Cooking for One

Tahini Pistachio Granola From Jenné Claiborne

by:
December  6, 2022
4.7
41 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

What You'll Need
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
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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30 Reviews

Raye A.
Raye A. November 1, 2024
Amazing recipe! I’ve made at least 10 different granola recipes but this one is the absolute best! My other recipes call for 300 degrees, but the fact that this one is 350 make the granola crunchy instead of soft like other homemade granola. The crunch is similar to the Purely Elizabeth brand but much less expensive since it’s homemade. I’ve made it at least 7 times in the last few months. I love the flavor combo. You can riff it if you want but I think it’s perfect as is. I usually eat it with yogurt and fruit, but it’s also really good with milk as a cereal.
 
monse
monse June 9, 2024
It's my go-to granola recipe. So versatile and easy to make. I replaced maple syrup with yacon syrup and added PaleoValley bone broth powder to increase the protein content and reduce the glucose spike oatmeal triggers. Overall, you can't go wrong with this as a base recipe and experiment from there.
 
Phunlife
Phunlife June 8, 2024
I was drawn to this recipe after watching Internet Shaquille's "DIY Granola Is Easier Than You Think" video on YouTube and just had to give this one a try. If we're strictly talking about the base recipe as written and nothing else, I have no choice but to give this two stars. I should have known based off the amount of tahini that I wasn't going to like the tahini flavor. Additionally, I perceived the base sweetness to not be enough so that needed to be increased. However, the customizability of this recipe really saves it. Switching out the tahini for almond/peanut butter and doubling the sweetener was the key for me.
 
Cynthia C.
Cynthia C. February 3, 2024
I made this for my family and we loved it. So easy and tasty. I made a triple batch to give as Christmas gifts to neighbors and received rave reviews including “the best granola I have ever tasted” from the neighborhood vegetarian master cook.

The only change I made was to add sumac as it was cooling because I like the hint of citrus flavor it gives.
 
m
m January 8, 2024
I love that this recipe is so versatile - I have made many times now, and lately used chopped almonds and almond butter in place of tahini and pistachios. Scrumptious. I also like it with walnuts and pepitas. It is so easy and delicious that it has become my go-to. Thank you!
 
LisaK216
LisaK216 December 12, 2023
This is hands-down, the best granola recipe I’ve tried. My entire family loves it and everywhere I share it I am asked for the recipe. It could not be easier to make, and is so deliciously satisfying! 10/10 recommend!
 
eb
eb May 15, 2023
Absolutely delicious! I added a little flaxseed, nutmeg, and cardamom, and look forward to it every morning.

It's high cal at around 500 a serving for four servings, but it's all good nutritious fats from the tahini and I like a filling breakfast personally. Had to keep it in the oven around 10 min longer than the recipe called for, but all ovens are different.
 
Jennifer
Jennifer April 11, 2023
This was very hard to not eat all of it in one day. Delicious. Didn't imagine it to be so good. Added dried cherries because I do like a dried fruit chew in my granola.
 
ellencherrycharles
ellencherrycharles April 8, 2023
This recipe is incredible. So good, simple, easy, wholesome.

I have made it twice (so far), and the one thing I’ll note is first time I used 2tbs of chia as indicated and ended up with about a tablespoon worth on the bottom of the pan/storage jar. Cut to 1tbs the second time and mostly avoided this issue.

Thanks to Jenné for this keeper. I LOVE the suggestion of gifting and adding some rose petals. Beautiful!
 
HK
HK March 28, 2023
This is absolutely delicious and so simple to make! I'm upset it took me so long to try it, because it's now my go-to granola recipe.
 
jamend
jamend March 26, 2023
This was perfect! Super clustery, perfect amount of crunch, not too sweet. 10/10!! Just had to add on a little bit more baking time but everyone's oven is different <3
 
brushjl
brushjl February 13, 2023
Rely good granola, I was looking for a way to get rid of my chia seeds.
 
mtrelaun
mtrelaun February 10, 2023
I really like this recipe but I have a question: can flax seed be substituted for chia? I am assuming that swapping one gellifying seed for another is probably ok but… thoughts?
 
Krispyecca
Krispyecca July 28, 2023
I don't really like chia seeds so I add flax instead of chia and it comes out very good.
 
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.