What’s one food you always have on hand at your house? For me, its my homemade granola. It’s always in the pantry for an easy breakfast, quick snack, or salad topper, no matter the season. A batch of this granola is also a great housewarming gift or gift for new parents, just toss it in a cute jar for presentation and you’re all set.
I love this recipe because of its versatility, you can customize the ingredients to your liking, and its super easy to make. Also, when you make your own granola, you can ensure the food is comprised of ‘whole food’ ingredients and no added refined sugars (like most grocery store brands).
So, let’s start with the ingredients, the main one being oatmeal. I like to use a 3:1 ratio of old fashioned oats and steel cut oats, so 3 cups of old fashioned oats for every 1 cup of steel cut oats. The steel cut oats add a good crunch to the granola but if you aren’t into that, using 100% old fashioned oats is also delicious. I actually made my last batch of granola with only old fashioned oats because I’ve had a hard time finding steel cut oats at my local grocery store and Costco. Typically, steel cut oats are easier to find at health food stores like Whole Foods and Central Market (a Texas chain), so check there if you can’t find it at your neighborhood grocer.
The rest of the ingredients can be easily sourced from your local grocery store, but feel free to use what you have on hand, I prefer walnuts, but pecans or almonds would work great too. And you can add other seeds, like chia, if you’d like to mix things up a bit. Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, there’s just a little bit of mixing, then the oven does the majority of the work. I like to do the mixing in two parts, just to make sure everything gets evenly coated. So once the dry ingredients (except for the dried fruit) are combined, I add the oil and vanilla, then toss to coat. Then I add the maple syrup and toss again. The dried fruit is added after an hour of baking so that it doesn’t dry out too much and turn rock hard.
During baking, I haven’t had a problem with the granola sticking to my sheet pans, but if that is a concern, you can use parchment paper to line your baking pans. I use these Nordic Ware baker’s sheets and I can fit a double batch of granola on one sheet. I also think its worth noting that this granola does not clump. Occasionally, you’ll get a few oats to clump around one of the dates, but otherwise, this granola comes out of the oven with the same consistency as it went in.
Maple Walnut Granola (Double batch*)
Ingredients
- 6 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups steel cut oats
- 2 cups flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed)
- 2 cups chopped walnuts
- 8 oz chopped pitted dates
- 8 oz Zante currants
- 5 oz dried cranberries or raisins (I prefer no sugar added dried cranberries)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 0.5 cup canola oil
- 1.5 cups pure maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 275F.
Combine oats, flaxseed meal, and walnuts in a large bowl. Add oil and vanilla extract and toss to combine.
Add maple syrup and toss again until everything is evenly coated.
Spread oat mixture on a large baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and add dried fruit. Stir until evenly distributed. Bake another 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Remove from oven and let cool before eating and storing. Store in an air-tight container.
*This is a double batch, use half of the ingredients for a single batch.
Do you have a recipe that you make countless times a year and always have on hand at your house? This granola recipe has all the credentials to earn that spot! I’d love to hear about your tried and true recipes – comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign.
Yum!