Cooking for One

Tahini Pistachio Granola From Jenné Claiborne

by:
December  6, 2022
4.7
19 Ratings
Tahini Pistachio Granola From Jenné Claiborne
Photo by MJ Kroeger. Food Stylist: Ericka Martins. Prop Stylist: Veronica Olson.
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

The reward-to-effort ratio of making your own granola is ever in your favor: All you have to do is stir and bake, and you’ll start to resent boxed granola’s one-note sweetness and muted crunch. Homemade granola is crackly, fresh, and exactly the way you like it.

But even among other simple, rewarding granola recipes, this one from Jenné Claiborne, author of the book and blog Sweet Potato Soul, stands out. It calls for less stirring, shorter baking, and fewer ingredients than most—you won’t even need oil, since the fat from ground sesame seeds in the Middle Eastern cooking staple tahini adds all the crisping power you need. I start thinking about it the second I wake up.

A tip for extra-colorful gifts (one of 3 riffs from Jenné in Simply Genius): Sprinkle in dried rose petals or other edible dried flowers after baking when you’re feeling fancy.

Excerpted from Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People (Ten Speed Press, September 27, 2022).

Hear more about this recipe from Jenné herself on our podcast The Genius Recipe Tapes.
 —Genius Recipes

Watch This Recipe
Tahini Pistachio Granola From Jenné Claiborne
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup (125g) well-stirred tahini
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 cups (180g) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 to 1 cups (60 to 120g) shelled raw pistachios (or another nut or pepitas)
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
In This Recipe
Directions
  1. Stir everything together: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the tahini, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt with a silicone spatula until it’s smooth and evenly combined. Stir in the oats, pistachios, and chia seeds.
  2. Bake the granola: Spread the wet, sticky oats onto the sheet pan in a thin, even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then, using oven mitts, take the pan out of the oven and stir the granola—this will help it finish baking evenly. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the granola is dry and golden brown, another 5 to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye toward the end to make sure it doesn’t start to burn at the edges.
  3. Eat: Let the granola cool completely to crisp up, about 20 minutes, before breaking it into clumps with your hands. Eat with your favorite yogurt or milk, in a smoothie bowl or parfait (a handy on-the-go breakfast in a jar), or by the handful as a snack.
  4. Store: The granola keeps well in a sealed container at room temperature for at least a week, or as long as it lasts.
  5. Great with: Blueberries, plain yogurt, a little olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
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  • Lhos Yvette
    Lhos Yvette
  • HillJ
    HillJ
  • Adi1945
    Adi1945
  • Lisa Simonds
    Lisa Simonds
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    Margaret Lukens
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15 Reviews

Lhos Y.
Lhos Y. January 26, 2023
It’s a good recipe, I actually dehydrated the granola instead of baking it fast. Seems to work out still very good. It just takes longer. That all being said this is very high in calories! It’s a lot for only 4 servings. I plugged the numbers in and just fyi it’s 2017 cal for all of it and 504 calories for just a serving! That’s a lot! I will split this to 8 servings anyway and next time I’ll add less of the tahini and maple syrup and less pistachios (I didn’t even add the chia seeds). The protein is 16g, carbs is 50g, fat is 28g. I decided to follow the recipe exact to see if I would be missing anything, but it did shock me a little when I plugged in the numbers. It’s good though.
 
HillJ
HillJ January 26, 2023
Soom’s tahini and their Silan in place of the maple syrup was my riff of choice. Pistachios and walnuts, the nutty pair. Timesaver recipe! Made a dbl batch.
 
K
K January 18, 2023
This is our new favourite granola. Perfect combo of nutty tahini and earthy sweet maple syrup. Thank you!
 
Anne-Marie B.
Anne-Marie B. January 15, 2023
It really is a granola waking up too! Just delicious !
 
Caroline
Caroline January 15, 2023
No more buying granola, this is wonderful! So much better than what you buy, and so easy to make. Next. Time I might try it with cashew butter.
 
Anne-Marie B.
Anne-Marie B. January 9, 2023
Absolutely delicious. Certainly a breakfast or snack to look forward to. Thank you.
 
Adi1945
Adi1945 January 2, 2023
Easy and delicious! Loved the flavor of the tahini.
 
Molly A.
Molly A. December 22, 2022
I make granola frequently and this is my new favorite. The easiest and simplest and oh-so-delicious! The tahini really shines and it clumped up beautifully. I actually like that it doesn't have dried fruit so I can serve it with whatever fresh, frozen, or dried fruit I have on hand and yogurt.
 
Lisa S.
Lisa S. December 18, 2022
Substituted peanut butter for tahini and turned our great. This is my go to granola recipe now!
 
ABeam
ABeam December 16, 2022
Made as written (used 3/4 c pistachios and 1/4 c pepitas), but baked for a total of 25 min (stirring after 10 and 20 min). Delicious!!
 
Maya R.
Maya R. December 10, 2022
Omg nothing makes the kitchen smell better or is an easier holiday gift than this. So delicious.
 
Margaret L.
Margaret L. December 9, 2022
Recipe worked perfectly as written. It yielded 5 cups for me, so quite a bit more than 4 servings, more like 8-10. Don't overlook the warning to watch it to prevent burning -- the baking goes fast at the end. This recipe is the least sweet of all my granola recipes, and I ate it with plain sheep's milk yogurt. Next time I might try decreasing the salt and adding some dried fruit, maybe small bits of apricots, or serving it with sweetened yogurt instead.
 
Nancy M.
Nancy M. December 9, 2022
I'm eating a bowl of this right now, with vanilla yogurt. Delicious! It took about 15 minutes longer to bake than the recipe indicated and I didn't use chia seeds. The olive oil granola on this site is still the GOAT, but this also a keeper.
 
anne B.
anne B. December 9, 2022
I was anxious to try this - I have my favorite granola, but was intrigued by the quickness of this recipe.
This is SO good - and SO easy! The tahini adds a nutty taste and the whole thing is addictive. I used pecans cause that's what I had and loved it.
Thanks for a great recipe
 
fearlessem
fearlessem December 8, 2022
Unfortunately this was not a winner for me. First the ratio seemed way off, with just two cups of oats this felt like it would be waaaaay too tahini heavy. I added another 1.5 cups of oats and while it clumped well I still found the bitterness of the tahini flavor overwhelming.