Tasty Homemade Granola Recipe

Reader Contribution by Dani Hurst
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Dani Hurst is all about self-sustainability, and lives every day with that goal in mind. She is constantly in search of easy and creative ways to reduce her reliance on store-bought, pre-packaged foods and goods, and enjoys sharing her findings with Natural Home and Garden readers through blogs geared towards living a greener life.

One of my favorite snack add-ons is granola. I love the crunch and sweetness it adds to yogurt, and it’s a great way to add fiber and nutrients to my diet. However, I don’t like the packaging waste and preservatives the store-bought variety adds to my life, so I’ve decided to start making my own. I was surprised at how easy it was to make and delighted at how delicious it turned out, so much so that I doubt I’ll ever buy granola again.

With the right combination of these common pantry ingredients–rolled oats, almonds, brown sugar, honey, salt, cinnamon and raisins–and some butter, you can make delicious granola at home and forgo the extra packaging and preservatives of the store-bought kind. Photo By Dani Hurst.

What you’ll need:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup crushed almonds
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
3/4 tsp salt
a few shakes of cinnamon
1 cup raisins

What you’ll do:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Combine rolled oats, crushed almonds and brown sugar in a large bowl. Melt the butter, then combine honey, butter and salt in a separate bowl.

3. Mix together contents of both bowls. (And don’t be afraid to use your hands for an even mixture.) Divide oat mixture between two buttered trays and spread evenly. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

4. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

5. Remove trays from oven and mix in raisins. Store in air-tight container to retain freshness.

This is a great basic granola recipe, so feel free to experiment with different ingredients. Add pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, cardamom or anything else that might be lying around your pantry until you find your perfect granola combination.

  • Published on Oct 13, 2011
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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