This super easy basic homemade granola recipe is perfect for a healthy breakfast, snack or parfait! I love that it uses only simple pantry ingredients and takes just minutes to mix together. And it freezes well too!
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Back when my husband and I were dating, he was living by himself and had to buy all of his own food and make all of his own meals. And let’s just say that he’s very much a minimalist and it definitely showed in his menus! 😉
So I often took pity on him and made him food that I’d send home with him when he came to visit me on the weekends.
Somewhere along the way, I discovered that he really liked homemade granola. So, one week I started digging through cookbooks looking for a recipe to make for him.
My family never ate granola and I probably only had ever eaten it a handful of times here and there at friend’s houses, so I really didn’t know what constituted a “good” homemade granola recipe.
Some granola recipes looked complicated. And others, while they sounded kind of good, called for expensive ingredients. I finally came across a very basic granola recipe in an old, trustworthy church cookbook that I often used.
It looked super easy to make and I figured I’d just take a chance and hope that it pleased my guy. Obviously it did because I’ve been making that same simple granola recipe for the last 10 years!
The thing that we love about homemade granola is that, at least for this recipe, it’s inexpensive plus it keeps us full much, much longer than store-bought cereal does.
When my husband eats bought cereal, he literally has to eat half the box to get enough to keep him full until lunchtime. (He has a job that requires lots of manual labor, which obviously makes a difference.)
With this easy homemade granola, roughly 1 ½ cups is all that it takes to keep him going until lunch. We also love that it’s a relatively healthy option, too!
This recipe is super versatile and can easily be changed up to suit your tastes. Play around with it, add in other things that you love- make it yours! It’s very forgiving and is hard to mess up.
I should warn you though that it does make a big batch. So if you prefer, you can always half the recipe. Or since it freezes well, you could also just make the full amount and freeze half of it!
And of course, you can also use this yogurt to make homemade parfaits. This simple recipe works perfectly for them and makes them super easy and affordable.
Easy Basic Homemade Granola
Easy Basic Homemade Granola
Ingredients
- 8 cups quick oats
- 8 cups rolled oats (see Notes below)
- 3 cups brown sugar (see Notes below)
- 2 cups wheat germ optional
- 2 cups coconut flakes
- 1 cup sunflower seeds or nuts optional
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 cups canola/vegetable oil or melted butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla
ADD-INS
- raisins, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, Craisins, dried apricots (can add any of these once the granola is cooled)
Instructions
- Mix everything but oil and vanilla in large bowl. (I like to mix it in my roasting pan and then just bake it in that).
- Add vanilla to oil, then add to dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Pour into oven safe dishes (if you don’t have a large roasting pan, cake pans work well) and bake at 250 degrees until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Notes
- I like the texture that using both quick and rolled oats gives this granola. But you can use whatever kind you prefer, as long as the total amount of oatmeal equals 16 cups.
- If you prefer a chunkier granola, you can use ⅔ c. honey and 2 c. brown sugar instead of the 3 c. brown sugar that the recipe calls for. When I do this, I like to mix the honey in with some of the oil before adding it to the other ingredients. Doing this seems to help make it easier to combine nicely with the dry ingredients.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY:
Laura
I’ve been making this recipe for a while now. I use about half the sugar. I have a sweet tooth, and this version as written is way too sweet for me. It is better with honey. As suggested, mix the honey into the oil first.
I add sliced almonds once it’s cooled. In fact, I find any addition to be better added once the granola is fully cooked. If you add nuts or dried fruit before throwing it in the oven, it can add a toasted flavor to the recipe. I also add chia or flax seeds. These give it some heft and really help make this a filling meal. Throw some raisins in and you’re set!
I’ve done all butter and all oil. I find that it doesn’t make much of a difference to the final product.
It does take a while to cook. If you throw the mix onto rimmed baking sheets, it’ll cook faster than if you do it in a casserole or roasting pan. Either way, I stick it in the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes, and stir when the timer goes off. I repeat several times until it’s the right consistency.
Thanks. I’ve used other recipes in the past, and none of them worked as well as this low and slow method of baking.
Lydia Beiler
I’m so sorry for the slow response, Laura! I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying this granola recipe! Interestingly, I’ve cut back sugar significantly the last several years and I actually use less sugar now in this recipe as well. And I loved reading your other tips and recommendations too. Super helpful and I love when readers take the time to share that kind of thing.
Gayle
Can the brown sugar be replaced with something else?
Lydia Beiler
The only other thing that I have ever tried was to do the brown sugar/honey combination that I mention in the recipe notes. I don’t really think other sweeteners would work very well.
Pat Cullison
Gayle, I use a combination of 2 cups of Lakanto monk fruit and erythritol blend and add about 3 tablespoons molasses to reduce the sugar. We love it! Thrifty Frugal Mom thanks for such a great recipe!
Lydia Beiler
Thanks, Pat, for that helpful tip! I love the idea of adding some molasses to help naturally sweeten it. And you are very welcome for the recipe! Delighted to hear that you are enjoying it!
Katrina
This was so, so delicious! Thank you for sharing it. My 3 year old loves to top his yogurt with granola (we call it “sprinkles” instead of granola) 🙂 And this is so much more economical and healthy than store bought granola. Also, I personally LOVE very basic granola with no add ins or tons of stuff, so this is perfect.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sprinkles! That’s so much more fun sounding than granola. I love it! And so glad you all are enjoying this simple granola. I hope it provides lots of happy breakfasts (or snacks) for you all!
Sarah
This! This is the granola recipe I have literally searched years for! I used to purchase it from an Amish lady at our farmers market, bit she no longer brings it.
Thank you so much for sharing g!
Lydia Beiler
Oh, that is wonderful, Sarah! So happy that you can now make it yourself.
Patti
I used both a cup of melted butter & a cup of melted coconut oil, since after my daughter & I made it together last week I didn’t realize it used 2 cups, since I made it by myself this time I put 6 teaspoons of cinnamon, a cup each of butter(only had 2 sticks) & coconut oil, 2/3 cup of honey & all I had was 1 & 1/2 cups of brown sugar, we found that it had too much brown sugar in first batch. I like the taste. I had added about a cup with raisins & chocolate chips before it was cool & the chips melted. It was awesome.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks so much for coming back with the update! I love the changes you made. I’ve actually been adding less brown sugar too recently. I guess we are cutting back on sugar consumption and now just don’t enjoy things quite as sweet as we used too. And the chocolate chips tossed in after baking? Such a great idea! Going to need to try that next time.
Patti
I was wondering if you ever have used melted coconut oil? To replace butter or oil.
ThriftyFrugalMom
I haven’t, but this recipe is super forgiving and as long as you don’t mind the taste of coconut oil, I’m pretty sure it will work just fine!