Recipe of the Day: Crunchy Granola

I won’t argue that it’s faster than grabbing a bag off a store shelf, but there are two good reasons for making your own granola. One: it contains better ingredients. Two: it tastes better.

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Crunchy Granola

Yield About 8 cups (at least 16 servings)

Time 40 minutes

Mark Bittman

Summary

Into this base of rolled oats you can stir just about any dry ingredient imaginable: other grains, like flakes of rye or wheat; dried fruit; spices, from cinnamon to vanilla to nutmeg to cardamom; orange zest, crystallized ginger, peanut butter, even chocolate chips. And of course, any nut or seed you can think of: I favor a combination of cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pecans.

Ingredients
  • 6 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
  • 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds or cashews
  • 1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut, optional
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
  • Dash salt
  • 1/2 to 1 cup honey or maple syrup, or to taste
  • 1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit, optional
Method
  • 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine oats, nuts and seeds, coconut, cinnamon, salt and sweetener. Place on a sheet pan and put in oven. Bake for 30 minutes or a little longer, stirring occasionally. Mixture should brown evenly; the browner it gets without burning, the crunchier the granola will be.
  • 2. Remove pan from oven and add raisins or dried fruit. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container and store in refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.

Source: The New York Times

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Wow, Mark… no fat? My granola has a cup of butter in a kilo of oats, and it’s delicious and deadly.

I’d also note that adding dried fruit is a bad idea unless you’re planning on eating all of the granola rather quickly; otherwise it dries out and becomes a dental hazard while the granola gets soggier.

Third reason to make your own granola: it makes the house smell SO GOOD.

I started making my own granola when the one I used to purchase began to taste more like chemicals than food. I’ll never buy it again. I get a superior product for much less money.

As someone who makes their own granola often, you forgot #3…it’s a lot cheaper to make it than buy it; a LOT cheaper!

I’ve made granola before, but I included fresh ground peanut butter from Fairway. The pb baked to have a really nice carmelly, peanut butter flavor.

Last year, I served homemade granola at Christmas Day brunch, and gave my guests bags of it to take home. I was astonished at how popular it was.

This recipe looks interesting because it does not contain any added fat, although that’s a hefty dose of sweetener.

Have to second the nut butter tip from Conor. Mixing in a nut butter makes the granola richer… it is THE secret granola ingredient.

For those of you who are commenting on the lack of fat in the recipe… I’ve been using Mark’s recipe for granola for the last couple of years and my family and I love it. My kids love to come up with different combinations of add-ins (dried cherries and sliced almonds are a favorite). I usually avoid packaged granola because of the fat. It’s nice to actually feel good about eating granola instead of guilty.

Bittman – The Pantry piece was spot on with the exception of the anchovie tip. You’re throwing fresh, salt packed over for oil? – Hamby

The nuts and seeds have plenty of fat, and the oats absorb a bit as they cook — no need for added oil. I love making it this way so that when mixed with yogurt and allowed to sit in the fridge overnight, the oats get soft and lovely and it’s more like a muesli. My favorite dried fruit ingredient are those little dried date bits with the while powder (cornstarch? I’ve never been sure) on the outside. They don’t look terribly appetizing but they’re delicious.

I love the nut butter idea — I’m going to try that this weekend with almond butter.

Another great option is to skip the massive amounts of sugar, and just keep it low-GL. That has a much bigger health impact than any question of fat.

Or you can just not cook it, and call it Muslix!

Homemade granola and a bottle of locally made yogurt – my Christmas gift to friends and family this year – a real hit!

Mmmmm… you can ditch all but a couple of Tblsp’s of the honey/sugar, add some fat and wheat germ, wheat bran, ground flax seeds, double the dried fruit (plumped in water before hand) and you have an amazing breakie. The coconut is a must of course….keeps in the freezer or fridge too.

And a 3rd reason… you get EXACTLY the granola you want. The right level of sweetness, the right level of crunch, the right kind of fruit… it’s like having your own Kellogg’s plant right there in the kitchen. 😉

Peter Steinberg
//www.FlashlightWorthyBooks.com
Recommending books so good, they’ll keep you up past your bedtime. 😉

The nut butter idea sounds really delish. How do you incorporate it into the baking? Please post.
BTW, I’m an LA “nuts and fruits” food guy and when it comes to granola, believe me, I’ve tried ’em all. I became addicted to the best one I’ve found, Sconeage. (.com). It’s expensive. I’m looking for a way to save money so this recipe may just do the trick!

I”ve been making a recipe similar to this for years. It’s a family favorite, and friends have coveted it for Christmas gifts. I usually add wheat germ and whole wheat flour. Also, at the urging of my MD and nutritionist who believe in fat as a nutrient that helps with the absorption of other proteins and vitamins, I add canola oil, and bake the mixture a bit longer at a lower temp (90 minutes at 300F, stir once midway), for a golden, crunchy color and texture. At your suggestion I’ll be experimenting with PB and with maple syrup. Cheap; healthy; fresh; delicious.

OT, but it looks like the Amazon link to How to Cook Everything is not to the 10th anniversary edition.

I too have been making granola for years, and my recipe is not so different. However, my twists are:

1) inspired in Mexico, I add popped amaranth
2) since I like clusters, I use a pureed mix of canola oil, maple syrup, and baked sweet potato. the thicker liquid creates bigger clumps.

Then of course you can toy with adding ground flax, wheat germ, triticale, hazelnuts, …

Great recipe. It solves my granola oil conundrum in my quest to only use 19th Century ingredients.
Here’s a link to some other granola ideas:
//anhourinthekitchen.com/2008/12/14/granola/

this is a wonderful recipe. i’ve made it many times. you can use all kinds of flakes — i’ve used barley, spelt, and kamut as well as oats. it really doesn’t need any extra added oil or butter.

i like to toast mine really dark so i add the coconut about halfway through. otherwise it incinerates.

#17, good. go buy it at your local bookstore, instead.

Louise – Australia January 10, 2009 · 6:30 am

I made this today and it is great. I love this site but could I request that the recipes are also given in metric. Most of the world uses metric and it makes it much more difficult to quickly make these great recipes. Many thanks.

Leslie, Aix en Provence January 10, 2009 · 11:37 am

Delicious! I use a honey/applesauce/1 tablespoon of oil mix to bind the dry ingredients – which get a good hit of ground cinnamon before mixing. Julia is right: It *does* make the house smell good…which has led to many requests from friends for a batch of my granola…not the recipe, mind you…a ready-made batch. I’ll be following Stormie on this one next year!

//lafourchette.blogspot.com

I make this weekly and love it! It is easy and tastes good, and I love how much one can vary it.

I have made my own granola for years & the two keys are correct proportion of nuts/seeds to grains and correct amount of fat & sweetener. Excluding fat (oil, i.e grapeseed or canlola) really creates a dry & drab granola-a common mistake. With the addition of only 1/2 c of oil, a much tastier version results. Too much grain, in this case oats, & not enough nuts & seeds also results in a rather plain granola. Experiment w/ liquid sweeteners such as white sage honey, agave nectar or grade B maple syrup. Vietnamese cassia cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla, & orange rind add that extra flavor punch.