Healthy Maple Pecan Granola
Yields: 8 servings
 
This easy granola recipe is full of big, crunchy clusters and cozy flavors! Sweet maple, comforting pecans, and a kiss of warm cinnamon. It’s dangerously irresistible… Trust me! I can go through a batch in just a few days! Leftovers will keep for at least two weeks if stored in an airtight container—if they last that long!
  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (recommended!) or parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, cinnamon, and maple extract until the egg whites are broken up and slightly bubbly. Stir in the maple syrup. Pour in the brown rice cereal and oats, and gently stir with a spatula until both cereals are evenly coated.
  3. Spread the mixture evenly onto the prepared pan. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes. Gently stir and move the clusters around the pan to break up the granola and prevent the bits closest to the edge from burning. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, then gently stir again. Bake for an additional 5-9 minutes (for a total of 35-39 minutes), or until the granola is golden and crunchy. Cool the granola completely to room temperature on the pan before sprinkling the diced pecans on top and transferring to an airtight container.
Notes: For a stronger maple flavor, increase the maple extract by an additional ½ teaspoon. (It provides at least half of the maple flavor, so I don’t recommend substituting anything for it! This is the kind I used.)

Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup… But then your granola won’t have a very strong maple flavor!

Regular crisp rice cereal (i.e. Rice Krispies) may be substituted in place of the brown rice cereal.

These are the pre-chopped pecans I used! Remember, do NOT add the pecans to your granola before baking… They’ll end up burning in the oven!

You do NOT end up with bits of egg in your granola! It’s just like when you put eggs in cookie dough. You don’t end up with chunks of scrambled cooked eggs in your chocolate chip cookies, right? Same thing here! You thoroughly mix together the ingredients so you’ll never see bits of cooked egg in your granola. I promise!

The brown rice cereal adds a big crunch to your granola clusters without any extra oil or butter. It’s such a great trick, and I use it in all of my granola recipes! (If you check the ingredients in your favorite store-bought granola cereals, I bet some of them use rice cereal as well!)

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2017/10/24/healthy-maple-pecan-granola/