Muesli

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This delicious homemade muesli recipe is easy to make and customize with your favorite blend of ingredients.

One of the things I remember noticing when we very first moved to Barcelona was the notable absence of granola on the shelves. And instead…boxes upon boxes of muesli! ♡

Over the years, Barclay and I have come to really love this healthier, oil-free, no-sugar-added alternative to granola. It’s rich in protein and nutrients, sweet but not overly sweet, and easy to customize with your favorite blend of oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and spices. Most of the brands of muesli that we find sold in stores here are completely raw, but we love toasting the oats, nuts and spices to bring out their best flavors and make the muesli extra crunchy (or “creusli”-style, as they say here.) And while muesli is definitely a bit of a change from granola, I’m telling you, this simple mix will grow on you quickly. We now understand why Europeans love it so much!

I also love that there are so many fun ways to eat muesli. You can serve it cereal-style (cold with milk), hot oatmeal-style (warmed with milk or water), overnight oats-style (soaked in milk or water or fruit juice overnight) or — my personal favorite — parfait-style (layered with Greek yogurt and fresh berries). Toppings are of course always welcome, such as fresh or frozen fruit, a spoonful of nut butter, or a handful of chocolate chips. And if you find that you’d like your bowl to be a bit sweeter, just add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup on top. Delish!

So whether you’re new to muesli or you’ve been enjoying it for years, I thought I’d pop in today and share our family’s current favorite homemade muesli recipe with you. We’re always tinkering around with this recipe and adding whatever ingredients we happen to have on hand, but this is the basic idea…and it’s delicious!

Muesli Ingredients

As I mentioned above, basically all of the ingredients (minus the oats) and ratios in this muesli recipe are extremely flexible, so please scroll down a bit if you’d like to see a list of potential substitutions and variations that you’re welcome to try. When it comes to my own personal favorite muesli recipe, though, here are the ingredients I love to use:

• Old-fashioned oats: Old-fashioned oats (a.k.a. “rolled” oats) definitely work best in muesli, so I recommend avoiding quick oats or steel-cut oats in this recipe. I like to toast the oats briefly to bring out their best flavor and give them some extra crunch. And as always, when making gluten-free recipes with oats, be sure to doublecheck that your brand of oats are specifically certified GF.
• Nuts/seeds: I’m partial to a mix of sliced almonds, pepitas and pecans (all raw), which I like to toast along with the oats to bring out their best flavors.
• Spices: I always like to add in a bit of ground cinnamon, but lately I’ve been adding in some ground cardamom as well which tastes so cozy. We’ll also add in a hint of fine sea salt to bring out all of these delicious flavors.
• Coconut (optional): I know that coconut is a polarizing topic, so please feel free to omit if it’s not your thing. ;) But I love mixing in some large unsweetened coconut flakes, which we will lightly toast along with the oats, nuts and spices.
• Dried fruit: We usually just chop up and add whatever dried fruit we have on hand, but dried apricots and cranberries are the usual staples in our house.
• Toppings (optional): Fresh or frozen fruit (such as berries, stone fruit, bananas, etc), nut or seed butters (I love a scoop of almond butter), chocolate chips, or your preferred sweetener (honey, maple syrup, etc) are all great toppings if you’re interested!

How to Make Mueseli

If you’d like to keep your muesli completely raw, this recipe is easy breezy — just mix everything together and you’re done! If you’d like to lightly toast some of the ingredients as we do (thanks to The Kitchn for this method), here’s how to make toasted muesli:

1. Bake, round one: First, I like to combine the oats, nuts/seeds and spices on a baking sheet and briefly toast for about 10-15 minutes or until the nuts are fragrant.
2. Bake, round two: Give the oat mixture a stir. Then sprinkle the coconut flakes evenly on top and bake briefly for about 5 minutes or until the coconut is lightly toasted.
3. Combine: Add in the remaining ingredients (dried fruit) and stir everything together until combined.
4. Serve: Then serve it up and enjoy, or store the rest for later!

