Basic Granola

I know what you’re thinking. If you’ve spent any time on my site, you’ve probably gathered that I don’t do basic recipes. That’s because I usually find plain, classic recipes boring. If it’s a choice between a strawberry smoothie or a S’moreo Cheesecake Shake with Nutella and strawberries, I would choose the latter any day. But every once in a blue moon, even I want to get back to the basics. This granola was one of those things that I just wanted to be as plain as possible. Mainly so I could use it to complement other, more interesting things, like this Banana Berry Breakfast Soft Serve. My mom tasted the granola plain the morning after I made it and declared it was really good. She even poured herself a bowl of it, and ate it plain. Now that is hard-core basic-ness!

I wasn’t willing to go that far. I would never feel like eating something plain…plain. But this granola goes great in other things. It is good in Kefir drinkable yogurt with strawberries and bananas, for instance. You could also try it in yogurt. And if you are into classic, plain-type recipes, this one is for you. If you like your granola a little more exciting, why not use this as a base recipe and add your own spices, flavorings, or mix-ins? Dried fruit would be a great addition. You can also switch up the nuts I used in the recipe.

Honestly, this is just a base recipe to be customized to suit your individual taste. But it is a very good one, and also quite easy and simple. Forget about forking over a small fortune for a plastic bag full of organic granola at the store. Now you can make your own, and what ingredients go into it is all up to you. So here it is, ready for you to either change it all up, or enjoy as is for a classic, sweet cereal!

Basic Granola Recipe

made using this extremely helpful guide on ambertheblack.com

Makes between 6 and 7 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Bob’s Red Mill brand 5 Grain Rolled Hot Cereal
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• dash cinnamon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup organic raw agave syrup
• 1 tbl vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray so the granola doesn’t stick too much to the foil.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, salt, and cinnamon. Toss the mixture.

In a medium saucepan, combine the olive oil and agave syrup. Turn the heat to low. When it starts bubbling, remove from heat. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Pour this mixture into the bowl of oats. Stir until the whole dry mixture is coated with the wet mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the aluminum foil. Use a spoon to spread it out over the whole surface of the aluminum foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden. While baking, remove from oven every 10 minutes to mix it around and check if it’s done.

If adding dried fruit, do so after removing granola from the oven.

This will make your house smell amazing and contribute a delicious, flavorful crunch to your breakfast! And the best part – you will never have to rely on store-bought granola again! Now you can have a fresh batch of homemade granola whenever you want it. And you can customize your recipe to suit your desires. So what are you waiting for! Go ahead and get baking!