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The recipe title you see up there, while that is the short version.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Yeah, the short one.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

The original recipe name also included, pumpkin, pumpkin seeds and honeycrisp apples, but I realized that was just way too ridiculously long. Like come on, I cannot have a title that is three-lines long (well I could, but I shouldn’t). That is just too crazy, even for me. So autumn harvest granola came into play and it stuck. I like it better anyway. Did I ever tell you that harvest, is one of my very favorite words and autumn is probably my second? Because they totally are, hence the whole Half Baked Harvest thing.

Have I also ever told you that I despise the “Half Baked” part of Half Baked Harvest? Because I do, and if I could I would delete the Half Baked and just be Harvest, but at this stage of the game it’s not worth the confusion. Really though, I hate it and for reasons that were clearly not obvious to me as a young and naive sixteen year-old.

And I say sixteen because I actually bought and registered my domain name a full year and half before even writing my first post. It took me all that time to build up the courage. Pretty glad I finally did though!

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Also, time stinking flies. I know we all say this all the time (especially me), but whoa!! It just flies.

Which is why this year, I am SO not ready for the snow or Thanksgiving and not even Christmas. I mean I am beyond excited for both because they are my two favorite holidays, but this year I really just want to enjoy Halloween… without snow and before all the holiday talk. It’ll be kind hard though because snow is predicted for this week and with snow, I begin to think all things red, green and candy canes. Not gonna lie, one hour of my Sunday was spent looking at the most adorable Christmas bedding at Pottery Barn. SO CUTE. I want it.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Um ok, but back to all things fall. It’s the last day of September and I am so excited for October. I love Halloween. It’s my third favorite holiday (can you tell I love all end of the year holidays?). I am pretty excited to create some fun treats this year and um, dig into a lot of candy. Hey, what is October without a complete sugar high? Actually, I take that back, what is October, November and December without a complete sugar high? Isn’t that what January was made for? I think so.

Before we start that sugar rush though, how about some pretty top-notch, healthy granola? Promise, it tastes so good. Maybe not like a Reese, but good in its own awesome way.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

This is my first time adding quinoa to granola and I think it will be a regular from now on. I like the extra chew you get and it adds a ton of protein too, which will be good since we need our strength to lug those bags of candy around. You know, the ones you are going to be stealing from your kids at the end of October… yeah, those.

Obviously, now is the time to start building up people. I call it power planning.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

The only fall ingredient that’s missing in this granola is pomegranate arils. I am not a fan of baked pomegranate arils because I love them so much raw, so I added them on top with some yogurt or milk. Delicious.

I used a few honeycrisp apples, some pumpkin, pumpkin seeds and lots of pecans. This granola definitely fits the “autumn harvest” category.

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Rest 5 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 7 Cups
Calories Per Serving: 710 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl combine the oats, cooked quinoa, pecans, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and chopped apples. Toss well.
  • In a skillet or small sauce pot melt the butter over medium heat until just browned. The butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Once the butter is browned quickly remove from the heat and slowly stir in the maple syrup, pumpkin and coconut oil. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Stir in the vanilla.
  • Pour the warm mixture over the dry oat mixture and stir to fully combine. I normally stir for a good 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Spread the granola out onto two parchment lined baking sheet with sides and drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes stirring every 15 minutes so the granola will get evenly toasted. The last time you stir the granola, drizzle it with the remaining 2 tablespoons honey. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before storing. Store up to one week or longer if kept in the fridge.*

Notes

*Because of the apples used in this recipe, I recommend eating this granola within one week of baking. I have kept mine a solid two weeks and it is still delicious, but I live at 9,000 feet, so food stays fresher for longer up here. *Adapted from my [Brown Butter Pumpkin Seed and Expresso Glazed Big Cluster Granola | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/brown-butter-pumpkin-seed-espresso-glazed-big-cluster-granola/].
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Brown Butter Pecan + Maple Quinoa Autumn Harvest Granola | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Good till the last bite. PS. fresh apples in granola is SO awesome.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    OMG! I’m pretty sure I baked this for twice as long as the recipe says to, but once it got crispy…. sooooo good! The flavors coming together were amazing and I actually loved the texture of the cranberries after baking that long. It all made such a good bite! Thanks for another winner, Tieghan!

  2. 4 stars
    Super yummy! And a good change up from my traditional granola. It did take 50-60 minutes tho, not 30-40! But it eventually came out crispy and not burnt. 👌🏻 I skipped the apples because i didn’t have any.

  3. 1 star
    The apples and cooked quinoa prevent it from getting and or staying crispy. I made another granola recipe after this one with cooked quinoa and that seems to be the culprit for the softening. This recipe is also very very heavy on the sweetener.

  4. Hi, it’s delicious but it’s not crunchy at all. What did I do wrong? Do I need to cook it longer? It’s only been out of the oven for half an hour.

  5. 4 stars
    This is so yummy!! The flavours are amazing and well balanced with sweetness. I didn’t give it 5 stars bc it should say to add the dried cranberries after baking. By the time the granola was crunchy, the cranberries were so dry and chewy (some burned). I’ll definitely make this again but with the cranberries added after 🙂 thanks for the recipe!

    1. Hey Lauren,
      Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx

    2. I was just about to make this, so thank you for sharing that tip! Makes complete sense that they would burn before the rest of the ingredients had time to crisp up a bit. Looking forward to this delicious looking granola 🙂