Easy Granola (with okara and oats)
Finally able to come back and offer a recipe, this is simple, easily modified and doesn’t seem to last long enough at our house to have for breakfast the next day.
Preheat oven to 325. Combine:
- 1 cup okara
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- A pinch of salt
Mix in:
- 3 cups oats
Spread this on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 50 minutes, turning after 15 minutes and then every 10 until the granola is evenly toasted. Use a spatula to slide unter and flip the granola rather than stirring to leave chunks intact. Shake the pan a little to even out the thickness after each turning. Small stray bits on the edge of the pan tend to brown rapidly so it’s good to work them over to the edge of the bulk before placing it back in the oven. Watch it carefully at the end because it can go from done to burned very quickly.
Taste testing should be done after it has a chance to cool as the granola will not be crunchy until after it has cooled a little bit. Chopped nuts can be added before baking or after, it works well to add them to the okara and honey mixture. If you want dried fruit in the granola mix it in when still hot from the oven but do not add it before baking. If this isn’t chunky enough for you, try adding extra oil or some nut butter.
While experimenting with this I tried a recipe for a granola that was made with okara and no oats. I thought it might make some interesting clusters to throw in with the other granola, and it would work for that but for the most part it was a disappointment (kind of sawdusty but vanilla-sweet at the same time) so I’m not sharing that recipe but am working on modifying that recipe to make it into those interesting clusters I had hoped to achieve. My son is working on a cracker recipe and I’ve been playing around with making soy nuts as well, so more recipes will be posted soon.
June 21st, 2010 at 6:32 am
Hi, I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with Okara Granola recently myself. It tastes great with lots of nuts, seeds, dry fruits, coconut etc in it, but it’s not cheap and not all that low-fat anymore either. I was hoping to just use the okara with as few other ingredients as possible, so I will try this recipe next. Only question is are the oats quick cooking or rolled type? BTW, did you ever have luck with Okara crackers?
June 25th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
I used regular old grocery store brand old-fashioned oats but imagine that a nice rolled oat would be superior. Oats tend to be interchangable in a large way (imo) and what you use may be more easily dictated by your preferences (and I personally don’t buy quick oats at all.)
Need beans and this experimentation will begin again. Sorry, no further info on okara crackers. Please do share your results!
June 25th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
OK, I’m going to give your recipe a try with old-fashioned rolled oats, as I prefer them to instant, too. Ironically, the quaker instant oats are more expensive than rolled oats, but recipes call for them because they blend in better, I suppose.
Thanks again.
William
June 30th, 2010 at 8:04 am
HI, I tinkered with your recipe today (see below) and it made my best okara granola to date!
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
55minutes at 160celsius, turning every 20-30 minutes.
Can be eaten for snack or in cereal.
William