A Pretty Simple Homemade Crunchy Granola Recipe

Mix up your own granola with my simple homemade crunchy granola recipe. Easily customised to add in your favourite ingredients, and very easy to make, you need never buy another box of sub-standard granola again.

Total Time Investment: 40 Minutes

I am very much a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast choices. For the majority of the year, I will happily tuck into a large bowl of porridge (oatmeal to some) as my preferred breakfast fare. However, when the morning temperatures start to climb in the middle of summer, not even I can face a hot bowl of porridge. Enter this crunchy granola recipe. Easy to make, and delicious for breakfast with fresh fruit and yoghurt.

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Now I know that it is very easy to purchase pre-made granola, so I bet you are wondering why on earth you should bother making your own. Let me give you three very good reasons why you want to make my crunchy granola recipe over buying a box of granola from a shop:

1. Cost: If you have ever bought granola, you know just how expensive it can be. And the more "luxury" ingredients it contains, the higher the cost. Make your own with as many of those luxury ingredients as you like, and I can pretty much guarantee it will still be cheaper than any commercial luxury brand.
2. Ability to design your own: Do you ever find yourself standing in front of the granola section at the supermarket, trying to decide between two varieties because both contain ingredients you don't really care for. Making your own eliminates this problem completely. Just don't add ingredients you don't like into your crunchy granola recipe. By making your own, you also have control over the level of sweetness of the granola, and are able to cater for individual family allergies.
3. Taste: I've eaten many different varieties of commercial granola. None of them have tasted as good as my homemade versions.

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Ingredient Substitutions for My Crunchy Granola Recipe.

This is the basic template I use for all my granola recipes, and I just change up the ingredients according to what I have on hand at the time. As long as you keep the total quantities the same, feel free to play with the recipe to make it your own. Try the following:

1. Use other flaked grains in place of some, or all, of the rolled oats. Rolled barley, spelt, rye or wheat would all work well here.
2. Mix up the nuts. Try almonds, macadamias or hazelnuts in place of the pecans and walnuts.
3. Try different seeds. Sesame seeds and chia seeds also work well in this recipe.
4. Replace the coconut oil with a good olive oil.
5. Try different sweeteners in place of the maple syrup. Honey or brown rice syrup would both work well here.

Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Granola

How do I make granola? Follow my simple recipe below, and in less than an hour you will have your very own large jar of homemade granola.

Do you eat granola with milk? This is purely personal preference. I like to eat mine with milk, whilst Mr Grumpy likes his with just yoghurt.

Is granola and muesli the same thing? Whilst both granola and muesli are made up of grains, nuts and seeds, muesli is uncooked whilst granola is bound together with liquid sweeteners and oils. You can read more about the difference between the two here.

Can you eat granola by itself? Granola makes a quick and easy snack, and can readily be eaten by itself.

How To Eat Crunchy Granola

Granola is such a versatile ingredient to have on hand. It works well as breakfast, an easy snack or even dessert. Give these ideas a try:

• Top a bowl of granola with yoghurt and fresh fruit for an easy breakfast.
• Layer granola with yoghurt and lime curd for an easy breakfast parfait or dessert.
• Core an apple, stuff the centre with granola and bake.
• Replace the cookies in a cheesecake base with blitzed granola.
• Give a large jar of your homemade granola, together with a copy of this crunchy granola recipe, as an easy gift.

A Few Final Thoughts On My Crunchy Granola Recipe

The great thing about making your own homemade granola is that you can tailor the recipe to suit your family's preferences or allergies. If you are catering for nut allergies, replace the nuts with an equal quantity of seeds i.e. use up to 3 cups of seeds in the recipe in place of the 2 cups of nuts and 1 cup of seeds.

I don't like my granola to be too sweet, so I have used a minimal amount of maple syrup in the recipe below. If you like a sweeter granola, just increase the amount of maple syrup (or other sweetener) by 1/4 cup.

The coconut oil in the recipe has two functions: it helps to crisp up the granola and, as a saturated fat, it also makes the granola more sustaining. If you replace the coconut oil with olive oil, reduce the amount of oil in the recipe to 1/3 cup.

If you like dried fruit in your granola, sprinkle over at least 1 cup of dried fruit just after you take the trays out of the oven. The fruit will be mixed into the granola when you scoop it into storage containers.

This crunchy granola recipe will keep for up to one month in an airtight container. I prefer to use glass jars as I feel the granola remains crispier in glass. That may just be me.

Enjoy!

One year ago: How to Make The Tastiest Stovetop Pizza

Two years ago: A Simple Bolognaise Sauce

Three years ago: Savoury Feta & Olive Muffins

Made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below.

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A Simple Crunchy Granola Recipe

Mix up your own granola with my simple homemade crunchy granola recipe. Easily customised to add in your favourite ingredients, and very easy to make, you need never buy another box of sub-standard granola again.

Author Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas

1. 
   

   Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan forced), and position the oven racks in the middle of the oven.

2. Line two large baking trays with baking paper, and set aside.
   

3. Measure the rolled oats, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and coconut into a large bowl.
   

4. Place the coconut oil into a small saucepan over a low flame, and allow the oil to melt.
   

5. Whisk the maple syrup into the melted coconut oil to combine. The mixture will seem to thicken and emulsify.

6. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir until the muesli seems slightly damp.
   

7. Divide the mixture between the two baking trays, and spread the mixture evenly over the trays.

8. Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring the edges of the mixture into the middle every 5 -10 minutes to ensure even baking.

9. Watch the muesli carefully towards the end of the baking time and check more frequently as it can burn easily.

10. When golden brown, remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool.

11. Store the granola in an airtight container.

1. Change the nuts and seeds in the recipe to suit your own tastes.
2. If you are catering for nut allergies, replace the nuts with the same quantity of seeds.
3. I have used a minimal amount of sweetener in this recipe. If you like a sweeter granola, just increase the amount of maple syrup by 1/4 cup.
4. If using olive oil instead of coconut oil, reduce the amount used to 1/3 cup.
5. Scatter 1 cup of dried fruit over the granola when it comes out of the oven if desired.
6. This crunchy granola recipe will keep for up to one month in an airtight container.
7. The nutritional analysis for this recipe is based on a one cup serving, with no additional accompaniments. The addition of fruit, yoghurt and/or milk will change the nutritional profile of the recipe.

A Simple Crunchy Granola Recipe

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.