How To Make Granola

Recently I was walking my younger brother through the basics of making granola at home. Over the phone, he lamented that most recipes felt too fussy and ingredient-heavy for the simple, not-too-sweet, easy granola he craved.

Basic (but very good) granola requires just a handful of ingredients: rolled oats, a sweetener, some cooking oil, and maybe nuts or dried fruit. Once you master that basic formula, it’s easy to customize a mix for your own preferences.

What every granola-loving home cook needs is a simple, straightforward recipe that can be memorized and made from heart. This recipe is just that — a very basic granola that will teach you the basics of cooking oats with a little sweetener, seasoning, and a few additions. Our formula uses seven ingredients.

• a neutral oil
• honey or maple syrup
• ground spices, like cinnamon
• salt
• old-fashioned rolled oats
• nuts, like almonds
• dried fruit, like raisins

You’ll end up with a simple granola to eat by the handful or in a bowl with yogurt or milk. Start by learning this basic method so you can customize all your future batches with whatever you’re in the mood for.

Once you’re comfortable with this basic recipe, you’re ready to experiment. Swap in cashews, hazelnuts, or pistachios. Dice some dried apricots, dates, or figs. Try cardamom or allspice instead of cinnamon. The variations are almost endless.

• Keep it 50-50. The coating for your granola should be about half sweetener and half oil. Honey and maple syrup are two of the best sweeteners you can use for granola because their liquid state coats each oat well. This recipe will give you granola with a familiar level of sweetness, but you can reduce the honey and oil by as much as half and still have excellent granola.
• Get as clumpy as you like. The internet is littered with tricks for clumpy granola, but you don’t need special ingredients for nice, simple chunks — just a few steps. First, press the granola into an even layer before you put it in the oven. Then, stir it only once halfway through cooking. For really good clumps, press down on the finished granola before it cools and avoid jostling it on the pan until cooled completely.
• Know when the granola is done. Arguably the hardest part of baking granola is knowing when it’s done. Using a low oven temperature helps dry out the granola without over-baking it. Keep in mind that the granola won’t be dry right out of the oven — it will dry as it cools. So take it out of the oven when it looks lightly toasted and smells like cooked honey. We’re going for a toasty smell here.
• Add dried fruit after baking. You can toast most nuts with the oats in the oven, but dried fruit will burn on the pan, so be sure to add it after baking.

For the longest shelf life, completely cool the granola on the pan before transferring to a storage container. When stored in an airtight container, this granola will keep for up to a month.

Eat it like cereal with milk or sprinkle over yogurt for a simple breakfast you can take anywhere. Try this recipe straight up or tweak it slightly using different sweeteners, seasonings, or swapping the nuts or fruit for your favorite. With this simple easy granola, the possibilities are almost endless.

Once you’ve learned the basics, there are endless granola possibilities!

• Apple-Ginger Granola with Pecans
• Savory Cheese-Herb Granola
• Granola with Pecans, Cherries & Coconut Flakes
• Stovetop Maple Macadamia Granola
• Cardamom-Spiced Granola with Tahini
• Peanut Butter and Honey Granola
• Almond Butter Granola
• Curry Coconut Savory Granola
• Savory Bacon-Rosemary Granola
• Soft & Chewy Granola
• Wholesome Halloween Granola
• Gluten-Free Gingerbread Granola
• “Second Chakra” Granola
• Matzo Granola with Vanilla & Almonds