Making granola is easy! This article will teach how to make homemade granola in 3 easy steps! Granola seems to be all the rage for “health nuts”, and it’s obvious why. Granola is healthy for many reasons; it packs fiber content rich in protein and other vitamins and minerals. Instead of buying granola from the store, have you ever thought about making it at home? Its flavor is so much better, and it’s straightforward to make!
This granola recipe is a hearty and sweet combination of mixed nuts like walnuts, almonds, and pecans. It also has dry oats and dried fruits such as cranberries, raisins, and apricots drizzled then mixed with a homemade maple syrup cinnamon sauce baked in the oven to golden perfection!
Perks of Homemade Granola
Granola is delicious, and when it is homemade, it’s ten times better. Almost everything homemade tastes better and most likely better for your health.
Many times, there are unnecessary ingredients in store-bought granolas. High fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, and glycerin are some of the ingredients that can be bad for you, to name a few.There are so many recipes circulating the internet nowadays that it can often be challenging to choose a recipe, especially when they are so alike.
This recipe is a much healthier alternative to many store-bought granolas.Yes, there are honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar in this recipe, but it’s so much better than the artificial ingredients that store-bought granolas contain. Real food means better health. Moderation is key.Now that we understand that making homemade granola is a much healthier option than store-bought, here are the steps below!
Homemade Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups of crushed walnuts.
- 4 cups of dried oats (Quaker dried oats works best.)
- 1 cup of chopped pecans.
- 1-2 cups of sliced almonds.
- 1-2 cups of dried cranberries.
- 1 cup of dried apricots.
- 1 oz. box of raisins (optional)
Homemade Cinnamon Maple Syrup Sauce:
- 1 ½ tsp of salt.
- ½ cup of light brown sugar.
- ¼ cup of all-natural maple syrup (not pancake syrup.)
- ¾ cup of honey.
- 1 tbsp of cinnamon.
- 1 cup of canola oil.
- 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
Homemade Granola in 3 Easy Steps
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Use a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper using a cooking spray.
Place down parchment paper on your baking sheet and then lightly grease it using a little butter or a canola oil cooking spray. After you have greased your baking sheet, start assembling the nuts in this order:
- Walnuts
- Oats
- Pecans
- Almonds
- Cranberries
- Raisins
- Apricots
Once you have layered the nuts and the dried fruit, mix well. Make sure the nuts are blended evenly.
Step 2: Make the cinnamon maple syrup sauce.
Now that we have assembled our granola, it’s time to learn how to make the delicious cinnamon maple syrup sauce! Gather all of the ingredients to make the sauce. You will want to prepare everything to make the sauce before you heat the pot on the stove. Make sure you have all of the correct measurements.
In a medium to large-sized saucepan, add the following into the pot:
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- salt
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
Cook the sauce on medium heat, constantly stirring so that the sauce does not stick. When the sauce becomes bubbly, cook for about 50 seconds, then remove from heat.Pour the sauce all over the granola evenly. Mix well.
Step 3: Bake your granola.
Now you have made the homemade cinnamon maple syrup sauce, let’s get to cooking your granola! After assembling everything correctly and mixed the homemade sauce into your granola, you are now ready to bake it.
You should have already pre-heated your oven before you bake your granola. Place your mix into the oven at 325 degrees and bake for only 20 minutes.
There is no need to bake it any longer than 20 minutes since the granola only needs to be heated.After your granola has finished baking, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Granola will be very sticky; this is normal.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoyed this article, then you would enjoy some of the other How-to recipes athandmedownrecipes.comYou might also be interested in this absolutely delicious best healthy granola recipe from Gimmesomeoven.com!
There you have it! Homemade granola in 3 easy steps! Enjoy!