This budget friendly Homemade Granola contains whole grains along with pecans, dried berries, dried cherries, and golden raisins.
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 try to come up with a great recipe for my own Homemade 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 that I used allows the granola to crisp up without using so much oil. The entire recipe contains only 2 tablespoons of oil and it makes at least six generous servings. This one's definitely a keeper!
How to Make Homemade Granola
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
To a baking pan, add the oats, wheat germ, and pecans stirring to mix well. Spread evenly.
Cook until the mixture is lightly browned, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven.
Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Stir together the apple juice concentrate, brown sugar, and oil.
Pour over the oat and nut mixture stirring to combine. Spread evenly in the pan and return to the oven. Bake until the oats are crisp, about 30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
Allow the mixture to cool in the pan.
Toss with your choice of dried fruit. May be stored for up to one month in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.
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Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats not quick cooking or instant
- ¾ cup toasted wheat germ
- ¾ cup pecans coarsely chopped
- ½ cup frozen apple juice concentrate thawed
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces dried mixed fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Coat a 9x13 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
More Granola Recipes ...
- The Very Best Granola from Cookie + Kate
- How to Make Magnificent Granola from The Pioneer Woman
- Crisp Homemade Granola from Serious Eats
deeba says
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!
Lana says
Thanks, Deeba. I thought the concentrate was a good idea, too. Reduces the fat by quite a bit!
Barbara says
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!
megan says
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.
Amanda says
My daughter loves granola, i will definitely be trying this!
my little expat kitchen says
I've never made granola! Maybe it's time I try it!
Sounds healthy and yummy.
Magda
jenn (Bread + Butter) says
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.
the wicked noodle says
I love making homemade granola - it's so delicious and so much healthier than store-bought. I'm definitely going to try your recipe!