Classic Granola is one of my favorites to make – it’s fast and easy, and such a versatile addition to any breakfast or even as a snack! As a breakfast item, it’s a staple for brunch served with milk or yogurt and topped with fresh fruit. It’s also the perfect snack to bring when hiking or road trip since it’s easy to pack and stores well. We even have it for dessert sometimes, served on the side of ice cream.
Ingredients and Equipment
The main component of granola is oats. The secret to making the best granola, is to use the best oats. You can skimp on all the other ingredients, but using fresh, high quality rolled oats is definitely the way to go. The good news is that high-quality oats can be very affordable! We get ours at Costco – it’s a large bag, but it stores for a long time. The best part is that the oats we get there are sprouted and organic – extra healthy for our charitable bellies. 😀
For seasoning, I like to add in cinnamon, vanilla, and salt to give the granola a warm, fragrant taste. My family isn’t typically into cinnamon, but having it baked into oats seems almost natural.
Granola toppings are really varied and depend on personal preference, or even what you have available in your pantry. After experimenting with different options, the favorite combination in our house has become:
- Raisins
- Walnuts
- Flaxseed meal
- Shredded coconut
These are just our favorites – feel free to substitute out if there’s anything you don’t like in the list, or something else you’d like to try! More importantly are the binding agents we’re using: olive oil and agave.
For the longest time, I was using plain vegetable oil; while that worked well, using olive oil brings your granola game to the next level. There’s just an extra fragrance that gets added to the classic granola. Similarly, honey or some other binding agent will work in place of agave. Agave is our favorite because the sweetness is subtle and, more importantly, it’s a lot easier to mix than something stickier like honey.
how to make classic granola
The preparation process for making classic granola is going to be quick so make sure to preheat the oven first.
Measure all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and give a couple stirs to blend it all together. Add in the olive oil and agave and mix well so that all the oats are fully coated with the olive oil and agave. Pour the granola mixture onto the baking sheet and spread evenly across. I like my granola in bigger chunks so I try to press down as hard as I can to make the granola more compact. For looser granola, you can just gently press down instead.
Transfer into the oven and bake for 24-26 minutes until the granola is lightly golden brown. The granola will continue to darken after you remove it from the oven. I’ve found the best way to gauge the readiness is to look at the granola at the edges of the pan – if it’s looking nice and toasted at the edges, the whole pan is ready.
Remove from heat and let the granola cool in the pan. Once it’s completely cool, you can break it into smaller chunks. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks and enjoy!
final thoughts on classic granola
Classic granola is something that is both cost efficient and extremely easy to make from the comfort of your own home. You can customize exactly to your taste and there’s no other way to get that same freshness from homemade granola.
The granola keeps for fairly long on its own, but if you can’t get through the batch fast enough, you can always freeze a portion to help prolong its freshness. The granola keeps well at room temperature for two weeks, and up to 3 months in the freezer.
We hope you enjoy this version of classic granola!
Classic Granola
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 spatula
Ingredients
- 4 c sprouted oats
- 1 c shredded coconut
- 1 c raisin
- ¾ c walnut
- 3 T flaxseed meal
- 3 T cinnamon
- ¼ t salt
- ½ c olive oil
- ¼ c agave
- 1 T vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well, making sure to cover as much of the oats with the oil and agave.
- Spread across the baking sheet and use a spatula to press flat.
- Bake for 24-26 minutes until the top of the oats has started to brown.
- Remove from heat and allow to fully cool before breaking into pieces.
