Key Takeaways:
- Healthy Ingredients: The granola is made with organic, natural, and vegan-friendly ingredients, free of sulfured fruits, ensuring a wholesome and nutritious option for breakfast or snacks.
- Customizable Mix-ins: You can personalize your granola with a variety of dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and coconut flakes to create unique flavor combinations like tropical, berry-rich, or classic mixes.
- Crunchy Texture: Achieving the signature crunch involves slow roasting at low temperatures and optional use of an egg white for binding clusters.
- Versatile Base: The essential ingredients include old-fashioned oats, real maple syrup, and coconut oil, which can be adjusted to suit dietary preferences (vegan or non-vegan).
- Simple Preparation: Making granola at home is straightforward—mix the ingredients, slow roast, and customize with your favorite add-ins for a personal touch.
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Crunchy – Healthy Homemade Granola loaded with goodness. Vegan and made with all organic and natural ingredients. No sulfured fruit in this granola.
This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
As a teenager, I spent several summers living with and working for a favorite aunt and uncle in Seattle. My uncle would purchase granola in bulk for the Nursing home they owned. It was lightly sweet with a hint of maple syrup and a crunchy texture with clusters of oats loaded with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. My favorite breakfast cereal that I ate every morning before going to work at the Nursing Home. This recipe I created tastes like I remember granola tasting all those years ago.
How Do I Make Crunchy Homemade Granola?
This granola is quick and easy to mix up, but toasting it – to achieve a perfect crunch with clusters of oats – takes a while.
Mix the dry ingredients, rolled oats, seeds, and nuts. No need to pre-roast the seeds and nuts. Add the maple syrup and a little coconut oil. Mix all together until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Slow roast/toast in a 225-degree F oven until the granola is lightly browned and crunchy.
Make it Vegan:
If you are making it vegan, stir after the 30 minutes and continue toasting 1- 2 hours until the perfect golden color and crunchy. After the 2nd hours let the granola cool and test for crunchiness. It may be done after the 2nd hour.
Lots of Crunchy Clusters – Not Vegan
After the first 30 minutes of roasting, beat an egg white until it is foamy. You want to beat it with a mixer not a fork. If the egg isn’t foamy it will form small clumps of egg white in the granola. Drizzle the egg over the granola toss to evenly coat and then compress the granola into the pan.
The egg acts as the glue to stick the granola into crunchy clusters. If you are vegan, skip the egg. The granola will still be delicious but have fewer crunchy clusters. It will have lots of crunchy flavors. Toast for another hour and then stir to break up the large clusters—Roast for a 3rd hour or until it is the perfect golden color with lots of crunch. Once the granola is toasted, it is ready to eat. Munch it up as is, or add your favorite combinations of dried fruit.
Here is where you get to give your crunchy homemade granola some personality. Will it be a tropical mix of bananas, pineapple, mangoes, and papaya? Will it be Very Berry Granola? With dried strawberries and blueberries. Or maybe you like to stick with the craisin, raisin, or dates for your mixins. Lastly, consider some peaches, apples, and apricots for extra YUM.
Anything goes, so mix it up, and don’t forget to throw in plenty of large coconut flakes. Farmer Fred makes coconut flakes from fresh coconuts in Florida. He infuses the flakes with maple syrup and dries them until crispy. So Delicious.
What Do I Put In My Granola?
One of the reasons I love to make granola is that every time I make it, I add different items.
The core or base of your granola is the oats, maple syrup, and oil. Use the old Fashioned Oats for crunchier granola. This is one time when you need to use real maple syrup. The imitation maple-flavored syrup loses its flavor in the long roasting process.
Purchase raw nuts and seeds, and add them to the granola before roasting; the maple syrup sweetens the nuts slightly and makes them extra crunchy.
The rest is mix-ins: let your imagination run wild if it is dried fruit add it in. Look for unsulfured fruit. It is much better for you and way tastier. Other mix-ins are coconut flakes, dates, craisins, and raisins. Get a bowl out, add your favorite milk, and give your day a sweet and crunchy start.
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FAQ:
Q: Can I make this granola vegan?
A: Yes, you can! Simply skip the egg white step. Stir the granola halfway through roasting and continue until it achieves the desired crunchiness.
Q: What type of oats should I use?
A: Use old-fashioned oats for the best texture and crunch. Quick oats won’t provide the same results.
Q: How do I achieve large crunchy clusters?
A: If you’re not vegan, beat an egg white until foamy and toss it with the granola after the first 30 minutes of roasting. Then compress the mixture into the pan before continuing to roast.
Q: What are some recommended mix-ins?
A: Popular options include dried fruits (e.g., unsulfured mangoes, cranberries, or apricots), raw nuts, seeds, and large coconut flakes. Feel free to experiment with your favorite combinations.
Q: Why should I use real maple syrup?
A: Real maple syrup maintains its flavor during the long roasting process, unlike imitation syrups, which can lose their taste.
Q: How long does the granola last?
A: Store the granola in an airtight container, and it will stay fresh for up to two weeks. Add mix-ins just before eating for maximum freshness.
Crunchy Homemade Granola
Equipment
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
Ingredients
- 2½ cups rolled oats old fashioned gluten-free
- ⅓ cup almonds sliced
- ⅓ cup pecan halves or pieces
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
- 3 tbsp oil coconut oil liquid or melted (see notes)
- ½ cup maple syrup use real maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg white add 1/4 tsp oil and beat with a hand electric mixer until frothy. (omit for a vegan recipe)
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes unsweetened and toasted
- 2 cups dried fruit a mixture of fruit cut into small pieces. see notes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225-degrees F. Mix together the rolled oats, nuts, and seeds in a 2 qt. bowl
- Mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and salt. Add the liquid mixture to the oats mixture and stir to coat the oats, nuts, and seeds.
- Spread on a lightly greased sheet pan. and bake for 30 minutes.
- Stir the granola and drizzle one beaten egg white over the granola. (see notes) if vegan. Beat the egg with a mixer, not a fork. The egg should be frothy. Toss the granola after adding the egg.
- Press the granola together on the pan into a dense layer that is about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake another 30 minutes and stir being careful to not break up the clusters of oats.
- Bake a final 30 minutes. Once the granola is cooled it should be dry and crunchy. If it is soft for lacks crunch bake an additional 30 minutes.
- Add the toasted coconut and dried fruit. Stir to mix.
Love this granola!