Homemade granola is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts! And while it's surprisingly easy to make, I do have to warn you: once you go homemade, you won't go back to store bought!
It's that good. This granola's truly ruined store bought granola for us...
Recently, my mom's been enjoying adding granola to her overnight oats for a crunch, so how perfect would it be to make some homemade granola for Mother's Day?
Although, she's a little picky with her granola. She doesn't like any fruit in it. I know! As a dried fruit and freeze-dried fruit lover myself, I don't understand.
So I'll be gifting her a jar of granola, sans fruit, with lots of nuts and seeds for healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids!
How to make granola
The base of most granola is oats. If you're gluten-free, make sure you're using gluten-free oats! You can also add other grains like millet or quinoa, but I tend to stick to just oats. I tried quinoa once but didn't like the hard crunch it added.
The oats and mix-ins (nuts and seeds) are then coated with a mixture of oil, sweetener, salt, and spice.
For the oil, I like using something neutral like grapeseed or olive oil (not extra virgin), and maple syrup for the sweetener. Honey works too (honey almond granola? YUM) but maple syrup is easier to pour in and out of a measuring cup so I almost always opt for the maple.
The fun part: Choosing the mix-ins!
You can add anything your heart desires to your granola! I suggest at least one kind of nut and one kind of seed. I added almonds and coconut flakes, as well as sunflower seeds, flaxseed, and chia seeds.
I didn't add any this time, but I also like adding dried fruit! The combination of dried cranberries, almonds, and coconut is my go-to. Although, my dream granola would have coconut, chocolate chunks, and freeze-dried strawberries in it. Is it weird that I have a dream granola? Probably.
When dried fruit to your granola, it's best to add it after the granola's finished baking. Dried fruit can get rock hard in the oven, and nobody wants to feel like they're eating pebbles for breakfast.
You can also add fresh fruit like I did in my apple pie granola!
If you're adding coconut, don't mix it in with the rest of the ingredients! It tends to toast quicker than other nuts, so if you keep it in the oven for the full 40 minutes, they'll be on the verge of burning.
The coconut should be left on the side until all the other ingredients are put into the oven. While the granola's baking, add the coconut flakes into the bowl that you were using and toss until they're coated with the leftover maple syrup mixture. About 10 minutes into baking, take the baking sheet out, add the coconut and toss it into the rest of the granola, and put it back into the oven.
Take the granola out of the oven and toss it every 10 minutes. This step helps the granola bake evenly so don't skip it!
Once the granola is finished baking, give it one last toss and let it cool completely! I'm all for eating warm baked goods minutes after it comes out of the oven, but the nuts stay a little chewy until it's completely cooled. Who would want chewy granola, right?
You can enjoy your homemade granola in so many ways!
- With milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- Sprinkled on yogurt or kefir
- Sprinkled on chia pudding
- Sprinkled on açai bowls and smoothie bowls
- Mix it into muffin batter
- Mix it into cookie dough
- Garnish your boring vanilla ice cream
Tristan loves to have his granola in a big bowl of kefir, but my favorite way to eat granola is to combine it with a little muesli in a bowl and pour over some cold almond milk. I cut it with the muesli only because I want to make the batch last a little longer!
If you like my homemade granola recipe, don't forget to follow me on Pinterest! And if you make this granola, make sure to snap a photo and share it with the hashtag #aimadeitforyou so I can see it on Instagram!
Homemade Granola with flaxseed and chia
Ingredients
- 3 cups (300g) old fashioned oats
- ½ cup (70g) sunflower seeds
- ½ cup (70g) almonds, chopped
- ¼ cup (40g) ground flaxseed (if you're not a big fan of flax like I am, start with 2 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup (40g) chia
- ½ cup (120ml) maple syrup
- ⅓ cup (80ml) grapeseed oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (30g) unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320°F/160°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the maple syrup, grapeseed oil, vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together until combined.
- Add the oats, sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, ground flaxseed, and chia to the bowl and stir until everything is coated in the maple mixture.
- Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- While the granola is baking in the oven, add the coconut flakes to the bowl and toss to coat with leftover maple mixture. Add the coconut to the granola on the baking sheet, toss and spread into an even layer once again. Bake for another 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes.
