How to Make Healthy Homemade Granola (Recipe)
There’s something about the smell of warm granola cooking in the oven, earthy and sweet, that means home to me. When I was a kid I would smell it from up in my room, and I could just picture my mom mixing it up, spreading it on baking sheets, and tending the oven to pull it out at just the right time. She even made sure to leave a few big chunks for me not broken up, just how I liked it. I’m lucky in that we were never without fresh granola - as soon as my mom noticed the jar getting low, she would quickly pop another batch in the oven to fill up the jar all over again.
Now I keep a never-ending supply of granola on my own kitchen counter to fill my own house with the aroma of earth and sweetness and home. There really is nothing quite so comforting as the scent of warm granola cooling on the stovetop! You can mix up the flavors to complement the season with cinnamon and pumpkin seeds in the fall, pecans and allspice in the winter, apricots and almonds in the spring, and dried raspberries and blueberries in the summer. Granola also makes a great personalized zero waste edible homemade gift for the holidays - just pop your favorite blend of granola in a mason jar with a cute wooden lid and add some twine and a ribbon for a thoughtful, edible gift everyone will love.
Granola is my favorite mid-afternoon snack with berries and oat milk, and the best thing to bring on a day hike in the woods. What could be more satisfying than sitting down with a Stasher bag filled with granola after a long and strenuous hike in nature? It’s the perfect filling snack.
Why Make Homemade Granola?
There are plenty of tasty granolas available to buy, so why take the time to make your own?
The granola you find at stores is expensive, and making it yourself is much less so. You’ll also have complete control over the ingredients you choose, and won’t add any more packaging to our overburdened planet. And granola is so easy to make!
Homemade granola is healthy, delicious, vegan, and gluten-free (check your oatmeal’s packaging to be sure it is not processed in a factory that also processes products with gluten). It’s also completely customizable.
There’s no need to ever make exactly the same granola twice. Once you’ve mastered the basic method for making homemade granola, you’ll have a feel for it and can begin to make substitutions in oils and sweeteners, and try out additional ingredients.
The basic ingredients of granola are rolled oats, sweetener, oil, and salt. That’s it. And it tastes amazing!
As the main ingredient of the recipe, whole grain oats deliver lots of health benefits and are very filling. They’re anti-inflammatory, both inside the body and to the skin, which is why they’re often used in baths to soothe inflammatory conditions such as eczema.
But why stop at four ingredients when there are other delicious and nutritious foods you can add to take your granola up a level?
Delicious Add-Ins for Granola
The best part about granola is making it your own with different spices, fruits, nuts, seeds and sweeteners. It would be impossible to list all the delicious add-ins you could include in your homemade granola recipe, but here are some ideas to get you started:
Spices:
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Allspice
Ginger
Nuts and seeds:
Both nuts and seeds provide protein, fiber, healthy fats, and other vitamins, magnesium, and other nutrients. Walnuts, chia, and flax seeds are great sources of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.
Nuts can be used whole, or you can break them up if you want them to be more integrated into the granola. Mix and match what you’d like, and use it in place of 1 cup of the oatmeal.
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Chia seeds
Ground flax seed
Almonds
Pecans
Walnuts
Dried fruit:
In some ways, dried fruits are even better for you than fresh. They contain more fiber and antioxidants which can help lower your chances of developing heart disease, some kinds of cancer, and diabetes.
Raisins
Cranberries
Dates
Apricots
Fig
Banana chips
Cherries
Shaved coconut
Candied orange peel
Flavorings:
Peanut or almond butter
Molasses
Orange zest
Chocolate chips
Cacao nibs
Vanilla
Applesauce
Substitutions for a Homemade Granola Recipe
Experimenting with different oils and sweeteners can take the flavor of your granola in different directions.
Oils:
You can completely replace the vegetable oil with other edible oils, or add a dollop of butter to your oil of choice.
