After looking at the amount of sugar in store-bought granola, I decided to make my own homemade granola. Another factor pushed me as well: I feel like the store-bought granola are never the way I like them. There is never enough pecan (I love them!), the chocolate taste bad (I am picky), there is cinnamon (I hate it, sorry guys!) …
There are plenty of recipes you can follow, and the good thing with granola is that there are infinite possibilities: you can add different dried fruits, or nuts, you can add chocolate to it, spices such as cinnamon for cinnamon lovers [not me], etc.
It really doesn’t take too much time to prepare your own granola and if you store it well, it will last you several weeks.
Homemade granola is also more filling than store-bought. For one full cup of granola I used to eat, I will only use half of homemade and it will last me until lunch time.
For this version of granola, I did a mix of dried fruits and pecans (I love the taste of pecan). But you can totally switch pecans for walnuts, dates for apricots or add chocolate to it. Again, the beauty of homemade granola is that you can make it to your taste!
You can also prepare parfait with your granola: layer some Greek yogurt, homemade granola and fresh fruits and tadaaa you have a perfect breakfast (parfait = perfect, you got it 😉 )
When baking your granola, make sure to stir it every now and then so it all browns evenly. Bring the outside in the middle and you may also want to turn your rack in your oven. If you use two racks, switch positions about halfway (put the one up down, and the one down up).
I hope you enjoy it!
Homemade Granola
Equipment
- Bowls
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats, uncooked (340g)
- 1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut (50g)
- 1/2 cup stabilized wheat germ (50g)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds (50g)
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (50g)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (60g)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (50g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup* (150g)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (10g)
- 2 cups dried dates, cranberries, raisins about 250g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a very large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and seeds. Mix.
- In another bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry mixture in the bowl, stirring and tossing until everything is very well combined.
- Spread the granola on the baking sheet
- Bake the granola for about 80 minutes (depending on your oven) and stir it every 10 or 15 minutes.
- Your granola is ready when it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before storing in a tightly closed container.
