Camp Recipe: Vegan Stovetop Granola
Before I talk about this vegan stovetop granola, I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to create an Instagram account dedicated solely to camp recipes and vegan travel. While the thought of managing two IG accounts makes my head spin, I think it is the right decision. I’ve created a dedicated following of dog lovers, cycle tourists, and adventure seekers @longhaultrekkers, so when I post the odd vegan food photo, it just doesn’t fit the theme. I’ve reincarnated my personal account that I hadn’t used since we departed, for sake of ease. So without further ado, I bring you @messkitmaven. I hope you’ll follow along!
Nearly every morning in my non-cycle touring life, I eat either a thick smoothie bowl or my favorite raw buckwheat groat porridge with homemade granola and fruit. As you can imagine, blenders a a bit bulky to carry on a bicycle, so I’m left dreaming of the day I am once again reunited with my Vitamix to create my favorite breakfasts.
Since I can’t make smoothies or groat porridge on the road, our breakfast nearly every day for over a year was oats. Overnight muesli with macerated strawberries. Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats. Cooked oats. Raw oats with powered soy milk. I can no longer stand the sight of mushy oats. No amount of cinnamon can make me want to see oatmeal for a very long time.
I can, however, still stomach toasted oats. At home, I’d make a batch of granola every other week or so and since I don’t have an oven, I’ve resorted to creating a stovetop granola. I’m still making attempts to develop a granola that clumps together, like I make at home, but for the time being, this does the trick.
These take about as long to make in the morning as does hot oatmeal, so there’s no need to fret about lost time cooking breakfast. Plus, you can make a bigger batch and store for the days ahead.
I use the granola to top our fruit salads, alongside cooked apples or pears in the fall (recipe coming soon!), or I mix it in with fresh fruit in the rare case we can find plant-based yogurt. It also makes a great snack.
Since I typically carry around a large bag of homemade muesli (basically, I dump a bag of oats, a small bag or two of nuts and seeds, and some sort of dried fruit like raisins or dried cranberries into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, give it a shake, and voilà – eternal brekkie) around so I don’t have to shop for breakfast each day, I just measure out the right amount and get to toasting.
This simple camp recipe requires just a few ingredients and comes together in a pinch! Let me know your thoughts if you give this vegan stovetop granola a try.
VEGAN STOVETOP GRANOLA
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups of muesli
- 1 T oil (if I had access to coconut oil, that’s what I would use, olive oil would be my next choice. And if you can’t find either for a reasonable price or at all, then another vegetable oil will suffice)
- 2 T liquid sweetener like maple syrup or agave
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a frying pan over medium heat, heat the oil and sweetener together until combined.
- Add the muesli, salt, and cinnamon and stir to coat until covered in the oil and sweetener mixture.
- Stir the granola frequently for 3-5 minutes, until the oats are nuts are toasted and fragrant, but not burnt.
- Remove from heat, sir in the vanilla, and set aside to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
Jen is a writer, photographer, camp recipe developer, and blogger at Long Haul Trekkers. In April 2015, she and her partner quit their jobs and, with their Australian Shepherd, Sora, left their Portland, OR, home to cycle tour in Europe. They have cycled from Oslo to Greece, via the Balkans and Turkey and are now on a journey in South America. Follow their adventures at longhaultrekkers.com, or at Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.