Granola with Figs, Almonds and Coconut

Homemade Granola aka Breakfast of Champions

In case it’s not yet obvious, we’re a little granola obsessed (and by little we actually mean a whole lot …). This almond granola recipe has become a favorite breakfast staple for our entire family. So much so, that it’s even become a tradition to make monster batches of this granola recipe with honey to deliver around the neighborhood as homemade gifts. Convinced, yet? Seriously, it’s time you gave this homemade granola recipe a go. Once you discover how easy it is to make, you may just become a little lot granola obsessed, too.

How to Make Granola

If you’ve never made granola from scratch, don’t fret! It’s not as intimidating as one may think. A few tips will have you making great granola in no time:

• Use a liquid measuring cup to measure the oil first, then the honey. The oil will coat the cup, so when you go to measure the honey it will slide right out of the measuring cup—no sticky spatula scooping required.
• After you spread the granola mixture around the mixing sheet use the back of your wooden spoon to press it all into the baking sheet. This will help create granola clumps instead of a bunch of loose oats.
• Keep a close eye on the granola as it bakes—it goes from perfectly toasted to burned surprisingly fast!

Is Granola Good For You?

With fiber-friendly oats, magnesium- and Vitamin E-rich almonds, and a boost of natural energy from honey, we definitely count this as a healthy granola recipe. It’s most certainly more nutritious—and delicious—than any granola you’d buy in a box at the store (and once you realize how easy it is to make you’ll never buy the boxed stuff again). Is granola gluten-free? So long as the oats you buy are labeled as such—always confirm by checking the label—you’re good to go.

Super Adaptable (and Super Delicious) DIY Granola

The best granola recipe is one that’s infinitely adaptable, and our granola cereal is exactly that. We make our version with almonds, honey, and figs, but really you can mix and match any nut/sweetener/fruit combo you’d like (or whatever you’ve got on hand). Give these homemade granola variations a whirl:

• Pepitas + Maple + Dried Cranberries
• Cashews + Honey + Dried Apricots
• Pecans + Lyle’s Golden Cane Syrup + Chocolate Chips (not officially a dried fruit, but still a worthy mix-in!)

Favorite Ways to Eat Granola

We weren’t joking when we said we’ve gone through phases of practically living off of this stuff. Go ahead, get creative:

• Granola with milk. Kinda obvious, right??
• Granola and yogurt. Our preference here is plain, whole milk yogurt. The tartness of the plain yogurt brings a welcome balance to the sweetness of the honey, and using full-fat helps keep us full for hours.
• Granola crumbles over ice cream. In most instances, the dregs from the end of one batch are used to top ice cream while another batch bakes. Also in most instances: this happens before lunch when the kids are at school and can’t beg for bites from my bowl. No, I’m not sharing.
• Granola trail mix. Fill your Stasher bag with a mix of this honey granola, pretzel sticks (or Cheddar Bunnies), M&Ms, and an extra handful of nuts—instant trail mix.
• DIY granola bar. Having homemade granola on-hand means you’re always ready for impromptu brunch guests. Put your almond granola at the center of the table with yogurt and milk on the side, and surround with smaller bowls filled with fresh and dried fruits and an assortment of nuts. Zero effort and hugely impressive.

Tools to Make Our Honey Granola

We’ve made so many batches of this honey almond granola recipe we basically have it down to a science. A few extra tools and it comes together in a snap:

• BIG mixing bowl. This recipe calls for a lot of oats and nuts, so you’ll want a big bowl to help minimize spillage (especially if you enlist the kiddos to help stir).
• Silicone baking mats. We resisted getting these forever and now can’t imagine life without.
• Granola storage container. We have one of these OXO air-tight storage containers solely dedicated to granola (we even made a cute little label for it). It makes having a batch of this healthy granola always on-hand that much easier.

Hungry for More Easy Oats Recipes?

Dig into these morning faves from our archives:

Grooving on Our Granola?

As always, we want to see how your version turned out! Snap a photo of your finished breakfast treat and tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper.