Homemade granola has become one of my absolute favorite foods. I love cooking up a batch every weekend and experimenting with new combinations of fruits, nuts, and seasonings. If you do it right, you can actually make granola at home for much cheaper than what you spend on boxed cereal. The secret is buying the expensive stuff like nuts, seeds, and dried fruit from the bulk bins at the store. Bulk bins allow you to buy only what you need so you save money and there’s no waste! After making countless batches of homemade granola, I thought I would share a few of my secrets with you. Eventually, you won’t even need a recipe to make perfect granola every time.
1. Start with Oats. Of course, no traditional granola would be complete without oats! Three cups of raw, rolled oats is the magic number for me. With the addition of nuts and other add-ins, three cups is the most that will fit on one cookie sheet –> perfect! Oats are super cheap and a great source of heart healthy soluble fiber. Feel free to experiment with other grains in addition to oats. For example, sprinkle some quinoa into your granola mix before baking for a delightful bit of extra crunch.
2. Add in your oil. Think neutral oils – although, I have also made some delicious granola with olive oil as well! For three cups of oats, I use 1/3 cup of oil. Some of my favorites include: melted coconut oil, olive oil, and canola oil. Butter is a delicious option too.
3. Sweeten it up. I usually sweeten my granola with either honey or maple syrup, 1/4 cup or less does the trick. Feel free to adjust this amount if you prefer a sweeter granola though.
4. Add a protein. Nuts are necessary for adding a little more crunch, healthy fat, and protein to your granola. Some of my favorites include: cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts. Usually about 1 cup is good for me. One thing to note, if you are working with raw nuts, you can add the nuts before baking. However, if they are already roasted, you may want to wait until the last few minutes of baking to stir them into the granola to keep them from burning. Don’t forget, seeds work well in granola too! Pepitas are one of my faves.
5. Pick your fruit. Dried fruit provides a great chewy complement to the crunchy nuts and toasted oats in granola. I usually stir 1/3 cup of fruit in after cooking my granola. Some of my favorites include cranberries, coconut, apricots, and freeze dried raspberries.
In addition to these base ingredients, feel free to play around with the spices or other seasonings. Some of my favorites include: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa.
Now you are ready to create homemade granola like a pro!
Here’s a few of my favorite granola recipes for some inspiration.
Great tips Debbie (as always)! I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award 🙂 Check out my last post for details —> http://foodandnonsense.com/liebster-award/