Nourish: Homemade Granola

Healthy Recipes

Nov 25

This homemade granola recipe is made with whole grains, unrefined oil, and naturally sweetened. It’s delicious and good for you, too — it’s an all-time favorite and one of my first ventures into cooking without a recipe and making it my own. It serves as a standalone hearty snack or healthy breakfast paired with fresh fruit and yogurt or milk. Not to mention, it stores beautifully, so it will make for a great gift (I like to gift in smaller mason jars). In short, it’s far superior to store-bought granola — healthier, tastier, and softer on your wallet!

The basic version of this recipe is super simple with oats, oil, salt and syrup/honey, and you’ll only need a medium mixing bowl and basic pantry ingredients. Once you have the basics down, you can play around with the ingredients to make your favorite version by adding a variety of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. That’s where the fun starts!

This recipe yields about 8 cups of granola or enough for about 16 half-cup servings.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
1 - 1 ½cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used sunflower seeds in this recipe)
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
¼ cup ground cinnamon (cinnamon gives it a nice flavor without overloading on sugar but you can always scale back here!)
½ cup melted olive oil or coconut oil (melted)
½ cup maple syrup or honey
½ cup coconut flakes (optional)
½ cup chia seeds (optional)
½ cup hemp hearts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also use a 9x13 glass baking pan but ensure to lightly coat the bottom with oil and I add 5-10 minutes to total bake time.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt, cinnamon, seeds, and hemp. Stir to blend.
Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer. Crowd the oats!
Bake until lightly golden, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway and giving the granola an extra smash down with the spatula to create clumpy goodness. The granola will crisp a bit more as it cools.
Let the granola cool undisturbed for a solid 60-minutes and I even let sit covered, overnight on top of the counter. Top with optional dried fruit and break the granola into pieces with your hands or a spoon to create chunks. **Chunkiness will vary from batch to batch!
Store your granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in sealed freezer bag for up to 2-3 months.

NOTES

This is a gluten-free recipe made with gluten-free oats. Make sure to check the label on the oats to ensure they’re certified gluten-free oats.
This is a nut-free recipe: you can use nuts such as pecans or walnuts but I’ve opted for sunflower seeds. You can also use pepitas or pumpkin seeds. This is also delicious without either!
If using the coconut flakes, stir in about halfway through the baking process to ensure they get nice and toasty.

Tip: I set my oven timer for 15 minutes, give it a stir halfway and depending on the toasty-ness, set my time for another 10-15 minutes.