Gimme Some Oven

Crunchy Granola

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crunchy-granola

I’m a big believer in breakfast. Not just the food — the entire experience. :)  Love waking up to the the newness of another day, padding downstairs to prepare a healthy breakfast, and enjoying it while cozied up in my sunlight-filled dining room with a good book or the news of the day. Mmmmm…my idea of beginning a day well.

That said, one of my favorite go-to recipes for a well-rounded breakfast is this simple granola recipe. It’s packed with great nutrition and flavor, has a wonderful crunch, and is easy to prepare. Plus, it makes a pretty large batch, which of course can be enjoyed in a myriad of ways — plain and dry, in a bowl with milk, in a yogrut and fruit parfait, in pancakes, etc. Or, for later in the day, I love adding it to ice cream, cobblers, or using it to make pie crusts. Such a yummy, versatile mixture to have on hand!

crunchy-granola-dry-ingredients

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Crunchy Granola

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  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 10 cups 1x

Description

This crunchy granola is everything you could want in a granola, and it’s so easy too!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup ground flax seed (optional)
  • 2 to 3 cups raw almonds or pecan halves, or a mixture
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 cup. favorite dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, raisins, apricots, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well. In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Stir to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and stir well.
  3. Spread the mixture evenly on two rimmed baking sheets, either greased with cooking spray or covered with parchment paper. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until evenly golden brown. Set a timer to go off every ten minutes while the granola bakes, so you can rotate the pans and give the granola a good stir; this helps it to cook evenly.
  4. When it’s ready, remove the pans from the oven, stir well – this will keep it from cooling into a hard, solid sheet – and set aside to cool. The finished granola may still feel slightly soft when it comes out of the oven, but it will crisp as it cools.
  5. Scoop cooled granola into to a large zipper-lock plastic bag or other airtight container. Store in the refrigerator indefinitely.

Notes

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s “Feast

crunchy-granola-mixed

 

crunchy-granola-baking-pan

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12 comments on “Crunchy Granola”

  1. Hey Alison. Aww I love this whole site, it’s so cute!! I’ll for sure stop by and steal some recipes often. :)

  2. My step-mom makes her own granola. It is irresistible – I can’t keep my mitts off of it when I am there. My kids love it too.
    Your post inspires me to start making my own!

    Nikki

  3. That looks really delicious and I’d bet it’s way cheaper than buying the pre-made stuff – and probably healthier too! I’m definitely going to try this out, it beats toast for breakkie!

  4. do i have to use applesauce? can i use an oil instead?

  5. seafoods are great because they have lots of the mineral iodine which prevents goiter–*

  6. I found you through Pinterest. I made this granola last night with a few changes based upon what I had in the house: maple syrup instead of honey and no flax seeds. I also left out the fruit, but that was by accident. :0)

    It tastes great and smelled wonderful while it was cooking. This one is a keeper. Thanks for posting this recipe.

  7. Just made this…smells delightful. Like oatmeal raisin cookies. Doesn’t taste bad either. I think this will replace store brought breakfast cereal for a while. Thanks for sharing!

  8. After your grain-free granola post I searched your archives and found this beauty!  Any idea how I could make it without the brown sugar? :) 

    • Hi Heidi! We think you could just use 3/4 cup-1 cup of honey in this (though you might need as much applesauce, since the extra honey provides more liquid and moisture). We hope you enjoy! :)