This homemade granola is the perfect solution to my morning moodiness.

That is, my breakfast has to be exciting. It has to have many different, interesting components. No, cereal just won’t do…

I have three main criteria for my granola…can you tell I’m serious about my granola?

1. My granola has to have chunks and lumps. This makes it so much more interesting, and you won’t believe how much better it tastes.
2. It has to have lots of different elements. As you’ll see, I put pretty much everything in my granola- oats, seeds, coconut, nuts, cereal…to name a few.
3. Lastly, it has to be at least fairly healthy. I want a feel-good granola. One that is seriously delicious, but isn’t unhealthy.

I love making my own granola because I have the ability to control all these elements and to make a granola that perfectly suits my taste. 

The granola you can buy in the shops may look healthy, but these often sneak a bunch of unnecessary sugars into your brkkie bowl. My granola contains only natural sweeteners like honey and fruit.

The honey gives a lovely sweetness and is also key in binding the dry ingredients together to form those great chunks. For a bit more sweetness and vitamins, I also add fruit as a sweetener- apples, bananas, dates, and dried cranberries. These, once blended, also help bind the dry ingredients together.

For the dry ingredients, I throw in pretty much everything I find in the cupboard that looks like it will taste good in a granola…oats, seeds, coconut, nuts, cereal, spices, bran…see the bullet list below for a full range of options.

Changing it up

The homemade granola recipe is totally variable. Like seriously. You can change anything to suit your tastes and needs.

In fact, this is the first time I have even written down the recipe for my homemade granola because every time it’s different – but still delicious.

The main guidelines to stick to are:

Chunky Granola: The number of wet ingredients will determine the number of chunks you get, as well as how gently you turn your granola while it’s cooking. Things like nut butter, maple syrup, and honey are great at holding together the dry ingredients and forming many big chunks. Just make sure that you don’t make them too big or have too many wet ingredients because then it won’t dry out properly and you’ll have soggy granola!

Sugar: As mentioned above something like honey or maple syrup is key in producing lovely chunks. I like to add a bit of fruit as well as sugar, and, again, this also serves to create chunks. For dried fruit (I use cranberries and dates), cover with hot water for 10 minutes, then pop them into a food processor and process until no large chunks remain. For fresh fruit, grate, mash, or process into fine bits. If you do either of these, add the processed fruit to your wet ingredients and continue as in the recipe.

Whole dried fruit: I suggest adding whole dried fruit (that you’re not using as a sugar, see above) after your granola comes out of the oven. You can add any dried fruit: goji berries, raisins, banana, cranberries, apple rings…you get the point. Just make sure that they are not very wet, as this may make your granola mushy over time.

Oil: Oil is essential for that lovely, crunchy golden-brown granola. I recommend using a fairly flavorless oil like sunflower or coconut so that it doesn’t affect the taste of your granola (unless that is what you want). Adding nut butter can also reduce the amount of other oil you need to add, as it is quite oily.

Dry ingredients: The only thing that is a must for me is a base of oats. Literally, anything else that is dry that you think would taste good in granola, you could probably add. Here are some ideas:

• Cereals: Crushed cornflakes, crushed bran flakes, crushed popped rice…preferably nothing that is heavily flavored or unnatural.
• Seeds: Pumpkin, sunflower, chia, linseed, sesame…in any ratio
• Nuts: Almonds, cashews, macadamias, peanuts, Brazil nuts…in any ratio
• Other: Oat bran, digestive bran, spices (like cinnamon), protein powder (I haven’t tried but I’m sure it would work), desiccated coconut

Have fun experimenting and coming up with your own special to-die-for granola combo!

How to Make Homemade Granola

WARNING: After your first time making homemade granola you may experience serious regrets about ever buying it…

Granola is seriously easy to make, and you can tailor it exactly to your tastes. You also know exactly what’s going in there, nobody can sneak any unnecessary sugars past you!

The basic steps for making granola are:

• Mix wet ingredients in a small jug.
• Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl.
• Stir everything together well.
• Pour into a big tray.
• Cook until golden brown, stirring regularly. (Very important that you don’t get distracted and forget all about your granola! My mom has had to rescue many of my granolas from the oven to stop them from burning! I can tell you from experience, burnt granola leaves an unpleasant bitter taste in the mouth…)
• Enjoy!

Dead easy, am I right?

Storage & Serving

Once your granola is cool, scoop it up into a large airtight container or jar. It will keep for weeks.

