Homemade Granola
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This homemade granola recipe is made with wholesome oils and without refined sugar. It’s also very customizable to your particular likes and needs. Above all, it’s wholesome and DELICIOUS!
The more things I can make myself without having to resort to store bought and pre-packaged the happier I am. I know what’s in it, and what isn’t. Plus, a lot of things just taste better homemade. And they’re usually more wholesome. Take granola for example. Even a lot of the organic, “healthy” granola you buy in the store is made with sugar. And while it may be organic sugar, it’s still sugar. And while it may be made with organic vegetable oil, it’s still vegetable oil. This granola contains no refined sugars or vegetable oils. Instead, it’s made with raw honey and coconut or olive oil.
Making granola is not an exact science, so it’s an easy thing to customize to your preferences. Substitute any dried fruits, nuts or seeds of your choice. And if you prefer it sweeter feel free to add some more honey.
I grew up in Germany where I ate a lot of muesli. It was a family tradition to sit down to a bowl of muesli every Sunday morning. Traditional muesli is a breakfast of raw oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and topped with some milk, yogurt, honey, fresh fruit and berries. It’s delicious! Enjoying muesli as I do, I like to add a lot of these extra things to my granola as well. Sesame seeds for example add a great flavor, especially once they’ve been toasted with the oats. I also like to add flax seeds and sunflower seeds for their benefits as well as for texture and flavor. Again, tailor this recipe to your likes and needs.
Something I want to add is that this granola will not “clump” in clusters or be quite as crunchy as much as granola will that’s made with sugar. If you want more crunchy clusters you’ll need to stir a bit of brown sugar in with the honey.
Homemade Granola Recipe
Let’s get started!
First measure out the oats and place them in a large bowl with plenty of “stirring” room. Add the nuts, seeds and unsweetened flaked coconut. Stir to combine.
Combine the honey and coconut/olive oil in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for a minute and then remove it from the heat. Add some almond extract if you like. It adds a wonderful flavor.
Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until evenly coated.
Spread the granola out on a large cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven on 325 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly toasted.
Stir the granola at the halfway point and then again towards the end for even toasting and to prevent burning.
Remove the granola from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
When the granola is cool, stir in the dried fruits.
Store the granola in an airtight container. This will keep for up to a week.
Enjoy!
Be sure to try these other favorites:
- Whole Grain Molasses Cookies
- Chocolate Deception Cake
- Whole Grain Chocolate Cupcakes
- Whole Grain Zucchini Muffins
- Whole Grain Jam Squares
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Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups traditional raw whole rolled oats (not quick or instant)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened dried flaked coconut
- 1/3 cup chopped or sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds , unsalted (can use raw or roasted)
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup assorted dried fruit (e.g., apricots, raisins, cranberries, cherries, pineapple, dates, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.Place the oats in a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut flakes, nuts and seeds and stir to combine.Place the honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Stir in almond extract if using.Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until coated.Spread the granola out on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning. Let the granola cool completely then add the dried fruits and stir to combine.Store in an airtight container. Keeps for about a week. Serve with milk and fresh berries if desired.
Nutrition
Originally published April 29, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I am making this granola tonight. It is just the recipe I was looking for!
Hello, culinaryklepto, and welcome! I’m so happy you found my site – have fun with the granola!
This was delicious, our whole family enjoyed a healthier version. Thank you! I’m making another batch today
I’m so happy to hear that, Stacey! Thank you for making it and for your feedback! :)
Could you swap the honey for agave syrup to make this recipe vegan, do you think?
Hi Ruby! Absolutely! Agave and maple syrup would both work great. I love the flavor of maple syrup in granola (of course you would just want to make sure it’s 100%).
I’m making this right now and it smells wonderful! Thanks for posting.
Hi Tina! I’m so happy you’re making this! I LOVE the smell of baking granola, too!!
Thanks for this recipe- I looked at several online and yours looks the healthiest of the lot. Glad it can be frozen as I would rather make a couple batches at one time and then not have to do it every week or so.
Hi Marie, I’m so happy you found this recipe! Depending on how quickly you go through it, you could try refrigerating it as well. Really, this granola will keep quite a while even at room temperature since there’s nothing in it that would spoil for a long time.
Hi Kimberley, I didn’t even know they did blog templates especially for recipes. Here you are, learnt something new. Anyway, it didn’t stop me and i filled a big container of it. Had it for breakfast it’s yummy! I love the smell of it too. It’ll be easy to do again without measuring. I’ll stay tuned to see what other new stuff I can add to my cooking repertoire. Take care, Svetlina
Hi Svetlina, I’m so glad you enjoyed the granola! Thank you so much for making it and for your feedback! I look forward to your trying some of the other recipes!
Hi there, thank you for this recipe. Am just about to make my first home made granola. I love the tone of your blog – I also have young children and I think it’s a great idea to make healthy food with kids. So many people just do traditional baking with their kids which builds unhelpful emotional links to food.
Anyway, just a quick request… For us people on the other side of the pond, it would be fab to have the ingredients measured in grams and mililitters. Cups are too confusing when you haven’t been brought up with them.
Just a thought!
I’ll get on with the cooking now and let you know how I got on x
Hi Svetlina! Thank you for the compliment! You know, I would love to be able to include the metric system in my recipes, but haven’t been able to find a recipe box that comes with the conversion capacity. I’ve looked around and haven’t found a U.S. based food blog that has that conversion capacity built into their recipe boxes (all of them are in standard American measurements), so I’m having to assume it isn’t available – at least not yet. So for the time being I hope it won’t stop you from googling the measurement conversions and trying some recipes! Thanks again for your feedback and kind words!
This recipe is what i was looking for :) I will be making it today. Thanks for sharing;)
So happy to hear it, Lasma! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)