Homemade Granola

Easy Granola

A jar of homemade granola in your home is like a little gift you’ve given yourself that—I always feel so pleased with myself when I bake up a batch and find many reasons to walk by the jar and grab a handful. 

Granola is so customizable that once you start playing around with it, making granola can become almost as addictive as the granola itself. Although you will not actually be making the granola on a weekday morning, unless you plan to get up extra early, it will become a fantastic everyday breakfast staple in your home.

You’ve probably read all about how most store-bought granolas have so much fat and sugar in them that you’d be better off eating a slab of French toast drizzled with syrup atop a plate of eggs Benedict for breakfast. And let’s face it, that’s why those granolas taste so decadent.

You will notice that this recipe also has a bit of fat and sweetening in it, because otherwise the granola would in fact not taste so great (and it does taste great), but it is a much more tolerable amount than what you will find in most of the stuff you can buy. The granola keeps well, so feel free to double or triple the recipe.

Homemade Granola is so easy to make and this customizable granola recipe will become a loved staple in your house.

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For breakfast with milk, delicious, but if you are a granola person, relegating granola to breakfast simply will not do. You will start to look for opportunities to work granola into different corners of the day. Here are some ideas to get you started.

What to Serve with Granola

Use granola as a topping for yogurt, plain or flavored, and maybe some fresh fruit, too, layered up all parfait-like; on ice cream; on oatmeal for some nice contrasting texture; in a little cup, as a dip for a banana—dip, bite, repeat; as a topping for a fruit crisp—sprinkle it on, dot it with tiny pieces of butter, and bake.

The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Trial and error confirmed that cooking the fruit for the whole 1 ¼ hours made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 45 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix. If you want your granola crunchier, bake the oat part for a bit longer before stirring in the fruit.  It last for three weeks in a tightly sealed container.

Read on, for how to make homemade granola.  Granola, all day, every day.

How to Make Homemade Granola

Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Place the honey, maple syrup, egg whites, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using, in a large bowl and mix until well blended.

Set 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture aside in a medium-size bowl. Add the oats and nuts, if using, to the large bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and coated.

Add the dried fruit to the reserved 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture and stir to combine. Set the dried fruit mixture aside.

Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat it lightly with oil, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture out on the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes.

The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Trial and error confirmed that cooking the fruit for the whole hour made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 30 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix.

Add the dried fruit mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a spoon mixture or spatula to combine.

Spread the granola out again in an even layer.

Bake the granola until the oats are golden brown and crunchy, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring it once more halfway through the baking time but leave some clumps!

Let the granola cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.

Make Ahead Granola

This granola keeps for three weeks in a cool place, well sealed (though I have never once had it last that long).

What the Kids Can Do

Measure and mix and spread everything out on the baking sheet. With supervision regarding the hot baking sheet, they can gently stir the granola during baking.

Other Breakfast Recipes:

• Creamy Stuffed Breakfast Crepes
• Beet Berry Smoothie Bowl
• Berry Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
• Dutch Baby Pancake with Sauteed Apples

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Crunchy Chewy Granola

This easy and customizable granola recipe will become a loved staple in your house.

Yield: 12 People

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 large egg whites see Note
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil plus oil for the baking sheet (optional)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
• ½ teaspoon grated orange zest optional
• 4 cups old-fashioned oats not quick-cooking
• 1 cup chopped unsalted nuts such as walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, or almonds (optional)
• 2 cups mixed chopped dried fruit such as apricots or prunes, and/or dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, and raisins
• Nonstick cooking spray optional

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 275°F.
• Place the honey, maple syrup, egg whites, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using, in a large bowl and mix until well blended. Set 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture aside in a medium-size bowl. Add the oats and nuts, if using, to the large bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and coated.
• Add the dried fruit to the reserved 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture and stir to combine. Set the dried fruit mixture aside.
• Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat it lightly with oil, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture out on the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes (see Cooking Tip).
• Add the dried fruit mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a spoon mixture or spatula to combine. Spread the granola out again in an even layer. Bake the granola until the oats are golden brown and crunchy, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring it once more halfway through the baking time but leave some clumps! Let the granola cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.

Notes

Cooking Tip 

The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Trial and error confirmed that cooking the fruit for the whole hour made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 30 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix.

 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg

The nutrition values are provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.

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