- Let it cool completely before serving.
Not a fan of granola? Try my banana bread or muffin instead!
Jennifer says
This looks delicious! SO easy and nutritious too... I'm gonna add this to some of my breakfast meals! Thanks so much Ai 🙂
-Jennifer
http://www.herstyledpassport.com
Ai says
Thanks Jennifer! Hope you like it 🙂
Jennifer Pompaski says
Homemade granola is always the healthiest and I love this recipe. It's different from others I have used before and has more fibre and different ingredients added. I am definitely going to try this!
By the way, your smile on your page gets me anytime i visit your blog! It is infectious and makes me just want to keep on reading!
Ai says
Thank you so much for your kind comment! Totally made my day❤️
Monika Dabrowski says
Fantastic granola with a great choice of extras! Followed you on pinterest! Have a good weekend:)
Ai says
Thanks Monika! Followed you back 😉
Rita says
Good recipe!
Ai says
Thanks Rita!!
Emily Ruegg says
This is a great recipe, a new staple!!!
Ai says
I'm so glad you like it Emily!! Totally made my day 🙂
Madelyn says
Awesome stuff! Thank you for the recipe.
Ai says
So happy you liked it Madelyn! 🙂
Beth says
I'm with your mom on preferring not to have dried fruit in my granola. The dried fruit gets too chewy when baked with everything else. Loved your tip about preparing the coconut, too.
Ai says
Hi Beth 🙂 Yes, the dried fruit gets hard and chewy and unpleasant when baked, which is why I always add it at the end after it comes out of the oven.
Olivia says
Definitely trying this. Can I sub in half steel cut oats and half old fashioned oats? I have all these steel cut oats and I'm not to sure what to do with them. Thanks!
Ai says
I honestly can't say, as I've never tried making granola with steel cut oats...Let me know if you try it out!!
Jackie says
Thank you for this great recipe! I have been making this regularly for my family and they love it! Sometimes I use olive oil in place of the grape seed oil if I’m out and no one knows the difference. Highly recommend it.
Ai says
Thank you so much Jackie! So glad you and your family are enjoying my granola recipe!! I use olive oil in it all the time too 😉 Such a good swap!
Torie says
How many servings would this yield? Adding up all the calories makes me nervous! Trying to eat healthier than before after babe #2 🙂
Ai says
It's difficult to say, as one serving is different for everyone. That said, my husband and I will usually finish the batch in about 3 days if we have it for breakfast every day. If you want to cut calories, you could try doing half granola and half muesli, as muesli doesn't have any sweeteners. Something my husband does as well is serve it with yogurt instead of milk so it's more filling!
Cece Dunlap says
AMAZING! I searched many grocery stores for a cereal that was both sugar-free and gluten-free to know avail. I am so excited about your recipe. I substituted the maple syrup with a sugar-free maple syrup. And it is perfectly delicious and perfectly satisfying. I will never eat store boughr cereal again.
Ai says
Hi Cece! I'm SO happy you loved my granola recipe! Thank you so much for leaving such a lovely comment and rating!!
Lamisah says
Hi,
How many grams would you say is a serving?
Thanks
Ai says
Hi Lamisah! I think most store-bought granola packaging says 1/4 cup per serving, but I usually eat about 1/2 cup. I also think that how you serve it will change how much you'd want in a sitting. If you're serving it sprinkled on yogurt or a smoothie bowl, it would be a lot less than if you were having it on its own with milk.
Maria says
I am so trying this, thank you, Ai! (I didn’t know what to do with all my flaxseed and quinoa))
Ai says
I hope you like it! 🙂
Alli says
What quantity of dried fruit would you suggest adding?
Ai says
Hi Alli! It's totally up to you, but I usually add about a 1/2 cup or so of dried cranberries after the granola's finished baking.
Moore says
Maybe it’s because i made 1/2 the recipe but after 20 minutes (out of 40 per the recipe) my “granola” looks burnt. Next…
Ai Willis says
Hi Moore! Yes, it definitely was because you halved the recipe. If you only have half the ingredients in a regular sized sheet pan, you'll end up with too much empty space on the pan and it would cause the ingredients to burn. Hope you try it again with the full recipe, or with a smaller baking sheet😊
Cathy says
My go to recipe!