Raw Nutty Buckwheat Granola

If you follow The Colorful Kitchen on Instagram you may have seen some of my photos of green smoothies topped with buckwheat granola. I’ve been on a little of a buckwheat granola kick lately! A few months ago a friend introduced me to this gluten-free, buckwheat-based granola (found in the bulk bins at Whole Foods) and ever since I’ve been on a mission to create a granola that’s just as crunchy and delicious but with far fewer ingredients. After much experimentation, my recipe for Raw Nutty Buckwheat Granola was born!

Although it has “wheat” in it’s name, buckwheat is a gluten-free grain. In order to consume it raw it needs to be sprouted, which means you soak it overnight (or at least 8 hours) before it’s ready to be used in the recipe. I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible, so it calls for a cup of your choice of nuts or seeds. For the batch in this photo I used almonds and pumpkin seeds but feel free to try cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds or hemp! You’ll want to soak the nuts and seeds ahead of time for this recipe. For more on soaking, here’s an article from Vegetarian Times that talks a little about why it’s a good idea to soak, plus there’s a handy soaking time chart!

This recipe calls for the use of a dehydrator. I haven’t tried baking this granola in the oven, but if you don’t have a dehydrator you should be able to experiment baking it at a low temperature. If anyone tries this I would love to hear how it goes!

Raw Nutty Buckwheat Granola

makes 8 servings

What you’ll need:

2 cups buckwheat groats (soaked at least 8 hours ahead)
1 cup you choice of nuts and/or seeds (soaked ahead of time)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Rinse buckwheat groats and nuts. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly.
Spread mixture over teflex sheets on dehydrator trays. There should be enough for 2 trays.
Dehydrate at 115° for 20-24 hours, rotating trays and flipping granola with spatula after 12 hours.
Store in airtight container and enjoy with nutmilk, coconut