BBQ Granola

Have you ever heard of bbq flavored granola? Savory, sweet, slightly smoky, and crispy-crunchy.

Neither had I! It’s totally addictive, like sitting by a campfire. You’ll be munching on this by the handful.

Last week I had a very special delivery from Timothy Kansas. He claims Kansas bbq sauce is the best, so I asked for a picture of the ingredients label. I wanted to make a homemade version. Instead I got a huge yellow box with 4 bottles of bbq sauce, 2 bottles of dry spice mix, and these instructions: “You’ll have to let me know what your fave is… no pressure but there IS a right answer.” Up to the challenge, I opened all four bottles. There was a lot of dipping over the next few days. After a while, my coworker reminded me that bbq sauce is meant to be eaten ON something, not straight up licked off a chopstick.

So I made bbq granola.

I had such a craving for crunchy homemade granola, and it just made sense to flavor it with a hint of bbq sauce. If we have bbq potato chips, why not bbq granola?? I simply replaced 2 tablespoons of maple syrup with 2 tablespoons of bbq sauce. Throw in some toasted chopped pecans and dried fruit if you like, and you’ve got yourself a delicious bbq snack for any time of day. Use your favorite bbq sauce or try to get your hands on the two below.

My picks for Kansas City style bbq sauce:

1. Gates Original Classic. CORRECT! Of course it won, it’s made with vine ripe tomatoes. Super bold flavor. “Will have to ship you their extra spicy at some point.” Okay, I’ll have to get an extra fridge at some point.

2. Cowtown. “A respectable choice – it’s sort of the young Turk in the whole mix.” However, “it’s actually from a place called Oklahoma Joes (the source of my animosity).” Ok boss. I just like the name. And the tanginess. And the liquid smoke. But mostly just the dancing cows on the label.

I’ve been inspired by other bloggers on Instagram to make these artsy smoothie bowls 🙂 This one is half frozen strawberry-banana and half whole milk yogurt, with extra fruit slices and a sprinkling of granola. Now I know what you’re thinking – bbq granola on a smoothie bowl?? I was a little skeptical at first too, but a lot more curious. Surprisingly, my strawberry-banana smoothie tasted sweeter than ever, and it instantly brought out the delicious smokiness of the granola. This is as close to vegan bacon as I’ll get for now.

Next time I’ll be posting a clever time-saving cooking trick using bbq sauce.