Why is granola one of those grocery items that are super overpriced? I love granola. You can eat it like cereal, pour it on top of yogurt or smoothie bowls, even bring a bag with you during a hike for energy. But my pockets got so tired of buying those tiny pre-packaged bags of granola for like $5. So I thought to myself: it can’t be that hard to make a base recipe. A couple of minutes in the kitchen, and voila! This homemade chunky granola recipe was born!
This is my base granola recipe. Of course, there are so many ways to customize granola (dried fruit, chocolate/candies, nuts) that it helps to have a standard recipe you can tweak for your tastes. This granola doesn’t have too much sweetness (especially because most add-ins have extra sugar!) and uses maple syrup instead of white sugar. Not to mention, the maple vanilla flavor is divine. It smells so good when it’s baking, y’all!
I won’t judge you if you just eat as is, but try a sprinkle of this homemade chunky granola in a smoothie bowl, as a healthy cereal option, or on top of a fruit and yogurt parfait. You’ll definitely keep a container of this on hand once you see how easy it is to make! I won’t admit how many batches I’ve made over the past couple of weeks…
Maple-Vanilla Chunky Granola
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ⅛ cup honey
- ⅛ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 ½ cups oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Add all ingredients except for oats to a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly until your vegetable oil is combined well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour in oats and stir until combined. Oats should be evenly moistened.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes. There's going to be a heavenly maple-vanilla scent coming from your oven, but try to resist and keep the oven closed so the oats bake evenly!
- Remove pan and let granola cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Using your hands and/or a spoon, break up granola into clumps. Stir in your toppings at this step (chocolate chunks, nuts, shredded coconut, dried fruit, etc.)
- Store in a Ziploc bag or mason jar. Enjoy!
Notes
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.22
- Total Cost (about 10 servings): $2.21
- Those Other Guys: $1.30 per serving ($12.99 total)