Vegetable oil
Coconut oil
Olive Oil
Butter
Sweeteners:
I love the flavor of maple syrup, and the inflammation-reducing antioxidants, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and calcium that come along with it. But different sweeteners can make a huge difference to the flavor, and also the texture, of your granola.
A crunchy granola is a great option, but if you’d like a chewy granola you could try substituting the maple syrup with honey, for example.
Maple syrup
Honey
Agave
Molasses
Simple Vegan Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled oats, or 4 cups oats and 1 cup nuts
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pinches of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300°F
- Mix the ingredients in the order listed, stirring between each, until well combined.
- Spread the granola in an even layer on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then stir it around a bit.
- Bake for 10 minutes and stir it again.
- Bake 10 more minutes, and you’re done.
Notes
Customize this simple vegan granola recipe by adding your favorite dried nuts and seeds or fruits and switching up the oil and sugar.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
138.29Fat
3.49Sat. Fat
0.61Carbs
24.98Fiber
2.69Net carbs
23.54Sugar
14.18Protein
2.24Sodium
35.8Cholesterol
0Recipe: Homemade Healthy Granola
Supplies:
2 baking sheets lined with Silpat or parchment paper
A spoon or spatula
A large mixing bowl
Ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats, or 4 cups oats and 1 cup nuts
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 cup pure maple syrup
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pinches of salt
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Mix the ingredients in the order listed, stirring between each, until well combined.
Spread the granola in an even layer on the baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes, then stir it around a bit.
Bake for 10 minutes and stir it again.
Bake 10 more minutes, and you’re done.
Tips for Making Granola
Keep an eye on the granola for the last 10 minutes. Ovens vary, and there’s a short line between done and slightly burned.
The more granola you make, the better you’ll be at judging when it’s ready. You are looking for toasty and golden brown. It may feel a bit soft when you first remove it from the oven. If that happens and you’re not sure if it’s done, take a taste-sized bit out of the oven, let it sit for 1 minute, and then try it.
If you are adding other ingredients, you may need to adjust the amount of oil you use. Many granola recipes will suggest you use equal amounts of oil and sugar. I find that to be too oily. Aim for your oats to be coated, but not soggy with oil.
You can adjust the amount of salt, but don’t remove it completely. The salt enhances each flavor, and helps to bring them all together.
If you’d like your granola to be clumpy rather than loose, press it down with a spatula or the back of a spoon after you’ve done your last stir, and then again when you take it out of the oven.
If you add dried fruit while the granola is still warm, then press it down, that will also help hold the granola together. If you’d like it looser, add the fruit after the granola has cooled. If you’d like it to cook with the granola, only add it for the last 10 or 15 minutes.
If adding nut butter, melt it slightly and combine it with the maple syrup. Vanilla should also be added to a liquid, so that it will coat the oats more evenly.
Chocolate chips can be added after the granola has cooled, or while it’s slightly warm if you’d like it to melt into the oats a bit.
Mistakes to Avoid When Making Granola
If you put an uneven amount of granola on each baking sheet, they will cook at different rates. Be consistent with the amount of granola on each of the baking sheets, so both will cook at the same speed.
Make sure your layer of granola does not thin out around the edges. It is easy to burn granola, and thinner areas will cook much faster.
Coconut shavings burn easily. Don’t add them until the last stir if you’d like them toasted, or after the granola is out of the oven if you’d like them untoasted.
Storing Homemade Granola
Store your granola in an airtight container. It looks pretty in a glass jar on the counter, but a Ziploc will also do.
If you make a large batch, you can store some in the freezer to thaw for later use.
How to Use Granola
Granola is a great snack on it’s own, but there are also tons of ways to use it as an ingredient with other foods:
Ways to use granola
As cereal, in milk or kefir with berries and chocolate chips
On yogurt with a sliced banana
As a crunchy top for muffins or apple cake
On ice cream
Defrost frozen berries in a bowl, then add yogurt and granola for a delicious breakfast
On pancakes with maple syrup
On a salad
