink! Full of warm spices and the perfect kiss of black tea, this is a healthy breakfast worth waking up for. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

1 ½ c old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary) 1 ½ c crisp rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies) ½ c strong chai tea 1 ½ tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted & cooled to room temperature 2 tbsp skim milk Recipes 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the oats and rice cereal. In a separate bowl, stir together the chai tea, butter (or coconut oil), milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Pour over the cereal mixture, and gently toss with a spatula until completely coated.

Spread into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Gently break up the granola with a spoon and redistribute around the pan. Bake for another 15 minutes; then stir again. Bake for another 5-15 minutes, depending on how crunchy you’d like your granola. (Tend towards the side of slightly less crunchy than you’d desire because it continues to crisp up a little more as it cools.) Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before storing in an airtight container.

Notes: For a vegan version, use the coconut oil and substitute your favorite non-dairy milk in place of the skim milk. For this recipe, I brewed the chai tea from a bag (steeped for 40 minutes); I did not use a chai concentrate.