Have you bought any granola lately? Or any breakfast cereal for that matter? The price of cereal is through the roof and granola is way at the top of the range. And, honestly, I don’t know why. Our typical weekday breakfast around here includes a bowl of cereal of some kind and that really puts a dent in my weekly food shopping budget. Also, most granola has a pretty high fat content and it’s usually a hydrogenated fat – the kind you really want to avoid if possible.
So, I was really excited to find a great recipe for homemade granola in one of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food cookbooks. By the way, those cookbooks have some of the most beautiful food photography I’ve seen. I only dream about taking a photo a gorgeous as the ones in those cookbooks. Just incredible.
But I digress. Back to the granola. This recipe is simple to make and you can use whatever nuts and fruits your family likes. I chose pecans and a berry-raisin-cherry mix. Walnuts or almonds would be good, too. So would dried cranberries and apples. The combinations are up to you! The apple juice concentrate lets the granola get crisp without using so much oil. The entire recipe contains only 2 tablespoons of oil and it makes at least six generous servings.
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking or instant)
3/4 cup toasted wheat germ
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tblsp vegetable oil
6 oz. dried mixed fruit
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Coat a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Add the oats, wheat germ and pecans stirring to mix well. Spread evenly in the pan. Cook until the mixture is lightly browned, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven.
Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Stir together the apple juice concentrate, brown sugar and oil.
Pour over oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread evenly in pan and return to oven. Bake until oats are crisp, about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
Let cool in pan.
Toss with dried fruit. May be stored up to one month in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.
Enjoy!
Click here for a printable copy of Homemade Granola.
–Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I love making homemade granola – it’s so delicious and so much healthier than store-bought. I’m definitely going to try your recipe!
Granola is definitely one thing I need to make. I live snacking on it during the day. It’s definitely way better and healthier than the stuff found in stores.
I’ve never made granola! Maybe it’s time I try it!
Sounds healthy and yummy.
Magda
My daughter loves granola, i will definitely be trying this!
I like that there is not much fat in this recipe. I love granola on my yogurt and I’ll have to try this recipe.
A wonderful (and very healthy) recipe, Lana, which I look forward to trying. I particularly like the apple juice concentrate touch. I’ve been making my own juice concentrates lately from excess fruit in my garden and have found it to be an excellent way to really add zip to recipes. Well done!
Your pictures are also very pretty; love all the colour and flavour! Great idea to add concentrate … wow! Thanks for sharing the recipe so beautifully!
Thanks, Deeba. I thought the concentrate was a good idea, too. Reduces the fat by quite a bit!