Homemade Granola
Something I love about Trader Joe's is the great selection of nuts and dried fruit - not only the variety and the good prices, but also the freshness. You've seen the high turnover rate of stuff at TJ's: as items are flying off the shelves, there is a crewmember nearby restocking them. When you buy nuts, you want the freshest ones you can buy, especially when buying raw nuts. There's nothing worse than nuts that have sat on grocery shelves too long and are beginning to get rancid. I've never had that happen at TJ's, and I credit the fast turnover of products there.
Wona keeps her nuts in the freezer to extend their lifetime, but mine live in my pantry. If they're not in sight, I tend to forget about them. I love a handful of pine nuts in a salad, some pecans on top of roasted sweet potatoes, dried berries in oatmeal, or a sprinkling of sliced almonds on a custard. Making up a batch of granola every once in a while not only yields a healthy snack and breakfast food...it gives me a fabulous way to use up any lingering nuts and fruits.
Homemade Granola
The great thing about this recipe is that it's flexible and playful. Use regular (old-fashioned) rolled oats, not the quick cooking kind. Use whatever nuts and fruits you like in the amounts indicated. If you don't like the flavor of flax seeds, just leave those out. Adding the dried fruit at the very end keeps it from getting burned while the granola bakes in the oven. Enjoy the granola with yogurt (my favorite way), as a cereal with milk, or just by itself (makes a great snack at home, at the office, or to take along camping.)
4 cups regular rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats)
1 1/2 cups nuts (I used 1 cup raw sliced almonds and 1/2 cup raw pine nuts)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or pepitas (I used half of each)
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup neutral/plain oil (I used grapeseed oil. Use anything except olive oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried fruits (I used mostly Montmorency cherries along with some dried cranberries)
1.) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2.) In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, seeds, and cinnamon.
3.) In a small saucepan over medium low heat, stir the honey, oil, vanilla, and salt until the honey has dissolved.
4.) Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir well until evenly combine and coated.
5.) Lightly spray or coat a baking pan or baking sheet with oil. Spread the granola mixture on the pan.
6.) Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes, gently moving/stirring the granola every 10 minutes so that it bakes evenly. Keep an eye on it and makes sure it isn't getting overly toasted.
7.) The granola will still look/be sticky when you take it out of the oven, but it will dry and harden as it cools.
8.) When cooled, add the dried fruit. Store in a container. It will keep for 1 week (4 weeks in fridge).
Yields about 7 cups of granola
this looks so good! i've been making granola for people at work (i used to bring donuts so this is more cost effective, delicious, and healthy!) over the last month and i will try this one next week! what kind of honey do you guys use? i must admit that i always get the honey bear from wherever i'm shopping because i'm completely clueless on honey. do some stand up better to baking then others, or is it just a flavor difference?
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Hi Zach,
Any kind of honey would be fine. I use whatever I have and I don't notice a difference. For this last batch, I used the TJ's Desert Mesquite Honey. Wona usually uses raw honey, and in the past, I've also used raw honey straight from my in-laws' honeybees. Since you'll be using large amounts of it, just find the most natural and economic option.
You can also use maple syrup or molasses, but those are more strongly flavored and often more expensive. You can also customize your granola by using any combination of honey, maple syrup, and molasses together.
For a more cost-effective option, look for a co-op or grocery near you that sells honey in bulk.
Deana
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I make granola all the time, and wanted to mention that if you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, it mixes granola incredibly well!
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Thanks Deana! I always see that Mesquite Honey in the big jars at TJ's and maybe I'll pick one up next time I'm over there. I'm so excited to try this!
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I always make homemade granola, it tastes so much fresher!
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I love granola. Definitely going to try this at home.
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Homemade granola has become a staple in our household. My husband keeps granola and yogurt at the office; mix them for a great breakfast or midday snack. You can use butter instead of oil for extra flavor. There are so many directions you can take this granola -- all kinds of nuts such as walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts; and a whole host of dried fruits. Sometimes we'll make a tropical blend with pineapples and mangos, or a mixed berry blend, or a more traditional fruit mix of dates, apricots, and raisins. I have a batch in the oven right now. We're having guests over for brunch tomorrow, and everyone will go home with a baggie of homemade granola. Something tells me everyone will be quite pleased.
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I've always wanted to make something healthy like homemade granola. Thanks.
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Homemade granola has become a staple in our household. My husband keeps granola and yogurt at the office; mix them for a great breakfast or midday snack. You can use butter instead of oil for extra flavor. There are so many directions you can take this granola
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Thank you! I found this website because I was optimistically hoping to find a recipe for Trader Joe's "snack granola". When I wasn't able to find one, I came back here and got creative, adding coconut and sesame seeds and using half honey half maple syrup. The granola is in the oven right now and the house smells absolutely delicious!
Do you have any tips on getting granola to clump?
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I like that it use honey and NOT sugar. Thanks!!
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