This easy 5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola is a mashup of two favorite by-the-handful snacks into one sweet, salty, offbeat treat!
Just popping in spontaneously on a Saturday with a fun recipe for you!
Okay, the popcorn puns stop there, I promise.
I don’t usually post on Saturdays. But when one of my favorite childhood snacks finds it’s way into one of my other favorite topping/cereal/by the handful snacks, I can’t don’t want to wait until next week to share. And perhaps a little sweet-salty snacking is exactly what your weekend needs right now.
It’s tricky to think up a flavor concept that hasn’t already been granola-ed. Type “granola + {insert any fruit/flavor/spice/nut/sweetener here}” into google and you will probably find something. Probably more than one something even. Which is understandable, because granola is a perfect form for just about any flavor–salty, sweet, or (best of all) salty & sweet.
So instead of coming up with some sort of crazy novel flavor to add to the oil-free crunchy granola collection, I looked to the actual base ingredients instead. I love adding different textural variants to my granola to mix things up–rice crispies, popped quinoa, seeds, puffed cereals, coconut shreds, etc. And now I can add a new-found favorite to that list: popcorn! The popped, puffy “cereal” before puffed cereals were even cool.
Still crazy? Maybe.
But texturally fun and uniquely tasty? Definitely!
To let the popcorn be the star of this offbeat granola party, I kept the rest of the ingredients simple and minimal. Oats so the granola police don’t come after me. Maple syrup for sweetness and cluster-filled crunch. Salt, popcorn’s BFF. And cinnamon for a little spice. You could scale this popcorn granola back even further and leave out the cinnamon if you like, the salty sweetness is delicious without too.
Quick note. I do not recommend eating this granola as a cereal with milk. Popcorn is not a big fan of milk, or any liquids for that matter. Let’s just say soggy would be an understatement and you would be left holding a bowl of mushy cinnamon sadness. Save it for snacking and topping instead.
Happy salty, sweet, kettlecorn-reminiscent snacking!
Print5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Description
This easy 5 Ingredient Popcorn Granola is a mashup of two of the best by-the-handful snacks into one sweet-salty offbeat treat!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups air popped popcorn ((see video for an easy DIY microwave method))
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon ((optional))
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Combine the oats, popcorn, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
- Add the maple syrup and mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Transfer onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper, spreading into one thin layer. Firmly press the mixture together to form a solid rectangle, this makes for larger clusters after baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 375F.
- Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before breaking apart into chunks.
- Store in an airtight container. It will last for 1-2 weeks.
Just call me Feasting on Finger Food…
-Sweet and salty and CHOCOLATE snack sticks
–Chewy cake chunks that will draw all the bunnies out of there winter hiding spots
-Trust me, these little bites are 100% worth the sticky messy fingers
-A smoothie bowl + this on top = best breakfast of your entire week
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