Homemade granola is my new obsession. At least it is a healthy obsession. Unless I eat the entire batch in one day as I have wanted to do each time I have made it.
The key to awesome healthy granola is in the ratio
- 3 cups of plain oatmeal (old fashioned or quick)
- 2 cups of nuts or seeds
- 1 cup of dried fruit
- ½ cup of liquid sweetener
- ⅓ cup of oil
You really need the sweetener and oil, especially if you want small clusters. This makes at least 6 bowls of cereal, so you aren't eating a ½ cup of maple syrup in one sitting. Unless you eat the whole batch at once... I am not judging.
There are so many combinations possible, so I made a little mix and match suggestion chart (feel free to pin it!)
I have been experimenting with different combinations mostly depending on what I have in the house. Some combinations I still want to try:
- tropical: macadamia nuts, coconut, pineapple and mango with coconut oil
- caramel apple: walnuts, apple chips, butter and brown sugar with some vanilla and cinnamon
- almond joy: almonds, coconut, chocolate (instead of fruit) with cocoa butter for the fat
What combination would you like to try? Let me know in the comments below.
Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked oats (old fashioned or quick)
- 2 cups nuts (roughly chopped)
- 1 cup dried fruit (cut in pieces if needed)
- ½ cup liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.)
- ⅓ cup fat (canola oil, sunflower oils, coconut oil, cocoa butter, butter)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Combine oats and nuts in a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan heat, sweetener and fat until warm.
- Pour over oats and nuts and stir until everything is coated.
- Spread mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
- To make "clusters", immediately press down firmly on the mixture with a paper towel. Let cool. Break into smaller pieces.
- When cool, combine granola with dried fruit. Store in an air tight container.
More Healthy Breakfast
Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey
Mother of 3
I love that your recipe has a whole list of possible ingredients and substitutions. I keep meaning to make my own granola to add to my plain yogurt in the morning but never remember to buy all the ingredients to the recipes; but I'm betting I can go through yours and find at least one thing from each category in my pantry right now. Thanks for sharing and for hosting.
Audrey
Mine has been a pantry mix every time I have made it, and it has been delicious. But I am going to try the tropical or almond joy next time.
Tammy
I love how flexible this is -- that I can pick my favorite sweetener, etc. Thanks for sharing it.
Audrey
The original recipe uses a mix of maple and honey (which is wonderful) but might not be as good with some flavor combinations.