Stale Granola? Perk It Up in the Microwave

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated May 2, 2019
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I am the sole granola eater in my house, which suits me just fine. (All mine!) But toward the end of eating my way through a big batch, I find that the granola can start to lose its crisp and get a little stale. A quick spin in the microwave helps take care of that.

Microwaving heats up the oils absorbed by the granola and re-toasts the nuts and grains. I usually place the few spoonfuls I’ll be eating that morning into a ramekin and give it about 10 seconds on HIGH. That’s just enough to crisp up the granola without scorching. If you’re re-crisping a larger batch for several people, spread it out on a plate and microwave in 10 second bursts until it’s crispy again.

This is really just a temporary solution. If you let the re-crisped granola sit out for too long, it goes back to its limp and stale state. This is why I find it’s best to microwave just what I’m going to eat for breakfast. If you have a toaster oven, re-toasting on the toaster tray for a minute or two would also do the job quite nicely.