My Fave Granola

Homemade granola is a joy and staple in my life, but it wasn’t always this way.  I remember way back in university my friend’s roommate made her own granola and kept it in the freezer, and I thought she was so weird and such a little hippie. Fast forward *cough* 20 years *cough* and I probably make a batch of granola once a month. It’s my favourite breakfast with plain greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

I feel like I’ve made every recipe for granola on the internet, and I’m here to present you with the very best one (to me). Why is it my favourite? Let me count the ways:

  1. Tastes great, obviously
  2. Totally customizable based on what you like, and what you have lying around in your kitchen
  3. No butter {sorry butter, ILY, but there’s no need for butter in granola}
  4. Only uses one bowl and one measuring cup, plus one measuring spoon if you don’t want to eyeball the vanilla and salt
  5. Takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish; seriously, the time between “hmmm, maybe I should make some granola” and pulling it out of the oven is about half an hour.

Crispy Granola

My go-to formula is to use a combination of olive oil and coconut oil, plus maple syrup and honey. I leave out the cinnamon, except maybe for the Fall/Winter months when I’m eating apples with my granola and yogurt. And I never add dried fruit; I’m at the point in my life where I can just admit that I hate dried cranberries.

This makes a huge batch of granola that is great for sharing, or will keep well in the freezer, just like a certain little hippie circa 2001.

My Favourite Granola

Source: Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor {Cookie + Kate Blog}

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil OR melted coconut oil OR 1/4 cup of each
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup OR honey OR 1/4 cup of each
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon {optional}
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 cups oats
  • 1 cup chopped nuts {I almost exclusively use pecans, my preferred nut}
  • 1/2 cup seeds {I use pepitas or sunflower seeds or a mix of both}
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit {optional}

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, add the oil, sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon {if using} and salt and whisk together until combined.
  3. Add the oats, nuts and seeds and stir together until evenly coated.
  4. Spread out the mixture on the baking sheet. Bake for 21-23 minutes, stirring halfway through. This burns easily, so be careful not to overbake.
  5. If you’re adding dried fruit, wait until the granola cools completely, and then stir it in.
  6. Store in airtight containers or jars, or resealable plastic bags.