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Every one loves granola. Plain, as cereal, on yogurt. There are endless combinations of fruits, nuts, and chocolates. Unfortunately good granola is expensive. And hard to find. Many granolas are just packed full of sugar with little other nutritional value. When I purchase granola, I usually pick Kashi’s GoLean Crunch, which has 9 grams of protein per serving. It makes a pretty good snack, especially if you pair it with a protein rich yogurt.

I specifically didn’t want my homemade granola to have a lot of artificial ingredients.  I chose as many non-processed things as possible, including non-sweetened coconut. I wanted to sweetness of the granola to come from the honey and brown sugar, though you could omit the sugar and just use honey if you like. Another sweetener idea might be molasses. Hmmmm…. anyway, let me know what awesome granola combinations you prefer.

Granola (loosely based on Ina Garten’s Homemade Granola)

  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup of sliced almonds (I didn’t have slices so I blitzed some whole ones in the food processor a bit)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup non-salted pepitas
  • 1/2 cup quartered dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup dried sour cherries
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup cashew pieces

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oats, coconut, and almonds. In another bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, vanilla, and sugar. Pour the liquid over the oat mix and stir until they are well coated. On a parchment covered cookie sheet, spread the oat mixture into a thin layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until the coconut starts to toast. Every 10 minutes, stir and re-spread the granola. Cool the oats to room temperature. Gently break apart into bite sized pieces. Stir in the fruit and nuts. Makes about 5 cups.

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