Homemade Granola is as simple and fast to make as it is delicious.
Its simple notes of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla make it a versatile staple to keep in your pantry at all times. One batch makes enough to last for 2-3 weeks and it will save you a ton of money compared to what you'll find in the store for a much smaller quantity. Things I've used it for? Topping yogurt, salads, and ice cream. I've even used it as a trail mix base.
Make this recipe gluten free by using certified gluten free oats.
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For More Gluten Free Breakfast Baked Goods:
Blueberry Oat Breakfast Bars – gluten free
Healthy Breakfast Bars – Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam, gluten free
Gluten Free Honey Oat Bread – Gluten Free Baking
Gluten Free Apple Muffins with Streusel – Easy Fall Breakfast
Amish Baked Oatmeal – Classic Vanilla, Gluten Free
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Zest | Healthy Breakfast
Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes – Thick and fluffy
My most favorite of uses for this granola? Using it in my Chick-fil-A Market Salad, by far.
**Note: When making this granola to top salads, I always cut down the amount of cinnamon. Otherwise, it would be too overpowering. If you'd like to use this granola for both yogurt and topping a salad, simply cut down the amount of cinnamon to what I recommend below and you will be able to use it for both just fine.
How To Make Homemade Granola:
- Preheat oven to 300 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir gluten-free oats, cinnamon, chopped nuts, and a pinch of salt together. Tip: You can use any mixture of chopped nuts you'd like. I prefer using chopped walnuts or pecans and sliced almonds. I like to use Thrive Market brand oats because they are certified gluten free and organic. (Get 40% off your first order + sometimes a free gift.)
3. In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine honey, oil, and pure vanilla extract. Stir.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir using a non-stick silicone spatula until the oats and nuts are well-coated.
5. Spread mixture out on two ungreased, non-stick baking sheets... or, 1 large baking sheet if you are a kook and have one as big as me. Important: Only bake on a non-stick cookie sheet so mixture does not stick. Do not grease, or else granola could have an oily texture.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir using a non-stick silicone spatula.
7. Place cookie sheet back in oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Oats should have a slight browned/golden color to them at the 20 minute mark. If they don't appear to, then you may bake for an additional 1-2 minutes but do not bake any longer than that as to not risk burning the bottoms.
How to Cool Homemade Granola:
8. Lay out several overlapping sheets of aluminum foil or a non-stick baking mat on your countertop.
9. Immediately upon removing granola from oven the final time, "scoop" out granola and place onto the aluminum foil or non-stick baking mat. I say "scoop out" but I use a silicone spatula to do this.
I find the aluminum foil on the countertop method works really well at allowing the honey in the granola to cool down and not stick to any surfaces. If you happen to leave your granola in the cookie sheet (even a non-stick cookie sheet), it tends to stick. We don't want to be scraping out our granola from the pan so trust me on this one - honey can be a butt.
10. Once granola is completely cool, I use a spatula to scoop the granola into an airtight container. Once I have the majority of the granola in the container, I like to carefully pick up the aluminum foil and fold it like a taco, and then I pour the remaining granola into my container.
This part can sound a little involved, but after your first time having done it, you'll find it's no big deal. Homemade granola is way worth it.
11. Enjoy!
Homemade Granola - Honey Nut Flavor
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 4 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats (I find the best deal is Thrive Market's brand of gluten-free organic oats. It's cheaper than Bob Red Mill's.)
- 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (Important: If making for use as a salad topper, keep cinnamon as ¼ tsp. If making for just topping yogurt or other, increase cinnamon to 1 tsp.)
- pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir gluten-free oats, chopped nuts, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt together.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine honey, oil, and pure vanilla extract. Stir.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir using a non-stick silicone spatula until the oats and nuts are well-coated.
- Spread mixture out on two ungreased, non-stick baking sheets. Important: Only bake on a non-stick cookie sheet so mixture does not stick. Do not grease, or else granola could have an oily texture.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir using a silicone spatula. Place cookie sheet back in oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Oats should have a slight browned/golden color. If not, bake an additional 1-2 minutes but don't cook any further than that as to not risk burning the bottom.
- Meanwhile, lay out several sheets of aluminum foil or a non-stick baking mat on your countertop.
- Immediately upon removing granola from oven the final time, "scoop out" granola from the cookie sheet and place in a thin layer onto aluminum foil or baking mat. Note: I say "scoop out", but I use a silicone spatula to do this. I find the aluminum foil on the countertop method works really well at allowing the honey in the granola to cool down and not stick to any surfaces. If you happen to leave your granola in the cookie sheet (even a non-stick cookie sheet), it tends to stick. We don't want to be scraping out our granola from the pan so trust me on this one.
- Once granola is cool, use a spatula to scoop the granola into an airtight container. Once I have the majority of the granola in the container, I like to carefully pick up the aluminum foil, folding it like a taco, and then I pour the remaining granola into my container.
- For best results, eat within 3-4 weeks.
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