Homemade Granola

When I got married, one of the gifts I got at my bridal shower was a collection of recipes from all of the people who attended. It was such a fun gift! I loved all the recipes, of course, but I also loved learning the stories behind some of them. Best of all, when I make those recipes I think of my friends and family that shared them with me. I think that is one of the things that I love about cooking and what inspired me to start this blog; so much of cooking and recipes is about community. I love making food to share with people around my table, and I also love sharing recipes and learning from others and hopefully helping them as well.

One of the recipes that I received in that book was a recipe for homemade granola from a coworker and friend. I have tried a number of complex granola recipes with all sorts of interesting ingredients, and they are all good. But I find myself coming back to this one over and over again. I think I could practically make it in my sleep. Both of my kids have helped make it countless times, and I always have all the ingredients on hand since it’s so simple. But I find I love the simplicity because it can go with anything! You can add whatever flavor yogurt you want when you are eating it, and you can mix in any additional nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc, after it’s done cooking to customize it. You can add the mix ins to the whole batch or to individual servings so each person can eat it exactly as they want to each day.

I love having a batch of this prepared and in my pantry ready to go for whenever I need quick and easy breakfast, or even a snack. I hope you enjoy it too!

Homemade Granola

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Course Breakfast

Ingredients

  

• 5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste, I never measure)
• sprinkle of nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Oil a large baking sheet with a rim or line with a silpat liner.
• In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients until the oats are evenly coated.
• Spread oats into an even layer on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
• After it's cooled you can add additional mix ins: chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts etc. I usually keep mine plain because then it goes with any flavor or yogurt, etc. I have occasionally added other things in and it's delicious.

Notes

*One little trick I learned is to use the same measuring cup for the oil and honey and measure the oil first.  After you add it to the granola mixture the little bit leftover lines the measuring cup and makes it easy to measure the honey and get it all back out without it sticking to the measuring cup.