Homemade Granola

Granola. The un-healthy, healthy snack. 

Well, this version is a healthier one. Pretty much any homemade granola is going to better than store bought. With store bought granola you get all kinds of extra ingredients, a TON of sugar, and all those wonderful preservatives. 

The thing I like about this recipe is that it makes a lot! And you can play around with it, adding things or taking things out. I've added a couple things to our version because I have found that no matter what I put in this, it still gets eaten. So I sneak things like almonds and chia seeds into it, which would never be eaten otherwise. 

The main ingredients

I found this recipe on a website called Out of the Box. It's a website that has homemade recipes for food you normal buy in a box at the store. There is granola, granola bars, pop tarts, other snack foods and lunch box type food. I like it because they break down the nutrition for you. They list out the ingredients in the store bought box and then the difference in the homemade version. It's nice to see all of the things you are NOT putting in your kids' bodies by making it at home.

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

The granola recipe I found on the website is a Nut-free recipe, but we are lucky enough to not have any nut issues so I add nuts. I also sometimes add chia seeds and today when I made some I tried adding raisins. It looks and smells great, so I'm thinking the raisins are a success. 

Whisk wet ingredients on low heat for 5 minutes.

What I really love about this recipe is the quantity. It makes about 13 cups which completely fills a large Glad container. We have a family of four and it lasts us a little more than 2 weeks even after making a batch or two of granola bars with it. In a lifestyle where you feel like you are constantly in the kitchen cooking or baking, it's nice to have a recipe that you can make and then forget about for a while. 

Pour sauce over oats and mix well.

Baking it does take some attention. You want to check it every 10 minutes to stir and switch the cookie sheets to around to different racks. That's what I do anyway, I find that if I switch the cookie sheets every time I stir them, then it cooks more evenly.

So here is the recipe - 

Homemade Granola
original recipe by Out of the Box

• 9 cups of Traditional Oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt (or regular salt if you don't have sea salt)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp vanilla

My additions:

• 3/4 cup chopped almonds
• 3 TBSP chia seeds
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together all the wet ingredients over low heat for about 5 minutes. Once heated through, pour mixture over the oat mixture and mix well. Make sure you get all of the oats covered with the sauce.

Pour mixture in a single layer onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Every 10 minutes stir mixture to cook evenly and prevent burning.

Let it cool and then store in air tight container. 

Some of my notes:

As far as the nuts go, I buy whole, unsalted almonds and then chop them up myself. It's a little more work, but cost efficient. If you don't like almonds, I would think you could really put any type of nut in here. 

You definitely want to buy parchment paper for this recipe if you don't already have it. I like to find ways around unnecessary kitchen items, but this one is necessary. Plus, if you make the granola bars from this recipe you can re-use the paper. I will be posting the recipe for the granola bars (and my failed attempts at experimenting with them) soon.

I know there are TONS of granola recipes out there, but we really like this one. I'd love to hear if you try it what you think or if you have any other great granola recipes to try!

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to try out the batch with raisins!