Easy Homemade Granola

Simple and easy to make, Homemade Granola tastes a million times better than the store-bought stuff and is so much better for you, too! Treat your body well, treat your body good: make a batch today, I swear you’ll never look back! 

I was at my local Bulk Barn the other day and the weirdest thing happened: I was just walking down the aisles, minding my own business, you know, when I kinda sorta tripped on a bucket of delicious looking tropical granola clusters and before I even had a chance to realize what was happening to me, or react to it for that matter, a nice little bag of that beautiful granola, all nicely tied-up and identified, had landed right into my shopping basket.

Okay, okay, it may not be exactly how it happened… I may have been directly responsible for that bag’s presence among my purchases, but hey, truth is I ate the darn thing and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and no, I didn’t even feel bad about it in the least. Well, okay, maybe just a little. But now, the REAL problem is that I got completely addicted.

And so, the next time I visited my BB, I headed straight for the “forbidden” bucket, and before I had a chance to do anything about it, I was holding that shovel thingy (what do you call these things anyway?) in my hand, all good and ready to scoop some (or maybe LOTS) of the delicious stuff into a bag that I was conveniently holding in my other hand. But suddenly, I had a thought: I decided to take a look at the ingredients… HOLY COW!!!! You would not believe how fast the shovel got put back in its rightful place.  There was NO way I was gonna eat that… I still was craving that granola real bad, though, just like I did when I was pregnant with my daughter (if you’ve ever been pregnant, then you know how BAD these cravings can be), so there was no avoiding it. Granola, I was going to have.

But instead of going for the ready-made stuff, I proceeded to shop for ingredients that would allow me to make my own at home.

I’m so glad I did because honestly, this Homemade Granola is nothing short of AMAZING! So much better than the one I’d previously accidentally “tripped over”, and so crazy easy to make, too! The only downside is now I want to create all kinds of different varieties…

Hmpft. Looks like that craving isn’t about to pass! Honestly, I could eat just that, like 5 times a day and would be a happy camper. But hey, I know better, so I limit myself to once, MAYBE twice a day. And I just sprinkle a little bit over my plain Greek yogurt, or Protein FroYo (now, here’s another recipe that I should have to share…that froyo really is the bomb, ESPECIALLY with a little bit of Homemade Granola sprinkled on top!) 

Alright, I think that’s enough talking for one day. Let’s make us some Granola now, what say you? 

First, preheat your oven to 325°F and line a 13″ x 18″ rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Then, measure and dump all your dry ingredients, i.e. gluten free rolled oats, raw sliced almonds, puffed quinoa, dried bananas, ground cinnamon, salt and grated nutmeg into a large mixing bowl; set that aside.

Next, put your wet ingredients (i.e. pure maple syrup, raw honey, and vanilla extract) in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low-medium heat and then immediately pour that hot syrup over the dry ingredients.

Stir delicately until evenly coated and transfer to your prepared baking sheet.

Spread in an even layer and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, mixing once after 10 minutes.

At the 20 minute mark, remove the pan from the oven and throw in the chopped dates, raisins and shredded coconut.

Return the pan to the oven and continue cooking for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until the granola is beautifully golden brown and deliciously fragrant.

Remove the cereal from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan. You can then store in an airtight container for up to a few months. (Haha, hahaha! Like it’s gonna last that long!)

Of course, you could fix yourself a little taster bowl before you put it away, you know… Just make sure that you wait until that cereal has completely cooled down, though. Granola really isn’t meant to be eaten warm, so hands off.

Give it time to chill and crisp up, you’ll be glad you did!

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Homemade Granola

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Simple and easy to make, Homemade Granola tastes a million times better than the store-bought stuff and is so much better for you, too! Treat your body well, treat your body good: make a batch today, I swear you'll never look back! 

Servings: 20

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 3 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 1 cup sliced raw almonds
• 1/2 cup puffed quinoa
• 1/2 cup dried bananas, slightly crushed
• 1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Add-ins

• 3/4 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup unsweetened toasted coconut flakes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 13" x 18" rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Measure and dump the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl; set aside.
• Put the wet ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low-medium heat.
• Immediately pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir delicately until evenly coated. Spread this mixture in an even layer onto your prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, mixing once after 10 minutes.
• At the 20 minute mark, remove the pan from the oven and toss in the chopped dates, raisins and shredded coconut. Return the pan to the oven and continue cooking for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until the granola is beautifully golden brown and deliciously fragrant.
• Remove the cereal from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan, then store in an airtight container for up to a few months.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup, Calories: 158kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 32mg, Potassium: 182mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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