Made primarily of greens and without any oil or added sugar, this kale granola is the healthiest granola I’ve ever made. And it’s GOOD!
So kale granola is a thing….
Want to know how I found out about it? Through TJ Maxx! Well, actually Home Goods (which is owned by TJ Maxx). Recently, I was shopping for candles at Home Goods and I went over to peruse the food section because they seem to carry a ton of high quality items (none of which are past expiration or seem bad) like olive oil, pure vanilla, teas, coffees, jams, honey, etc. They also have organic snacky items — veggie chips, trail mix and the like. While looking around I happened upon something called New York Naturals Greenola with the tagline “Greens, not Grains!” Oh course this caught my eye and before I knew it I was walking out of Home Goods with a new candle and a package of Cranberry Nut Crunch kale granola.
The kale is dehydrated so it’s super crunchy (like kale chips) and when combined with the dates, coconut, almonds and cranberries, it tastes very similar to granola. Don’t let it fool you though, it’s just as addictive as regular granola. I’m pretty sure I devoured the whole container in less than 24 hours.
I shouldn’t be surprised, things like this happen with me and granola/snacky type foods. Anyhow, that’s a story for another day. Naturally, as soon as my little container was polished off, I started brainstorming how to create my own version of kale granola at home.
Fast forward two weeks: I’ve successfully made three batches of kale granola. I loved the first batch so much, I ate it all before getting a chance to a take photos it for the blog. Oops.
The second two batches are gone now too, but thankfully I did snap some pictures before eating them.
Made primarily of greens and without any oil or added sugar, it’s probably the healthiest granola I’ve ever made. And it’s GOOD! I’ve been using it for everything I would use normal granola for…
Snacking on it by the handful (a little too much), as a topping for oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, and even eating it with almond milk as cereal.
Healthy cereal! And it’s awesome, because the kale granola doesn’t really get soggy — it’s super crunchy and tastes ridiculously similar to grain-based cereal. The only difference is the color. If you can get over the fact that you’re eating green cereal, you’re golden.
Isaac was a little skeptical at first, but he tried it and said it tastes like Honey Bunches of Oats. 🙂
I have an Excalibur dehydrator for making kale chips and other raw goodies, so I used it for making this recipe. But then I remembered how much I hate when I find recipes that call for a kitchen appliance that I don’t own so I decided to figure out the oven cooking process for those that might not have a fancy schmancy dehydrator (or want to wait 24 hours for their granola to be done). Both options are listed in the recipe.
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Made primarily of greens and without any oil or added sugar, this is the healthiest granola I’ve ever made. And it’s GOOD!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of kale, washed, de-stemmed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 5-6 pitted medjool dates
- 1/2 cup fresh mango, chopped into chunks
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, blueberries or cranberries
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, soak the dates in 1/2 cup water for at least 30 minutes, or until softened.
- Make sure your kale is as dry as you can get it. (I used my salad spinner), then place it in a large bowl.
- In a food processor, chopper or high powered blender, combine the soaked dates + 1 tablespoon of soaking liquid and fresh mango. Blend until it is a thick paste. Add the shredded coconut (NOT the flakes), cinnamon and salt and blend briefly to combine.
- Add paste to kale leaves and massage with your hands to coat each leaf, until all leaves are coated.
- Add in the dried berries, almonds and coconut flakes and mix well so these items get coated as well.
- Spread kale in a single layer over 2 ParaFlexx lined trays and dehydrate for 115F for about 24 hours, or until kale is crispy. If you do not have a dehydrator, pre-heat your oven to 300°, spread kale onto a baking stone or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes with the oven door slightly ajar. Maybe sure to watch as the 30 minute mark gets close so that the kale doesn’t start to burn.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 42g
- Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 58g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 5g
So there you have it, my new favorite way to eat kale! Enjoy and have a Happy Friday.
Sooooo unique! Even I am scared to try it but I’m going to!
Wow, what a great/unique idea! I never would have thought to make a kale granola, I’ve only ever had kale as chips, raw or sauteed, but I definitely need to add this my rotation!
