No Waste Nut Pulp Granola Recipe | The First Mess (2024)

FAQs

What ingredient makes granola clump together? ›

Clumpy Granola Method: Add Egg White

About this method: According to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, “Nothing glues like protein.” While there are many granola recipes that include an egg white, I got this tip from the Big Cluster Maple Granola recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

You need to stir the granola as it bakes to encourage even toasting. But, about halfway through the total bake time, just let it be. As the sugars caramelize, they cause the ingredients to stick together and eventually form those oh-so-desirable clusters.

Not only can you transform that soggy, chewy granola back to being blissfully crunchy, but it's easier than you might think. All it takes is spreading the granola in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and heating it in a 400 degree oven for five minutes — essentially re-baking it.

Spread your nut milk pulp onto a baking-lined tray and dry it at your oven's lowest temperature. Once your pulp is dry, roughly crumble it up and use in place of bread crumbs as a topping or breading.

Nut butter is a super flavorful fat that serves multiple purposes in granola. It acts as a binding agent—along with additional coconut oil and whatever natural sweetener I've chosen—helping to pull the dry ingredients together into a wet, sticky mass for baking.

While there are several different sticky ingredients that you can use, we've found that the binding agent that works the best is honey! When added to your homemade granola bars, honey acts as glue that sticks all the pieces together.

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper if you have it, otherwise don't worry about lining the sheet. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sweetener, spices, and salt.

Your homemade granola will continue to crisp up as it cools. It's tempting to start eating it as soon as it comes out of the oven, but if you let it rest for 15 minutes on the sheet pan, it'll be extra crisp and toasty – totally worth the wait!

First, press the granola into an even layer before you put it in the oven. Then, stir it only once halfway through cooking. For really good clumps, press down on the finished granola before it cools and avoid jostling it on the pan until cooled completely. Know when the granola is done.

There are other ways to achieve clumpier granola. You can add more fat (in the form of butter or oil). If you're shooting for a somewhat healthy result, you can add some other binder, like an egg white or applesauce.

How to know when homemade granola is done? ›

Keep an eye on your granola and change the oven temperature and cook time as needed. You'll know it's done when the granola and any nuts or seeds begin to brown, but not burn, and the granola is still slightly damp from the wet ingredients.

This depends on what you need from your non-dairy milk. Walnut milk is a better source of omega-3 fatty acids, but almond milk is higher in antioxidant vitamin E and is more commonly fortified with helpful nutrients like calcium and vitamin D.

What's leftover from the process of making almond milk is almond pulp. The almond pulp is then dried in the oven at a low temperature, left on the counter to cool overnight, and finally, processed into almond meal using a food processor or high-speed blender.

Ideally soak the nuts 1 to 2 days before blending. This helps to soften the nuts so that you get the most of out them. The softer they are the more easily they break down in the blender, which means better milk. If you did not plan ahead, then at least soak the nuts for 2 to 3 hours before blending.

If your granola bars are falling apart or seem too crumbly, here are a few tips. Make sure you use honey or another sticky sweetener such as maple syrup in the liquid part of the recipe; this recipe calls for honey. This will help bind together the ingredients and keep that signature bar shape.

Honey – Along with the nut butter, it helps all these ingredients stick together!

Overnight granola: Alternatively, bake the granola for 10 minutes at a higher temperature -- 375° F -- then turn off the oven and leave the granola in overnight. You'll end up with clusters like you've never seen them before.

I baked them all for one hour at 325° F and employed the method I always use to ensure maximum clumping action: Do not stir (at all!), then wait for the granola to cool completely in the oven before touching it. And clearly, my methodology works—all three sheets produced plenty of clumps!