Don’t you just love granola in all it’s sweet, crunchy goodness? It’s ridiculously easy to make, in fact, I haven’t bought a box of granola in probably 10 years because it’s that easy and that good! When you make your own, you’re avoiding all the unhealthy fats, oils and additives in commercial granola. You can custom design it just how your family likes it!

We love it loaded with unsweetened coconut flakes that toast up all golden and crispy, and lots of nuts and dried fruit. You can control the level of sweetness according to your taste buds. Try it one time and I guarantee, you will never go back to store bought! It’s even gluten free if you use certified gluten free oats. I buy the old fashion whole, raw oats in bulk but not ‘quick’ or ‘instant’ oats. It won’t be the same or as high in fiber as old fashion oats.

When it’s cooled, store it in a big glass jar or tupperware and have it for breakfast with milk or sprinkled on top of yogurt with fresh fruit or you can even make it into granola bars. It’s a great afternoon snack for hungry kiddos and a fabulous topping for homemade sundaes or ice cream. Enjoy!

Ingredients including whole oats, raw almonds and cashews, dried cinnamon, coconut flakes and dried fruits. I use a combo of organic fruit-sweetened cranberries, cherries and raisins.

Honey Oat Granola with dried fruit and nuts

 Products I used in this recipe:

•  Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Rolled Oats
• Eden Organic Dried Cranberries
• Let’s Do Organics: Organic Coconut Flakes
• Ben’s Sugar Shack Grade A Dark Amber Pure Maple Syrup
• Trader Joes Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins

Kate’s Tips

• Add the raisins or cranberries during the last 5 minutes. If you add them at the beginning they turn into hard little teeth-breaking nuggets.
• The granola will harden and get crunchy as it cools. But it’s fragile so it won’t stay in big chunks.
• I have come up with this schedule of stirring: bake 8 minutes, stir. Bake another 8 minutes, stir again. Bake 5 minutes, add raisins and cranberries and stir again. Bake 5 more minutes and it should be perfect! If you want it darker, check it every 5 minutes till it looks right.
• Feel free to try different ingredients. Use your favorite dried fruit. Try figs, dates, apricots, dried pineapple, cherries, prunes, etc. I like to use unsweetened dried fruit or fruit sweetened with apple juice.
• Instead of cinnamon try pumpkin pie spice or throw in a little nutmeg or ground ginger with the cinnamon.
• If you don’t like honey or maple syrup you can use agave or coconut sugar.
• Any nuts you like are fine. Walnuts and hazelnuts both work great. So do cashews, pistachios, macadamias, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds. Wheat germ works too. I’ve even been known to throw in a handful of chia seeds now and then.
• Enjoy your crunchy granola by itself or layer in a glass as a fresh yogurt, granola and berry parfait. Or, add to pancake batter with sliced bananas. Yum!