Wow….You have really sparked my interest with this recipe! A kale cereal, very interesting. pinning it now!
I’m so intrigued!! I love finding fun things like this and can’t wait to try it. Thanks for replicating- I’m sure it was tough to figure out!
I bought this exact mix on Nuts.com, and it was amazing. I’m psyched to try this recipe so I can do it myself!! Yum!!!!!
I love this! I don’t have a dehydrator (but it is on my wedding list!) – I am looking forward to testing this recipe out this weekend!
Awesome — this looks delicious and so unique. I will definitely be giving it a try!! Also, I love some of the food products at HomeGoods. I get my truffle oil there!
I have tried kale granola at a restaurant but had NO idea how to make it! I am SO excited to try this out. Thanks for including the alternative to a dehydrating kitchen appliance too! Really appreciate it. Have a good weekend!
I definitely want to try this! I appreciate that you took the time to give instructions for people without a dehydrator.
This looks so interesting, especially on yogurt. But I def want to try. Thanks for including the oven instructions!
I am SO intrigued! Guess I’ll have to make this to find out for myself how it is. If its like honey bunches of oats I’m set. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this! And to freak my kids and husband out by eating kale cereal 😉
Wow! Looks so crazy! Being gluten-free I love the “greens, not grains” idea 🙂 very cute!
This looks crazy cool and different. I love greens so I may have to try it.
Genius! Another way to eat my greens in the morning 🙂
★★★★★
this sounds amazing. i’ve been seeing kale-nola pop up in the blog world lately. seems like a good enough reason to get more greens in even though i’m already a sucker for kale chips!
This is the most creative recipe ever! And it’s so serendipitous that I read it today, because I just got a dehydrator. This will be my first recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
It looks incredibly healthy, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try this lol. Just playing I think I’m going to have to try it because I’m sure it’s tasty 🙂
Is there a specific way to store this so it’s crunchy the next day or do you need to eat it the day you make it? It tasted amazing but the next day it was more soggy than crunchy. Still good tho. I have this problem with kale chips so I usually only make enough for one serving. I used the oven. Thanks for any tips and for a great recipe!
Genius adding kale to granola, I must try this. Thanks!
YUM!! I have seen “Greenola” at the store too…I didn’t make the purchase but you have me intrigued! It looks pretty tasty, and if it tastes like honey bunches of oats? count me in!
Wow, this recipe officially blows my mind. It’s so crazy that I might just have to try it out! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Oooh.. I have bunches of kale from my garden and this is now on my to do list! I would’ve never thought of kale granola… thanks for sharing!
This is genius.
Hi there! My name is Jessica, and I run a food blog, Floptimism. Every week I write a Weekend Wrap-Up post where I share some of my favorite web finds from the past week. I stumbled across this granola recipe and thought it was so unique, that I had to feature it on this week’s round up! I’ve included the link below in case you’re interested. Thank you for a great recipe idea, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the weekend!
http://www.floptimism.com/2013/08/weekend-wrap-up-new-beginnings.html#more-1006
I tried this yesterday (with the oven) and it was amazing! It had a slightly bolder flavor that’s really addicting. ^_^
I made this in the oven last night using frozen mango (fresh is not in season here), and it was delicious! Took about 37 minutes to get crisp. Thanks for such a great recipe!
★★★★★
I’ve been debating whether or not to buy a dehydrator and this has my curiosity peaked so much that I might invest in one. I can’t wait to try this! I just put my crock pot apple butter on so I can’t wait to see how it turns out! If this is successful I’m excited to try crackling cauliflower, I’m so happy I found your website.
Yay! Let me know how the apple butter turns out. 🙂
Tried this recipe…Burned it terribly but was still delicious!! Tried it again and wouldnt crisp, yet still delicious! Tried 300 and 350 oven with door ajar. Any thoughts on having it stay green and crisp but not burn? Could it be too much paste on it? Or too high temp for my particular oven? Tx so much!