I rediscovered my grandma's granola recipe a few years ago in the family archives. It was wonderful and it was sweet, so I rebuilt it. Less sugar than the original, and a lot more nuts and seeds, so there's healthy fat and protein in every bite. Same toasty crunch, same nostalgic flavor, without the setup for a crash.
I've also used this as the basis for other granola recipes on my site like my Apple Pie Granola, Sourdough Granola and Buckwheat granola!
How to Make Homemade Granola
If you can stir and turn an oven on, you can make this granola. All you have to do is combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients into one big bowl and then spread it out onto sheet pans and bake it at a low 225F for 2 hours. No need to turn it, toss it, disturb it. Just leave it alone.
One important step though is to divide the wet granola mixture out onto two parchment-lined baking sheet pans. The parchment helps to create a barrier between the metal and the granola so it doesn't get too toasty.
Two sheet pans are important so that you are spreading the granola in a thin layer. If it's too thick your granola won't get crunchy.
How do you know the granola is done?
One important thing to know is that at the end of two hours of baking at the low 225F temperature, the granola will still be soft to the touch. That's how it's supposed to be! Go ahead and pull it out of the oven as long as the color looks nice and golden. And then let it rest for 20 minutes on the countertop. While it rests it will magically get crunchy and even adhere to itself. That way you'll get those fabulous granola clusters that I love so much.
Here's how "golden" it should look coming out of the oven.
Adding Dried Fruit to Granola
Dried fruit is optional here, and if you use it, add it after the granola has cooled. Baked dried fruit turns tough and unpleasant.
Two notes: look for unsweetened, since most dried fruit has sugar added on top of what's already there. And use it sparingly if you're watching blood sugar. Drying fruit concentrates the sugar into a much smaller bite, so a scattering behaves very differently from a cupful. I like chopped apricots and dates, about ½ cup for the whole batch.
Joanie's Blood Sugar Balance
The nuts, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds bring healthy fats and protein to this granola, and the oats and coconut add fiber for sustained energy and satiety.
That said, a serving still has 22.8g of carbohydrate, so how you eat it matters. I spoon it over full-fat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with some strawberries or raspberries to balance out the macronutrients for steady energy.
If you want to take it a step further, swap the maple syrup for a sugar-free alternative like monkfruit syrup and you've lowered the sugar without losing any of that toasty sweetness.
Browse ➡️ Blood Sugar-Friendly Recipes or try out my Greek Yogurt Overnight Oats!
Toasted Oat Granola Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 min
- Yield: 5 ½ cups (27oz) - 18 servings
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Description
An updated version of my grandma's toasted oat granola, lightened up to be naturally sweetened and gentler on blood sugar, but keeping all the toasty crunch!
Ingredients
- 3.5 cup dry, uncooked rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped unsalted raw nuts *any variety that you like
- ⅓ cup unsalted raw pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup hemp seeds
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Optional: ½ cup dried fruit (I like ¼ cup apricots and ¼ cup oat rolled dates)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225F and line two large sheet trays (18'' x 26'') with parchment paper
- In a large bowl combine the 3.5 cups rolled oats, 1 cup chopped nuts, ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup hemp seeds, and ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine ¾ cup maple syrup, ⅓ cup avocado oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and mix to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until all the oats are covered and everything is fully combined.
- Divide the granola mixture onto the two prepared sheet pans and spread out into a thin layer. You want it nice and thin so that it toasts evenly and comes out crunchy in the end.
- Bake the granola at 225F for 2 hours until it becomes a nice golden color. It will still be soft to the touch, but never fear, it will get crunchy after you remove it from the oven.
- Remove the granola from the oven after 2 hours and let it sit on the countertop to cool for at least 20 minutes. It's while the granola cools that it becomes crunchy.
- Once the granola has fully cooled, break it up and then put it in an airtight container to store for up to a month.
- Optional: If you like dried fruit in your granola, you can add ½ cup of chopped dried fruit to the final granola. Do not add the fruit before the baking as it will get too dried out and hard to eat.
Notes
- Nutrition Facts are calculated based on the recipe without dried fruit added
- Do not use instant or steel-cut oats for this recipe
- You can use any nuts you like. I used walnuts, pecans, and pistachios in the photos of this recipe.
- If hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds aren't your jam, feel free to swap them with any preferred seeds or other nuts.
- If you want to further lower the sugar content of this recipe, replace the maple syrup with no sugar allulose maple syrup
- You can substitute avocado oil with your favorite neutral-flavored oil
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅓ cup (1.5oz)
- Calories: 215
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 131.5 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.8 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!