Strawberry-Pistachio Granola
with a simplified ingredient list
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I once heard Amanda Hesser, former NYT columnist and founder of Food52, say she rarely cooks the same thing twice. Aside from recipe testing, I pretty much do the same. I seldom follow a recipe when I’m just making dinner for me and my boyfriend. Great for minimizing food waste, less great for making a living in a world where “what’s the recipe?” is practically a greeting.
Whenever I say I prefer cooking to baking, people love to remind me, “Baking is a science!” Granola, however, lives in that sweet spot between the two. Make it often enough, and suddenly you’re a more confident baker. Swap cardamom for cinnamon? Delicious. Peanuts instead of almonds? Fantastic with berries. Stir in a little ground flax and water to bind? Who are you, Bill Nye?!
The real trick to shatteringly crisp, clumpy granola? Treat it like a Nature Valley bar. Press it firmly onto a parchment-lined sheet before baking, let it cool into slabs, then break it into chunks. Deeply satisfying.
I’ve been on a crispy freeze-dried fruit kick for years. If we’re being honest, since my high school days of Special K with Red Berries. I love how they start out light and crisp, then turn pleasantly squishy in milk or yogurt.
This granola is stripped down to the essentials because, well, everything is expensive right now. It’s also the perfect thing to make after a pantry/fridge/freezer clean out. Swap the pistachios (a luxury nut $$$, let’s be real) for whatever nuts or seeds you have, but keep them raw. They’ll toast up beautifully in the oven. Swap the freeze-dried fruit for any other dried fruit you like, or none at all. I saw some of the first sweet California-grown strawberries of the season at Berkeley Bowl recently. Spring is near.
This recipe is part of ’s Great American Granola Exchange, a cross-country swap where 300 people (including
, , & ) are mailing homemade granola to each other, including to families impacted by the LA wildfires.
Strawberry-Pistachio Granola
Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raw pistachios, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 (1.2-ounce) bag freeze-dried strawberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
Directions:
Heat oven to 325F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, pistachios, maple syrup, olive oil, chia seeds, cardamom and salt. Spread evenly onto baking sheet, pressing down with a spatula.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until dark brown, rotating the pan once during baking, but don’t stir. Remove from oven and press down with a spatula again.
Let cool completely before breaking into pieces. Stir in freeze-dried srawberries (we add them now so they don’t get soggy). Store in an airtight container on the counter.