This Simple Homemade Honey Granola is a pantry staple that is so easy to make yourself and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand. It is delicious over yogurt, atop your favorite smoothie bowl, or on its own as a cold cereal.
This recipe was born out of necessity at our house. After a few months of searching the cereal aisle and not being able to find my husband’s favorite granola, we learned that it was no longer available. Gasp!!! WHAT?!!! He was pretty bummed that it had been discontinued. And so began the Great Granola Search of 2015…
Do you know how many different kinds of granola there are at the store?! Me neither, but I do know that we tried A LOT of them!!! Now, my husband is not an overly picky eater so I knew that this must be important to him. Many different boxes sounded good, and they were fine, but we couldn’t find one that was as good as his old favorite. We kept searching and we kept coming up short.
I can’t believe that I didn’t just make my own sooner! What was I thinking?! Well, I tried a couple of recipes and altered them to our liking and BAM! We had a new favorite. It was that simple!
You can follow this recipe, as written to get a perfect and predictable result every single time or you can use it as a base to create your own flavor combinations. Tailor the granola to your tastes by adding dried fruit, nuts, and seeds and find your favorite combination!
Ingredients
4 C rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 C honey
1/4 C coconut oil
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 250° F.
Combine the rolled oats, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set it aside.
In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the honey mixture over the oats and stir to evenly distribute. This is also the time to customize your simple honey granola by stirring in the nuts, seeds, or dried fruit of your choice.
Spread the oats in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 1 hr, making sure to toss the oats every 20ish mins so they will cook evenly.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before breaking it into clusters. Cooling completely ensures that your granola will last longer on the shelf.
You can store your granola at room temperature in a jar, or airtight container for up to 1 month, but if you’re anything like us, it won’t last that long!
Suggested Flavor Combinations for Your Simple Homemade Honey Granola
Classic Nuts and Raisins- We like slivered almonds or pecans and golden raisins.
Simple Granola with Almonds- For this I like to use sliced almonds, only 1/4 tsp vanilla, and add 1/4 tsp almond extract.
Orange and Cranberry- I suggest using only 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and adding the zest of 1/2 an orange, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds.
Pumpkin Granola- Follow the recipe above. Add pumpkin seeds or pepitas and ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Very Autumn-y!
Winter Spice- Again, follow the recipe above, but this time add ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. For something extra special, try adding a little molasses too, it’ll taste like gingerbread!
What is your favorite combo?!
I hope you’ll try a few of our favorites, and maybe find a few of your own! Include your kiddos in the flavor selections. Let them smell all of the spices. Make those memories together. What a fun way for the whole family to experience something as ordinary as cereal!
And remember… Keep Smiling!
Print Recipe Below
Simple Homemade Honey Granola
This Simple Homemade Honey Granola is easy to make yourself and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand. Follow the recipe as written for a perfect and predictable cereal every time, or use it as a base and customize it with your own flavor combinations.
Ingredients
- 4 C rolled oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/4 C coconut oil
- 1/2 C brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 250° F.
2. Combine the rolled oats, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set it aside.
3. In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and stir to evenly distribute. Add any additional dried fruit, nuts, and seeds and coat them thoroughly.
5. Spread the oats in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 1 hr, making sure to toss the oats every 20mins.
7. Remove from the oven and cool completely before breaking it into clusters.
Store your granola at room temperature in airtight
container for up to 1 month.
Notes
Suggested Flavor Combinations for Your Simple Homemade Honey Granola
Classic Nuts and Raisins- We like slivered almonds or pecans and golden raisins.
Simple Granola with Almonds- For this I like to use sliced almonds, only 1/4 tsp vanilla, and add 1/4 tsp almond extract.
Orange and Cranberry- I suggest using only 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and adding the zest of 1/2 an orange, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds.
Pumpkin Granola- Follow the recipe above. Add pumpkin seeds or pepitas and ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
Winter Spice- Again, follow the recipe above, but this time add ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. You can also add a little molasses for a gingerbread flavor.
Looks delicious!