Homemade Granola

Stacy had wanted to make her own granola for years. We finally got around to doing it and it's a game changer. It's great with milk, on a yogurt parfait, or just for snacking. It's perfectly sweet and crunchy. It's hard to imagine going back to the storebought stuff. --Mark

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil or other neutral oil, such as coconut or olive oil 

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 

1 cup sliced almonds 

1 cup raisins or other dried, chopped fruit

Instructions

Heat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Place the oil, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. 

Add the oats and almonds and stir to coat. Go ahead and measure the oats and almonds right into the oil mixture — don’t worry if you add a little more oats or almonds — granola is very forgiving. 

Stir to coat well. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. If the granola is clumpy, use a spatula to press it into the pan. 

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. The granola is ready when golden-brown and the almonds have toasted — it will still feel wet coming out of the oven but will dry as it cools. 

Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and sprinkle on the raisins or fruit. If you want clumps of granola, press and tamp down the granola before it cools, which will help it stick together. 

Transfer the cooled granola to an airtight container for long-term storage at room temperature.

Notes

Pure maple syrup works the best. We find that pecans are especially good, but you can experiment with anything you think might taste great in granola.