Get creative in making your own healthy homemade granola, and you’ll be looking forward to breakfast. It’s cheap, easy to make, and bursting with goodness.
The joy of making your own granola is that you can pick and choose your ingredients, many of which you may already have in the cupboard or pantry. You can also decide how crunchy, chewy, and sticky you want it to be. You can mix and match ingredients, and swap some in and out, giving you a number of choices. Our favorite healthy homemade granola recipe lets you choose your favorite flavor combos.
This recipe makes around 15 servings, takes less than forty minutes, and is endlessly adaptable.
What Can I Add to Homemade Granola?
(Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / JESHOOTS-com)
You can mix and match, and get creative with your homemade granola.
- Types of oats: Any kind of oats will give great results, but for the healthiest choice, opt for whole-grain old-fashioned oats. You can also buy gluten-free oats if required.
- Nuts: Almonds (whole or sliced), walnuts (high in omega 3’s), cashews, and macadamia nuts will all give you the crunch factor. Pecans will add extra sweetness to your bowl.
- Experiment with various dried fruits, which provide most of the delightful chewiness. Cherries, for example, add taste and color. You can also add coconut flakes (but these cook faster than the other ingredients, so are best added halfway through cooking).
- Seeds: add in your favorites, such as pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, or flax seeds.
- Unrefined oils often have more flavor than refined oils (but have a shorter shelf-life). For this recipe, we chose coconut oil, as its full-bodied texture makes it perfect for those beautiful granola clumps. Olive oil can be used as an alternative, if coconut oil is too sweet for your taste.
- You can try other sweeteners such as agave syrup, but you may find the taste more neutral.
- Get spicy — you can be creative with your spices. Ginger, for example, gives granola a little extra kick.
- Instead of lemon, you can try lime, or orange — a small squeeze of fresh juice will add that zesty flavor. You could then use the rest of the fruit to make refreshing juice pops or in a healthy fruit salad.
- Try different fruit toppings, like a couple of strawberries, or a banana.
- Almond or soy milk draw out all the flavors in your granola but you can add any plant-based milk.
Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe
(Foto: CC0 / Pixabay / walterrodriguezph)
Follow our step-by-step guide for perfect simple and chewy granola.
Makes around 3 cups of granola
Ingredients:
- 1½ cup oats
- ½ cup mixed nuts
- ¼ cup dried apricots
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- A sprinkle of sea salt
- A dash of cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- A splash of citrus juice
- Almond milk to serve
- A handful of blueberries
Instructions:
- Combine the dry ingredients, and toss in a large mixing bowl (excluding the dried fruit).
- Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and citrus juic by drizzling them over the dry ingredients.
- Mix well, until the wet ingredients are well distributed.
- Spread the mixture onto a large baking sheet, lined with parchment.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the granola to make sure that it doesn’t burn. It should be lightly golden only. Halfway through cooking, you can remove the sheet and gently press the mixture down with a spoon before replacing it in the oven – this will help with the clumps later.
- After you take the baking sheet from the oven, place it on a wire cooling rack.
- Allow the granola to cool for at least half an hour, preferably an hour or more. It needs to be at room temperature before you break it up.
- Use your fingers, or a spoon, to break the mixture into your desired size clumps.
- Add in any other dried fruit and optional extras (see above).
- The granola should keep well in a sealed container for up to one month.
- When ready to serve, cover with almond milk, and top with blueberries.
And there we have it — tasty and healthy homemade granola. Your granola will keep for up to a month covered and stored at room temperature.
Read more:
- Vegan Yogurt Recipe for a Plant-Based Breakfast
- Overnight Oats: Three Simple Breakfast Ideas
- How to Make Vegan Waffles: Easy & Fluffy Waffle Recipe
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