I love granola. It’s healthy, it’s crunchy, it’s chewy and it’s wonderful to have a jar of granola in your cupboard. It makes a great energy boosting breakfast, healthy option for snack and a good dessert accompaniment, sprinkled over yogurt, ice cream or warm bubbly fruit crisp.The problem with store bought granola is that they are really expensive, especially the gluten free granola and often contain preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients that I am not fan of. Whipping this good stuff at home is super easy, cheap and also allows you to control the sugar and add ingredients that you like and avoid you don’t.
Update April 30 2018
I have started making Granola with date paste with no added oil. The result is wonderful crunchy granola. The trick is to leave the baked granola in turned off warm oven for 6-8 hours.
February 22, 2021
If you would like the see the Date paste Homemade granola recipe in action. Check the video.
With maple syrup and oil
With date paste
For those unfamiliar with granola, it is a snack or breakfast food containing rolled oats, nuts, seeds, oil and sweetener. There are thousands and thousands of granola recipes out there with slight variations and different flavorings. I am completely obsessed with Alton brown’s recipe of Granola and making it from past 5-7 years. Its a good base recipe to play around with- I make with maple syrup ( and now date paste) instead of refined sugar and pretty happy with how it tastes.
Oats are full of good for you fiber, high in protein, and contain vitamins and minerals like folate, iron and magnesium. I buy Bob’s red mill or Lara’s gluten free rolled oats.
This granola can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-3 months. I love enjoying it over yogurt or with splash of half and half milk cream (10% fat), adding berries, and sliced banana.
Hope you enjoy making this granola. Be sure to let me know in the comments if you like the recipe.
You can find me on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Let’s stay in touch.
The amounts in the recipe are flexible. Don’t worry too much about being exact.
Ingredients
- 4 cups large flake rolled oats
- 1 1 /2 cup sliced or whole raw almonds
- 1 cup raw cashews, whole or halves
- 1 cup (medium) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup or half golden brown sugar and half maple syrup
- 3-4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Line two cookie trays with parchment or aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, toss together oats, cashews, almonds, coconut, oatmeal, sunflower, sea salt, pumpkin seeds and( golden brown sugar, if using).
- In a small bowl combine maple syrup, vanilla and oil.
- Combine both mixtures, spoon onto prepared sheets and spread out into thin layers.
- Bake for 1 hour or until golden, stirring twice during this time and rotating the trays to achieve an even color.
- After switching off the oven leave the trays in the oven. I leave it for all night and the granola becomes crunchy.
- Remove from oven and store the cooled granola in an airtight container.
- Eat it with milk, yogurt, fruit or over ice cream, or directly out of the jar.
- In the above recipe skip oat flour, maple syrup and oil.
- Add 1 1/4 cup date paste to a mixer bowl.
- Add 1/3 cup hot water and vanilla extract. Mix with flat beater attachment.
- With the mixer running on low speed slowly add the mixed granola ingredients. Follow the baking steps as written above in the recipe.
Notes
If you use more date paste the granola will be clumpy (but you can break them with rolling pin after baking).
To make date paste, I usually steam the dates before grinding into a paste. The other option is to straight away grind them in the food processor without steaming. It will not be as smooth but works for this granola.
Mixing date paste
easyfoodsmith
I love granola too but its impossible to make my own coz rolled oats are not available here. I especially like the coconut in your recipe.
Balvinder
You can also make it with quick cooking oats.
easyfoodsmith
Thanks for that input. 🙂 Will try it with quick cooking oats.
minnie@thelady8home
Alton Brown rocks 🙂 This recipe looks lovely and I want to have a jar right now.
Balvinder
Grab it! 🙂
Ansh
Super delicious with the coconut. Homemade is better than store bought anyday. Love the toasty looks of your granola.
Balvinder
Thank you Ansh, your comments always mean a lot to me. Hope you are enjoying summer!
Malti Sharma
I love anything that says ‘homemade’ but I hate to say that I am too lazy to make. This granola recipe looks perfect, it has everything that I Iove in a granola so I may try 🙂
Balvinder
Thank you Malti, its worth trying!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
We love homemade granola. Your granola looks great!
Kitchen Belleicious
i love the pumpkin and sunflower seeds. This granola is perfect for grab for breakfast. Looks so delicious
Liz
I adore granola, but have trouble with portion control when it’s in the kitchen! Yours version sweetened with maple syrup sounds terrific! I hope you’ve been well!
Balvinder
Don’t store in the kitchen or make portion controlled packages 🙂
Monica
Homemade granola just tastes so much better/fresher than store-bought. Seeing a homemade jar in your kitchen is definitely a treat. I like your combination – lots of oats, nuts and seeds. I am a fan of maple syrup as sweetener for granola, too.
Balvinder
A lot of things just taste better homemade. Thanks Monica! Maple syrup is my favorite sweetener, its still sugar but a delicious and healthy option.
Bam's Kitchen
Loving that eating breakfast alfresco photo. I, like Liz, have trouble keeping granola in the house as it such a tempting snack but I love your additions of nuts and seeds and a tad of maple syrup. Take Care, BAM
Balvinder
I know, its hard to keep check on how much you eat but if you keep a 1/4 cup scoop in the jar it won’t be difficult. Thank you so much for your appreciation!
Choc Chip Uru
My favourite breakfast since visiting the US, and now a gorgeous recipe to try here at home 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Katerina
Coconut is my husband’s and son’s favorite so I am sure this granola would be very appealing to them!
Linsy Patel
love this healthy treat, got here from Maria’s post on G+.
Balvinder
Thank you Linsy, so glad you stopped by and left a comment, enjoy!
Shirley Tay (Blackswan)
Balvinder, could you help me to delete my earlier comment. Copied the wrong notes cause I was afraid my comments won’t go thru again & I’ve to retype like before. Lol! So glad to see my comments finally going thru.!
I’m not a fan of oats, so your granola recipe is just perfect for me.
Balvinder
You mean you are a fan of oats, right?
anne
Bal , what brand of large flake rolled oats are you using ? I’ve been meaning to make homemade granola for quiet sometime but haven’t got around to it *sigh* I love your granola , it looks just like the one I’m looking for 😀 Except for the dried unsweetened coconut , the one I’ve seen here is desiccated and more of like a coarse powder than a flake and the maple syrup , it’s freakin’ expensive here yikes ! everything is readily available here , hopefully , I can make it sooner rather than later .
Helene D'Souza
Granola with cashews is my favorite and I know that we would enjoy your recipe for the same reason! =D
Jennifer Eloff
I love granola as well. To my chagrin I have found cashews cause migraines for me. Waah, they are SO good…and in granola as well. Yours sounds so yummy! Have a great week!