Different Ways To Eat Museli

Here are a few delicious ways to enjoy your muesli, garnished with any favorite toppings (see ideas above) you might like:

• Cereal-style: Serve the muesli in a bowl with a generous pour of cold milk.
• Hot oatmeal-style: Pour hot milk or water over muesli in a serving bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Or heat milk or water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, add muesli, and cook together for 5-7 minutes or until the oats reach your desired consistency. (I recommend a 1:1 muesli to liquid ratio, but you’re welcome to add more/less liquid if you’d like.)
• Overnight oats-style: Combine muesli and cold milk or water or fruit juice in a jar and stir to combine. Refrigerate overnight, then serve. (I recommend a 1:1 muesli to liquid ratio, but feel free to add more/less liquid if you’d like.)
• Parfait-style: Serve the muesli in a bowl with plain Greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

Museli Variations

The ingredients and proportions in this recipe are incredibly flexible, so please feel free to play around with ingredients and customize everything to your liking! Here are a few ideas of potential variations to try…

• Keep everything raw: Skip the baking step and just serve the oats, nuts, seeds, spices and coconut raw.
• Use different nuts/seeds: Swap in any other nuts or seeds that you love best, such as cashews, peanuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc. Also, if your nuts or seeds are already roasted, just leave them out during the baking step and add them in later along with the dried fruit.
• Use different dried fruit: Swap in any other dried fruit that you love best, such as chopped dried apples, bananas, cherries, goji berries, mango, pineapple, raisins, etc.
• Use different spices: Swap or add in any other warming spices that you love best or a spice blend, such as pumpkin pie spice.
• Add chocolate: Mix some dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs into the muesli when you add the dried fruit.
• Add lemon juice: Traditional bircher muesli in Switzerland is often served with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, which is delicious!
• Add healthy extras: Mix some chia seeds, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds, or any other healthy add-ins that you’d like.

Muesli FAQ

How do you pronounce “muesli”? Muesli is pronounced myooz-lee. (Feel free to take a listen here.)

Where did muesli originate? Muesli was developed around 1900 by a Swiss physician, Dr. Bircher-Benner, to serve to patients in his hospital. His original recipe was said to have been made with oats (soaked in water for 12 hours), grated apples, nuts, lemon juice, cream and honey.

What is the difference between granola and muesli? There are countless variations of each, which often overlap. But in general, granola is typically defined nowadays as being baked until crunchy with oil and sweetener, while muesli contains no oil or sweetener and is either lightly toasted or served raw.

Is muesli gluten-free? Is muesli vegan? Yep, muesli is gluten-free if made with certified gluten-free oats. This muesli recipe is also naturally vegan.

Muesli

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• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Yield: About 7 cups 1x

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Description

This delicious homemade muesli recipe is easy to make and customize with your favorite blend of ingredients. See notes above for ideas!

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Ingredients

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• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup raw sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup raw pepitas
• 1/4 cup raw chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, finely diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

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Instructions

1. Prep the oven. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). 
2. Bake, round one. Combine the oats, almonds, pepitas, pecans, cinnamon, cardamom and sea salt on one large baking sheet (or divide evenly between two smaller baking sheets, see note below). Toss briefly to combine. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the nuts are fragrant. 
3. Bake, round two. Remove the baking sheet and give the mixture a good stir. Sprinkle the coconut flakes evenly over the top of the mixture. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly golden. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the mixture cool for at least 10 minutes.
4. Combine. Either in a mixing bowl or directly on the baking sheet, add the dried fruit and toss the mixture until everything is evenly combined.
5. Serve or store. Serve the muesli as desired and enjoy. Or let it cool completely to room temperature, then store in an airtight container for up 1 month.

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Notes

Source: This recipe is slightly adapted from The Kitchn, whose ratios and method for making muesli we’ve come to love!

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