Hello!
If you like granola, making your own will make you love it even more! It’s so easy and it’s so fun coming up with new flavors. If you can’t have grains or are doing a grain-free diet, I have a Paleo granola here: Homemade Paleo Granola.
There are 5 components to a good granola:
- Oats. Oats are naturally gluten-free and is the main ingredient for most granolas. This makes the bulk amount of the granola.
- Fat. You need oil to make it crispy. Oil will also provide healthy fats to pair with the oats since they are high in carbs. It reduces the potential insulin spike.
- Sweetener. Granola sweet and I like using a syrup or honey to make the granola clumpier.
- Nuts and Seeds. You can use any nuts or seeds. For this recipe I used walnuts and hazelnuts since that’s what I found in my pantry. I’ve used almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds and many others in the past.
- Flavor. This is where you can get creative. I used maple syrup and cinnamon to add great flavor here. In previous recipes, I have added pumpkin spice, vanilla extract, coconut and chocolate chips. Get creative! PS if you add dried fruit, coconut flakes, or chocolate chips, do it after you have baked the granola.
*Bonus tip* Let it cool! Your house will smell amazing and you are going to want to take a bite, but you have to let it cool for at least 30 minutes. This step is crucial to get chunky and crispy granola.
This recipe makes about 5 cups of granola and can be stored in jars for a few weeks. Serve over some yogurt, with some milk, or straight out of the jar by the handful.
Enjoy!
Maple Cinnamon Granola (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 4 cups Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Nuts or Seeds You can use any nuts and/or seeds here!
- 3/4 cup Coconut oil
- 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the 4 cups of oats with nuts/seeds, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup. Mix well so that all the oats are coated.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients to the bowl.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. To the lined cookie sheet, add the granola mixture. Spread it in a single layer.
- Bake it for 15 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. After 15 minutes, give it a stir and lower the temperature to 300 degrees. Bake for another 20 minutes. More if it's still moist.
- Once it is done, let it cool for at least 30 minutes. This will make sure it becomes crispy.
