Homemade granola is easy to make and a great way to save money on breakfast fare. Flavored with maple and vanilla, this recipe is a hit at my house.
My family loves cold cereal. That is clearly one of their comfort foods. It used to be that I could pick up boxed cereals for less than fifty cents a box after sales and coupons. Those days are long gone.
And while the price point, if it still existed, would certainly be tempting, I know that I can make more nutritious breakfasts with a little planning and elbow grease. Homemade granola is one that fits the bill around here.
This version is sweetened with real maple syrup that I buy at Costco or Trader Joe’s as well as a bit of brown sugar to offset the cost. Vanilla extract gives it a beautiful aroma and flavor while dry roasted almonds add some crunch. I add the nuts per serving to accommodate our nut allergies, but you could add one cup to the entire batch if you prefer.
I prefer clusters of goodness in my granola. What I’ve found is that pressing the granola into the pan helps these clusters to form. Limited stirring helps the clusters to stick around. Allow the granola to cool completely and it should crunch up.
This granola is great with milk, in a yogurt parfait, or on it’s own. Hubby has been known to eat it by the handfuls.
Store the granola in the pantry in an airtight container or freeze it for longer shelf life.
If you’re a fan of vanilla baked goods, be sure to try our vanilla muffins!
Maple Vanilla Granola with Almonds
Ingredients
- 5 cup rolled oats do not use quick oats
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 ° Line a rimmed, half sheet baking pan with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, and salt.
- In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the liquid over the dry mixture and stir to coat. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly, pressing the mixture firmly.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Break into clusters and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before packaging in an airtight container.
- Stir in the almonds or add them to taste upon serving. Store in an airtight container. Freeze for longer shelf life.
Notes
Nutrition
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Include this granola in a breakfast kit to take on vacation or to gift to a friend. Include:
- a bag of granola tied with a bow
- a pint of fresh berries or a bunch of bananas
- a quart of yogurt or milk
- a bag of favorite coffee or a packet of tea
Erin
Best granola recipe I have ever made or eaten! The way it clumps up as it cools is so awesome! I can’t make this stuff often enough, we seem to fly through it! Our favorite way to eat it is as a cereal with some sliced almonds and dried cranberries – also equally awesome on yogurt parfaits. I got rid of my other granola recipes, this is the only one I use now – so perfect – thank you!!
Jessica Fisher
Woohoo! Thanks for such great feedback. It’s top on my list, too.
Amy S
I stumbled upon this recipe while researching some ideas for the January 2019 Pantry Challenge. I tweaked it based on what I had on hand, but this is a pantry challenge afterall, so I encourage others to not feel restricted by a recipe and use what they have.
Wheat germ and oat germ were not available, so I used a mixture of chia seeds, flaxmeal, dry spent grains (my husband is a homebrewer), buckheat groats and something else, I think. These “add-ons” are flexible, but don’t use more than a total of two cups. I wish I had had some coconut flakes.
I had more butter in the freezer (holiday sales!) than oil, so I used half of each. I am rationing the oil.
I had a few bags of walnuts, but no almonds, so I used them instead. I reserved roughly a couple tablespoons of the liquid mixture and coated a cup of coarsely broken walnut pieces with it. I baked the oat mixture for 40 minutes and then I stirred in the coated walnuts and baked for about 10 more minutes. My goal was to toast the walnuts and give them some flavor, but not burn them. Plain walnuts are not my thing.
We enjoyed the granola as modified. Some time I will have to try it as Jessica wrote it. But not today during my pantry challenge.
Jessica Fisher
Your adaptations sound great. Thanks for sharing!
Julia
I made this delicious granola today! I omitted the almonds, but may add some in later. I like mine a little less chunky, so I just made sure the stir and break everything apart. The taste is superbly simple and I really love the vanilla and maple flavours! I had a previous go-to granola recipe, but this might be my new favorite!
Danielle
Thank you, Thank you! I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to make a “chunky” granola forever. This method finally worked! Plus the recipe was delicious and simple.
Take Care!
Jamey
We have to go gluten free. Am I understanding your instructions correctly just to substitute more oats in place of leaving out the “germs” ?
Jessica
Yes, if you use gluten-free oats, you can leave out those other ingredients. Often I don’t have them on hand, so I go without. Last time I subbed in some coconut chips and it was amazing.
Tina Monji
I am making this now, can’t wait! We are just about out of the last granola. I also appreciate the simplicity of this recipe. I used ground flax to substitute the oat bran. Coconut oil for the other. (it’s all I use) and more honey than maple syrup, because I was almost out of syrup. fingers crossed!
Deesselisa
Yum! I finally made it go the health food store to get the germ etc. to make this. Wonderful. thank you. I was a little skeptical because I am actually kinda picky about my granola. There are only a few store bought ones I like. But this was wonderful. And my even pickier son, actually loved it. He chose it over Trix. I know, can you even believe I had that in my house. I had coupons that made it $0.80 for the box, so I let them get it. Just vile looking. I am so glad that he actually prefers the healthy cereal. Anyway, we’ll be making this a lot now. Thank you.
Jill
De-lurking here, love your website, and definitely bookmarked this recipe. Was just looking at it again, and is it just me, or are the almonds missing out of the instructions? 🙂
Jessica
It is, but it isn’t. In the headnotes, I mention that I add the nuts per serving since we are accommodating a nut allergy. Forgot that the rest of you aren’t. LOL. Good catch. It’s fixed now. Since they are roasted almonds, you don’t need to bake them with the granola.
Kirsten
I have a granola recipe that I make regularly with honey, but I decided to try this to change things up a bit. I made it in the morning and we promptly ate it for lunch. I love the mild taste of the syrup with the vanilla. While it is fun to add more ingredients I LOVE the simplicity of this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Brenda
Could I use honey instead of maple syrup? I know that changes the name but we don’t eat maple syrup at our house.
This looks like the healthiest and yummiest granola recipe I have seen. Thanks.
Jessica
Yes, I have other versions that use honey.
Brenda
@Jessica, Thanks!!
Renah Violet Woods
I seen a post of a vegetable soup, but when I click it only goes to the Maple Granola recipe.
Jessica
Can you tell me which post that was?
karen
We use coconut oil and add a handfull of flax seeds to our granola. Remember that if you add dried fruit, don’t add it until after cooking—-just ask my kids about the granola with ‘raisin rocks’
sarah k @ the pajama chef
we love homemade granola. this sounds like a combo of two of my favorite trader joe’s cereals…awesome!
Jennie
What could I use instead of oat bran? I have everything else in my pantry.
Jessica
@Jennie, I’m thinking you could omit it and it should be fine. Let me know.
Martha Artyomenko
@Jessica, When you omit a dry ingredient in granola, just replace it with more of another one, like oats etc.
You need to keep the dry to liquid ratio the same though!
Jessica
@Martha Artyomenko, theoretically, yes. But, I know that I’ve run out of bran or germ and made it without and it worked out fine. 😉
Sue R
Yay! I was so hoping that you would post this recipe! I am making yogurt today, while that is processing, I will be baking this. Thank you!
Carrie
I’ve always wanted to make my own granola, but can never seem to find the “healthy” things like wheat germ and oat bran. Where in your stores do you find them??
Jessica
They are usually in the cereal or baking aisles.
Tiffany @ DontWastetheCrumbs
@Carrie,
I’ve found wheat germ in the bulk isle at Safeway too.