I’m a little late jumping on the homemade granola train, but I am on board now and never getting off. I made my first batch a few weeks ago and it was a revelation. So much tastier than the stuff I’ve been buying (not cheaply) from the bulk section at the market. Why haven’t I made my own granola sooner?
I went looking through many recipes before I made that first batch, but nothing quite matched what I was in the mood for and what I had in my pantry. So I improvised. And I stumbled upon a fantastic secret. You do not need a recipe to make granola. At least, not a traditional one. What I’m going to share with you is not a recipe, but a formula that has potentially hundreds of variations.
What you’ll need to make your own granola:
- Old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking). This will serve as the base of your granola.
- Nuts. You can pick any kind, or a mixture of several kinds. Keep them whole or slice them up.
- A sweetener such as sugar, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- Oil or butter. Vegetable, olive, and coconut oils are fine, as is butter. It needs to be liquid, so if it is naturally solid (like butter) you’ll need to melt it.
- Flavorings and spices. These are optional, but definitely make your granola more interesting. Vanilla, almond or coconut extracts, cinnamon, ginger, and other spices are a few examples.
- Add-ins. Have fun playing up the granola to fit your preferences. Add more nuts, seeds, shredded coconut, dried fruits, or even chopped chocolate.
Get creative! The possibilities are endless.
For the granola you see here I threw in whole almonds and shredded coconut, and flavored it with both vanilla and coconut extracts and a hint of cinnamon. I mixed it all up with some melted butter and brown sugar. After a quick bake in the oven, I’m set for breakfast all week. Yogurt is a popular companion to granola, but I prefer it with a little milk and topped with sliced fruit. It’s my new favorite way to start the day.
Do you have a favorite granola recipe or flavor combination? I’d love to hear about it!
Here are some granola recipes from around the web:
Raspberry Maple-Pecan Granola from Family Fresh Cooking
Nutty Olive Oil Granola from Healthy Green Kitchen
Honey Nut Granola from Mountain Mama Cooks
Pumpkin Pie Granola from My Baking Addiction
Apple Cinnamon Granola from Two Peas and Their Pod
Blueberry Pistachio Granola from Vintage Mixer
Coconut Almond Granola from Cheeky Kitchen
Use this recipe to create your own granola. The possibilities are endless, get creative!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (180 grams) old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup sweetener such as sugar, maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil, vegetable oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
- 1 cup (140 grams) nuts, whole or sliced
- 1 - 2 cups of more nuts, shredded coconut, dried fruit, seeds, or chopped chocolate
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon flavoring such as vanilla, coconut, or almond extract
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon spice such as cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts and any other dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the oil/melted butter, extracts, and liquid sweetener, if using. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly so that everything is moistened.
- Spread out on a large sheet pan and bake until golden, 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool.
- Store granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to several weeks.
*For clumpy granola, increase the oil/butter and sweetener to 1/3 cup each and do not stir during baking. Break into clumps after granola has cooled.
*Add dried fruit during the last 10 minutes of baking. Do not add chocolate until granola has cooled.
*Shredded coconut burns easily, so keep an eye on it. You can also reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees F to be safe.
From www.completelydelicious.com
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24 Responses to How to Make Your Own Granola
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Hi, I'm Annalise and I love to bake. Welcome to my blog! Follow along as I try new recipes, share baking tips and tricks, and overindulge my sweet tooth.Current Favorites
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I’m all about the granola, snacks, breakfast, dessert! Lovely post
What a great base recipe Annalise! We love granola at our house but I’ll be honest, it’s taken me awhile to jump on that homemade train too. I think it’s just a time thing for me but I know with this recipe I could make a big batch on the weekend and it would last awhile!
I think it may have been a time thing for me too. But it’s so easy to throw together! Make a batch while you’re in the kitchen doing something else, it only takes a few minutes of active time!
Homemade granola is the only way to go!
I love that you have just a template here because every time I make granola, I’m craving something different!
I’m exactly the same way! I can’t leave well enough alone, I always have to do some tweaking. And as long as I stick to this formula I know it’s going to turn out great!
My mom always adds karo syrup as the sweetener…LOVE it.
Another great suggestion to add to the list!
Just happens that someone just posted on my blog that she had never made granola before … so I sent her your post
Thanks Becky!
Loving the blog, and I’m with you; why not make your own? My granola is an oddly personal thing, and it changes every time! My dwindling batch right now is pumpkin seed, currant, and candied lemon peel, and next up is almond, hemp nut, coconut, and chopped dates! It’s such an odd, fun, creative thing. Kashi’s all made from GMO soy anyway.
we’ve been buying granola for some time and we use it a lot for desserts and we just thought how awesome it would be to make our own granola and not have to buy and we looked up “how to make granola” and this popped up and we followed the recipe and loooooved it.
Now try making your own yogurt! Found a crockpot yogurt on youtube that is awesome! I’m eating my yogurt, granola and some fresh blueberries, thanks!
I would love to make my own yogurt. Good tip of looking on Youtube for help. Thanks!
I would like to know,, what is oat bran? I that a cereal or flour or what
Oat bran is the outer husk of the oat grain. All grains have three parts: Bran, germ, endosperm (which is the part they grind up to make flour). They sell oat bran separate as people like to add it to recipes as a way to add more fiber to your diet. Hope this helps.
Hi there how do you store my new granola ?
Store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It should last for up to 2 weeks or longer.
This looks really delicious and I’m going to try it right now! But how much oil should I use if I use if I don’t use the 1 cup of nuts and 1 cup of more nuts and dried fruit (basically using only oats)?
Maybe try cutting the oil in half and see how that is. You want the oats to be thoroughly moistened. Add more if needed.
Any idea why my oats keep coming out soggy? I have tried cooking a bit longer and they burn.
Hi,
How do you stir the contents in a shallow baking pan? Wouldn’t they go all over the oven? Should I just turn the oats over or try to move them around?
This might be a stupid question but that’s ok!
Stephanie
Not a stupid question!
I mix everything together in a large bowl before spreading it into a sheet pan to bake. Then to stir it while baking, I take it out of the oven and gently turn and stir the mixture with a spatula so it doesn’t spill. Then back into the oven it goes.
Hope this helps!
Making this tonight! Looks so yummy