Granola is delicious served with one of (or all of!) the following:

• Milk
• Yogurt
• Nice cream/Smoothie Bowl
• Fruit
• Nothing! Just by its own yummy self!

Print Recipe

Homemade Granola

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Breakfast

Serves: About 12 cups granola, 24 half-cup servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour – Total Time: 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes

An easy, healthy granola recipe that will become your go-to breakfast. Perfectly adjustable, this recipe will please you no matter your tastes.

Ingredients

• Wet Mix
• 5 Medjool dates, pitted
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 2 apples, cored and grated/processed
• ⅓ cup honey
• 2t vanilla essence
• ½ cup oil
• Dry Mix
• 6 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup seeds (I used ¾ cup breakfast mix and ¼ cup extra sesame seeds)
• ¾ cup desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup oat bran
• 1 cup digestive bran
• 1 cup crushed All-Bran® (optional)
• 1 cup chopped nuts, coarsely chopped (I used almonds)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 150°C.

Wet Mix

2

Add the dates and cranberries to a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes, or until soft and plump.

3

Add the mashed banana, grated apple, honey, vanilla essence, and oil to a mixing jug and mix thoroughly.

4

Once the dates and cranberries are soft and plump, drain them and put them into a food processor. Process until they form a paste. If needed add a small amount of water. Little unprocessed bits are okay, as long as there are no big chunks of fruit.

5

Add the date and cranberry paste to the mixing jug of wet ingredients and stir in well.

Combine & Cook

6

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well.

7

Slowly pour in the wet mix while stirring. Ensure everything is nicely coated, and make sure to get to the bottom of the bowl.

8

Pour the mixture into a large baking tray and press it into an even layer using a spatula.

9

Using the spatula or a knife, divide the mixture into four so that the air circulates well and the granola becomes lovely and crunchy.

10

Place the tray in the centre of the oven. Every 10 minutes (or when the granola becomes golden brown on top) remove it from the oven and stir/lift it gently, trying to keep as many clumps as possible. If the granola is browning too quickly you may have to lower the oven temperature.

11

Continue doing this for about 30 minutes-1 hour, or until you turn the granola and it is almost uniform in colour (a golden brown). For the last few minutes, you can leave the oven jar slightly ajar to let the steam out. The granola will still cook slightly and harden once it's out of the oven, so don't overcook it.

12

Take the granola out of the oven and allow it to cool for about an hour. Once properly cooled, store in an airtight container or jar. It will keep well for a couple of weeks.

13

Serve with milk, yogurt, smoothie bowls, or fruit, or enjoy it just as it is.

Notes

Chunky Granola: The number of wet ingredients will determine the number of chunks you get, as well as how gently you turn your granola while it's cooking. Things like nut butter, maple syrup, and honey are great at holding together the dry ingredients and forming many big chunks. Just make sure that you don't make them too big or have too many wet ingredients because then it won't dry out properly and you'll have soggy granola! Sugar: As mentioned above something like honey or maple syrup is key in producing lovely chunks. I like to add a bit of fruit as well as sugar, and, again, this also serves to create chunks. For dried fruit (I use cranberries and dates), cover with hot water for 10 minutes, then pop it in a food processor and process until no large chunks remain. For fresh fruit, grate, mash, or process into fine bits. If you do either of these, add the processed fruit to your wet ingredients and continue as in the recipe. Whole dried fruit: I suggest adding whole dried fruit (that you're not using as a sugar, see above) after your granola comes out of the oven. You can add any dried fruit: goji berries, raisins, banana, cranberries, apple rings...you get the point. Just make sure that they are not very wet, as this may make your granola mushy over time. Oil: Oil is essential for that lovely, golden-brown granola. I recommend using a fairly flavorless oil like sunflower or coconut so that it doesn't affect the taste of your granola (unless that is what you want). Adding but butter can also reduce the amount of other oil you need to add, as nut butter is quite oily. Dry ingredients: The only thing that is a must for me is a base of oats. Literally, anything else that is dry that you think would taste good in granola, you could probably add. Here are some ideas: Cereals: Crushed cornflakes, crushed bran flakes, crushed popped rice...nothing that is heavily flavored or unnatural. Seeds: Pumpkin, sunflower, chia, linseed, sesame...in any ratio Nuts: Almonds, cashews, macadamias, peanuts, Brazil nuts...in any ratio Other: Oat bran, digestive bran, spices (like cinnamon), protein powder (I haven't tried but I'm sure it would work), desiccated coconut