Homemade Fruit and Nut Granola

Store bought granola can be so expensive and I rarely buy it. However, I really do enjoy granola and as I was looking for ideas to use up the shredded coconut last week, I realized that I had all of the ingredients on hand to make a homemade batch.

Homemade granola is very easy to alter, so if you don’t have one ingredient, substitute it with another.

I must confess a little secret. Granola is the main reason that I gained the freshman 10 in college. I have always been a cereal nut (pun intended), so I was enthralled by the wall of cereal dispensers in the school’s cafeteria. I had never had granola before I went to college and realized quickly that I LOVED it. I ate granola for all 3 meals. I had it with milk for breakfast and with ice cream for lunch and dinner…so you can easily see where the 10 pounds came from.

Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats (uncooked)
• ½ cup toasted wheat germ
• ½ cup unsweetened coconut
• ½ cup your choice of chopped nuts, such pecans, almonds, walnuts
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup water
• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or canola oil
• 1 cup your choice dried fruit, such as cranberries, raisins, apricots

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large glass bowl, mix together the oats, wheat germ, coconut, nuts, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, combine water, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, and oil. Bring to a boil.
4. Carefully pour the mixture into the large bowl with the oats. Stir together to combine well.
5. Spray a large rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with non-cooking spray. Pour the oats onto the pan and bake for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and stir in the dried fruit. Pat down the granola with a spatula to clump together. Allow to cool completely.

Print recipe for Homemade Fruit and Nut Granola.