Simple Homemade Granola {with an extra nutritional kick}

This simple homemade granola is a nutritious and delicious way to start your morning off on the right foot.  You’ll never go back to store-bought!

Over the holidays we had a cookie exchange with a group of friends and one of the participants wanted to bring a non-cookie item to the exchange. 

I gave her a hard time for not bringing cookies (kidding of course). BUT what she brought was a fantastic recipe for simple homemade granola. 

Sorry Rachel, I’m going to call you out.  It was my good friend Rachel from Rachel Cooks.  But I am so glad she decided to veto the cookies because the granola she brought was amazing!

Of course I asked for the recipe, and her reply was something like “It’s similar to a granola recipe on my blog, but I added a little of this and a little of that.” 

Well after eating all of the granola myself, I have been craving it like crazy.

And then I thought about how expensive, and typically unhealthy granola can be, why the heck am I not making my own granola?!

Ingredients Needed for This Simple Homemade Granola Recipe

• old fashioned oats
• brown sugar
• walnuts or pecans or almonds
• flaxseed
• sunflower seeds (optional)
• raisins (optional)
• cinnamon
• canola oil
• honey
• vanilla extract

Simple Homemade Granola Steps

• In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

• Combine honey and canola oil and microwave for 30 seconds. Add vanilla extra to honey/oil mixture and stir into dry ingredients until they are well coated.

• Spread out the mixture on top of an 11×17-in pan covered with parchment paper.

• Cook at 300F for 10-11 minutes, stir pans and switch pans positions in your oven. Then cook for another 10-11 minutes. And let sit!

My entire family enjoys this simple homemade granola with a little variation. I prefer it over vanilla Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.

My kids typically eat it with skim milk and another cereal mixed in (their favorite store-bought is Cracklin Oat Bran).

My husband typically enjoys it with skim milk and berries.

It lasts less than a week in my house!

This is what it looks like when I’ve packed it for storage.

Trial and Error

Well, I tried making this granola THREE times numerous times before I got it right.  Now that I’m updating this post, I’ve been making some variation of this recipe since 2015…for 9 years!

Over time, I’ve changed it several times and believe I have definitely perfected it. That’s why I wanted to update this recipe.

And it was worth it! Hopefully, you agree!  You’d think basic granola would be easy to make.

Which I guess it should be if you knew how your oven would react to cooking granola.

AND, you didn’t burn it twice before learning to take it out of the oven sooner!  And this is besides the fact that I shouldn’t be cooking anything when I’m sleep-deprived. It’s almost a lost cause.

When it comes to granola I couldn’t help but reminisce about my time in Spain when I ate granola EVERY.SINGLE.MORNING. 

Actually, in Spain, I ate muesli, which is similar to granola but not the same thing.  Granola is cooked with some sort of oil or butter and sweetener, whereas muesli is eaten raw with no added fat or sweetener.  Both can contain a variety of other ingredients such as grains, nuts, seeds, dried or fresh fruit and seasonings.

Spain is also where I started my obsession of cereal + yogurt.  Since that time, I have never eaten any kind of cereal or granola with milk.  Try it with yogurt sometime (vanilla is my favorite flavor), I promise it’s delicious!

If you’re looking for another variety of granola with a bit more sweetness, check out this dark chocolate granola recipe.

Dietitian’s Dish

You will find a serving of healthy fats (mono- and poly-unsaturated fats) from the almonds and canola oil in the recipe. And also an extra nutritional kick from omega-3 fatty acids and fiber found in the ground flaxseed.

The healthy fats help:

• Lower bad (LDL) cholesterol
• Lower your risk of heart disease and stroke
• May lower your risk of cancer

TIP: Purchasing ground flaxseed is best. Whole flaxseed likely passes through the intestinal tract undigested, so your body is unable to get all the nutritional benefits from them.

In addition to the healthy fat benefits, you’re also eating whole grains (oats).  Whole grains help lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

*Updated March 11, 2024.

© 2015 Kristy Hegner     Disclaimer

This Simple Homemade Granola {with an extra nutritional kick} recipe was first published on Chocolate Slopes.