Go Back
Print
Japanese Inspired Sesame Nori Granola: Sweet, salty and full of unami goodness, this is a great snack, and great for sprinkling in place of croutons on salads!

Savory Sesame Nori Granola

Closely adapted from Heidi Swanson.
Course snacks
Cuisine Japanese
Author TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup sugar (Heidi and I both prefer natural cane sugar)
  • 2 T water
  • 3 1/2 cups (12.5 oz, 350 g) old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T whole fennel seeds
  • 1 t dried orange peel (sold with spices)
  • 2 T white sesame seeds
  • 2 T black sesame seeds
  • 1 T shichimi togarashi (see notes above if you cannot find)
  • 1 1/2 cups (6 oz, 170 g) chopped cashews (she calls for raw but I just used roasted and it was fine)
  • 5 8-inch square nori sheets or 10 of the toasted and seasoned smaller nori sheets, crumbled into pieces 1/2 - 1 inch square
  • 1 1/2 t sea salt
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 1-2 T brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Combine the honey, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the beginnings of a boil, stirring. When the sugar is dissolved and the edges are bubbling, remove from the heat.
  3. in a large bowl, mix the oats, spices, orange peel, sesame seeds, shichimi togarashi, chopped cashews and crumbled nori. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Add the hot sugar mixture and stir again, until evenly moistened.
  5. Drizzle in the oil and mix again, stirring until the oil is evenly distributed.
  6. Spread the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet, getting it as even as possible.
  7. Bake the granola for 30-40 minutes; after the first 20 minutes, stir the granola and re-spread it out. Sprinkle with a few pinches of brown sugar.
  8. Repeat every 10 minutes until the granola is evenly browned. When you remove it from the oven, sprinkle it with brown sugar one last time.
  9. Let cool completely, during which time it will crisp completely.
  10. Store in an airtight container once cooled.