Granola Recipe Easy And Crunchy

Granola or “crunchy oatmeal” as my kids like to call it, is a delicious way to start your day. This breakfast cereal is a treat in our house. Granola is a crunchy, sweet and very filling cereal that perfect for quick easy yet special mornings. Here is step by step instructions on how to make your morning better with healthy homemade granola.

Ingredients for Granola

Oat

Old fashioned rolled out is the best choice for granola. The texture of granola is a huge part of what makes granola great. Oats play a huge part the texture but not all types of oats are equal in delivering this texture. Old fashioned rolled oats is best.

Almonds

Almonds add an extra crunch and flavor and is my favorite nut to add to granola. Walnuts and pecans are also fit this recipe and make delicious granola. If you don’t like these options you can choose your favorite nut. We add nuts in order to add more layer of texture. The oats give our base layer and we want the nuts to add crunch without braking out teeth. In order to not brake our teeth chop the nuts or add them to your food processor or blender before adding them to the granola.

Brown Sugar

Sugar is our sweetener but also plays a part in the texture of our granola. You can use just honey as your sweetener or substitute with maple syrup. I like using brown sugar because I do believe it helps bring out the texture I want. To much honey and maple syrup makes the granola too wet and it doesn’t always cook the same.

Honey

Honey helps sweeten our granola with a bit of added flavor. Maple syrup is also a great substitute for honey if you prefer. You could also substitute sugar instead of using honey. Honey is also a healthier choice over sugar so I do sweeten with both to create the right texture without to much comprise.

Blackstrap Molasses

Molasses adds a great depth of flavor to anything that you add it to. It also has great nutritional value being full of rich vitamins and minerals. Our American diet lacks good vitamins and minerals and then use synthetic supplements. There no need for supplements if you purposely add ingredients that are rich in vitamins and minerals in your diet.

To learn more about the benefit of blackstrap molasses read this.

Find more recipes with molasses here…

Oil

I use Coconut Oil but other oils would work as well but becareful of which one use choice. the different oils wont change the texture but each oil has a little different flavor and it comes out differently in what you cook it with. Coconut oil in my experience taste best when making granola.

Wheat Bran

Wheat bran is another ingredient that I choose to put in for its nutritional benefits. Bran is one of the 3 parts in a wheat kernel and is stripped away during the process of making our refined flour. It is full of great healthy benefits including its great source of Potassium, Manganese, and Fiber to name a few.

Wheat bran in our granola offers a little bit of softer chew for a variety of texture. It also contains gluten. Most granola recipes are gluten free, you can leave the wheat bran out or use Oat Bran for a gluten free option.

Where to find wheat bran? Not all grocery stores carry wheat bran but Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran will probably be the easiest to find in the baking section. Or you can order online from Amazon Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran or Azure Standard Wheat Bran.

Flax Seeds

Another great ingredient full of nutritional value. Flax seed is full of omega-3 fatty acids that are super important for our brain and nerve function. They are also a great source of thiamine, copper, protein, fiber and lots more. I buy my flax seed whole and grind it just before adding it to my recipes.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon adds some delicious flavor along with some great antioxidants. Herbs and spices have so many great healing abilities. I’m very intentional to add lots of flavor through natural herbs and spices like cinnamon into my recipes.

Salt

Salt brings out the flavor of everything you put it on. Its a great resource in the kitchen for making any flavor or recipe stand out. When it comes to baking, table salt works just fine but if sea salt has the needed health benefits.

Egg White

The egg white at first seems like a strange ingredients and not its not for the added protein and health benefits… The egg white is a binding agent along with the sugar and helps create the chewy, crunchy chunks.

How To Make Granola

Melt Oil, Sugar, Honey and Molasses Together

In a small sauce pan melt coconut oil, sugar and molasses together. We want the sugar to melt completely but not to come to a simmer or boil. We don’t want to create candy and brake our teeth on our granola. Take off heat as soon as its melted.

Blend or Chop Dry Ingredients

In a food processor to Vitamix, chop almonds, flax seed, wheat bran and 1 cup oats. Pulse a few time till a the almost are crumbly but not blended smooth, we want texture.

Mix Dry Ingredients

Pour you chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the rest of the oats

Combine Wet and Dry ingredients

Pour the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Froth Egg White

In a separate bowl take one egg white and whisk with a fork or small whisk until frothy. Add to granola mixture.

Bake Granola

Spread the mixture on a baking sheet evenly. Its okay if its thick but I wouldn’t have it any thicker than half an inch. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Do not mix or crumble while its baking. just leave it alone and let bake.

Let Cool and Crumble

Let cool completely before braking apart. Once cool down you can brake the granola with your hands or a fork if you prefer. At this point you can also add dried fruit to your granola if you want. We like to add raisins, golden raisins my family’s favorite. Add, dried blueberries, craisins, dried apricots or whatever you fancy.

Store

Pantry: Store in an air tight container or zip-lock bag for up to 3-6 month in a cool dry environment.

Freezer: You can also store your granola in the freezer for long term storage, 6-12 month. When freezing granola make sure you use an freezer zip-lock or an air tight container. When freezing be sure to give room for expansion

Storing in the refrigerator may cause the granola to get soggy, I don’t recommend.

Shop This Recipe

Most of these ingrdients will easily be found in your local grocery store. Flax, Wheat Bran and Blackstrap Molasses are the few that might prove to be difficult. Here are some options.

Learn more about Azure Standard by reading my Azure Standard Review and Costco Price Comparison.