I came to discover that we make granola a lot more complicated than it needs to be! You basically need a base (oats, nuts, etc.) and then a sweetened liquid to coat that base. Then you bake it and add in things like raisins, craisins or chocolate chips. Done and done!
Oats. Oil. Sweetener. Spices. Bake. Add-ins. Eat.
That's my newly discovered, simple outline for making homemade granola. Easy right?
But seriously, granola really is that simple to make. You just start by placing your oats (or buckwheat groats, chopped nuts, etc.) in a large bowl. Then you heat some oil, sweetener and spices in a sauce pan on the stove and pour it over your oat mixture. Stir, stir, stir. Bake. Add in the add-ins and...poof! You're done!
Dig in.
Brett is my granola addict. He's loved it for as long as I've known him (ahem...all of two years). Early on in our marriage I wanted to try and make homemade granola so we could stop eating store bought. I was all excited to have some homemade granola for him, so I made a huge batch and then...burned it. People. No one told me that the granola hardens more as it cools. I kept feeling the granola as it baked and even though it was getting quite brown, it still felt soft. So I kept it in the oven. A little while later we had a huge pile of nicely burnt granola.
Not even I, the girl who eats almost anything, could eat it.
Into the trash it went.
It took me a while after that to muster up the nerve to try again. After lots of browsing through different recipes, I came to discover that we make granola a lot more complicated than it needs to be! You basically need a base (oats, nuts, etc.) and then a sweetened liquid to coat that base. Then you bake it and add in things like raisins, craisins or chocolate chips. Done and done!
Ever since this discovery, I've made Chocolate Cranberry Granola and now this Cinnamon Raisin Granola (which I also added to some banana muffins to make Whole Wheat Banana Granola Muffins!)
I always also love this granola in some healthy fruit cereal!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups oatmeal*
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup agave maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed optional
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 340 °F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick baking mats.
- Pour your oats into a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the oil, sweetener, cinnamon and flaxseed (if using) and stir until well combined and heated through.
- Pour the warm, cinnamon mixture over the oats and stir well until all of the oats are coated.
- Spread the oats out onto your prepared baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes. Take the baking sheets out and stir the granola with a spatula and then return the oats to the oven to bake 5-15 minutes more, depending on your oven. Stir and check the oats every 5 minutes after you initially stir them to make sure they don't burn. They should be slightly golden, but not brown.
- Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool. Stir in the raisins and store in an airtight container.
Carol says
In the nutrition information, the Serving Size comes up on my screen as "1"--please let us know what the actual measurement is (i.e., 1/4 cup). Thanks so much!
Faith VanderMolen says
I just updated the nutrition facts Carol. Hope that helps! A serving of this granola would be about 1/2 cup. However, keep in mind that our nutrition calculator isn't perfectly accurate. I hope you enjoy the granola!
Leigha @ The Yooper Girl says
Yuuuuum! I envy how much homemade stuff you make! I want to try making my own granola but I have like 3 packages that I need to eat up first, haha! I didn't realize it was this easy to make it! Oh, I'm just imagining all the flavor combination you could make 🙂 Happy Friday!
Faith says
I know. I have tons of flavors I want to try:) Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread, Peanut Butter...So fun!
suzanne says
I love your blog Faith....just wanted to tell you that I use a simple, no fail baking method I found on another blog years ago ..it is called 'crystals lazy granola'...I use my own recipes (like yours - though I process lots of nuts and seeds as well so my kids get them without realizing it ;-)....you bake at 375 for 10 min , turn the oven off and leave it in the oven overnight...in the morning it is perfectly crunchy and delicious...not to mention wonderful smelling (esp since I add cinnamon most of the time!)
Faith says
Hey Suzanne! Thanks so much for saying "hi"! And that method for granola sounds amazing and so simple. I'm definitely going to try it next time I make granola. And I love putting seeds in mine too:) Thanks for commenting!