Pistachio Cardamom Granola is a crunchy homemade granola with a decidedly Middle Eastern flair.
Some of my favorite recipes start out as a burning desire to taste a simple combination of flavors. In the Middle East pistachios and cardamom are a classic pairing in baklava, Turkish delight, and lots of pastries and cookies. The nuttiness of pistachios complements the floral, citrusy notes of cardamom, creating a really wonderful flavor profile ~ so why not try it in granola? My pistachio cardamom granola is a huge upgrade from plain commercial granolas, and it’s so easy to make!
what you’ll need for pistachio cardamom granola
It’s worth the effort to try to find a bag of unsalted nuts in their shells. They have an unusual sweet flavor that comes through when it’s not masked by all that salt. The color is much brighter, too. And it’s fun to see your treasure pile of green nuts grow as you pop them out of their shells.
- rolled oats
- old fashioned rolled oats are best for homemade granola, they’ll give you the best texture.
- pistachios
- you can use roasted or raw. I prefer raw, but they can be hard to find.
- sesame seeds
- ground cardamom
- almond oil
- honey
- vanilla extract
- jumbo raisins
Today I used ground cardamom for convenience, but if you really want the full experience of the aromatic cardamom flavor, roast and grind your own seeds. Just crack the pods open with a rolling pin, roast them in a dry pan until fragrant, and then remove and grind the little black seeds in a coffee grinder. You can get the step by step directions in my Cardamom and Coffee Pound Cake post.
I used jumbo golden raisins for a color contrast and sweetness, but apricots, dates or figs would be good, too. I usually put everything but the kitchen sink into my granolas, but here I want to keep the extras minimal to focus on the cardamom and pistachio.
This is the perfect granola to pair with Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt for an exotic breakfast.
Love cardamom?
I’ve got lots of cardamom recipes in my archives, some of them are all time favorites like my Cardamom Coffee Cake and the fan favorite Orange and Cardamom Muffins.
- Orange and Cardamom Muffin Recipe
- Cardamom and Coffee Truffles
- Cardamom Walnut Crescent Cookies
- Cardamom Crumb Cake
- Orange Cardamom Bread
- Jewish Cardamom Apple Cake
- Cardamom Sugar Cookies
- Cardamom Coffee Cake
Pistachio Cardamom Granola
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup almond oil
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup jumbo raisins
- 2/3 cups roasted unsalted pistachios*, rough chopped
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Mix the oats, cardamom and sesame seeds in a bowl.
- Whisk the oil, honey and vanilla together and pour over the oats, tossing well until all the oats are evenly coated.
- Spread out the oat mixture on a dry baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Watch it at the end, it can burn quickly.
- When the oats are golden brown, remove from the oven and add the nuts and raisins. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, then store in an airtight jar.
I found it to be kind of plain, taste wise. I like these ingredients but in this recipe it seems to need something more to boost the flavor. I’ll make it again with some additional ingredients to spice it up. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Make sure your oven is preheated and toast the granola for the full 15 minutes. I find that alone contributes a lot of flavor. If you like the vanilla/cardamom flavor profile then I would just increase both a bit, for more of a punch.
I made this for Easter Brunch! Every last bit got devoured 🙂
Made this and it’s a new favorite ~ love the aroma while it’s baking!
Regarding this recipe, where do I gets almond oil. Is it sweet? Thx, sparki
No, it’s not sweet, Sparki, it’s sold with the other oils, like olive and canola, right in the same section of your market.
You can substitute another oil like canola, safflower, or other vegetable oil if you like.
What a delicious combo of flavors, and beautiful colors for granola. I made it for a brunch and it got rave reviews from everybody.
Ha YES! i completely remember the red food dyed ones from what…like the eighties? Mom doesn’t love pistachios so we never had them, but i always wondered why anyone felt the need to dye them. and you’re right: SO difficult to find unsalted pistachios; i can’t find them in my normal grocery store, so i have to head out to either Whole Foods or another natural foods store to hunt for them. I love this granola; so filled with color, and tons of things i like in it (and i’m always happy with a new granola recipe to try, but you know that. I’m making this very soon.)
I adore pistachios and could eat a whole bag myself! What a delicious granola and I love the idea of cardamom in it too.
my problem with this is that i would promptly pick out all the pistachios and eat them, leaving everything else behind for a less enjoyable (but still delicious!) yogurt topping. 🙂