This almond granola is made with healthy ingredients, it's quick to make, makes your house smell like cinnamon and you can enjoy it for weeks! Make a big batch in advance and you'll want to put it on everything, ALL THE TIME!
It's just great to have granola readily available at home at all times, whether it's the store-bought or homemade kind. Granola can make a great breakfast or satisfy a little hunger when you haven't finished cooking dinner. We love it with just plain yogurt, but I also like to add it to cookie dough or use it as a sprinkle on pancakes or crepes.
Why make homemade almond granola?
When you make granola at home you know exactly what you are putting in it which is a big plus! You know exactly the amount of sugar added, the quality of the ingredients and make it with the ingredients you love! Moreover, making it is also great fun for kids! They can mix in nuts, seeds, dried fruit and secretly munch on it!
We always make baking granola a little ritual. After breakfast we mix the granola and in the morning it makes the whole house smell so good with the sweet scent of cinnamon and nuts. 🙂 and the best is while it's still warm!
This almond granola is high in fiber and healthy fats and combines both almond chips and almond butter. The addition of almond butter not only makes the granola taste better, but also improves the texture of the granola! Plus, when baked properly, you'll also get chunks of larger pieces of granola that are so crunchy!
The possibilities of what to add to granola are countless, so let's take a look at my favorite combination of ingredients!
What ingredients do we need for almond granola?
- rolled oats - I find these large oat flakes best in the granola! But you can use fine flakes instead or even a combination with rye, wheat, spelt or buckwheat flakes,
- shredded coconut - I feel like shredded coconut is a must for any of my granola! It enhances structure, adds lots of flavor but at the same time doesn't make the granola overly coconutty!
- sunflower seeds - we love seeds in just about everything at home! In bread , as a sprinkle on soups and, along with coconut, they're in all of our granolas. They add healthy fats and taste just great. You can substitute them for chopped pumpkin seeds or combine them with crushed flax seeds.
- hazelnuts - The brown skin on the nuts stands out beautifully in the granola. Whole almonds, walnuts or pecans are a great choice too.
- puffed quinoa - Puffed quinoa will make the granola lighter and softer. It can be substituted for puffed millet, buckwheat or rice.
- sliced almonds - pre-sliced almonds are great to always have on hand in the kitchen! In fact, they'll elevate any meal to aesthetically perfect in no time, just like this granola!
- salt - a little salt to enhance the flavor. Add ideally sea salt or fine Himalayan salt.
- cinnamon - Cinnamon will make the granola smell amazing, making it feel like you're baking biscuits or Christmas cookies! Make sure you get the Ceylon one, that works best in this sweet baking and if you want to add a touch of ground vanilla, you won't go wrong!
- coconut oil - coconut oil will make your granola extra crunchy. Use the unscented one, but if you love coconut, go for the scented one!
- honey - the granola benefits from a little added sweetness and it makes it so irresistible! I like to use honey, but you can use maple or coconut syrup as well.
- almond butter - use a butter made from lightly roasted almonds, it gives the granola the MOST almond flavor, plus, it's a little cheaper than the white version! Use the leftover butter in your morning porridge! You can also add it to cookie dough, add it to creamy soups, or use it anywhere you would use peanut butter.
How to make homemade almond granola?
First, heat the oven to 150°C. Put all the dry ingredients except the dried fruit in a large bowl . So mix together the oats, shredded coconut, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, puffed quinoa, chopped hazelnuts, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
Combine the almond butter, honey, coconut oil in a small saucepan and heat the mixture, stirring with a whisk. Beware, almond butter tends to burn so you'd better not walk away from the saucepan at all.
Add the almond-honey mixture to the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat everything.Add the almond-honey mixture to the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat everything.
Line a larger baking tray with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly on the tray. Trust me, you don't want to bake granola without the parchment paper!
Bake the granola in an oven heated to 150°C and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Stir the granola a few times during baking and if the granola starts to brown too much, lower the heat a little.
Let the baked granola cool. At this step, it is best not to stir the granola at all to create larger chunks. Once the granola has cooled completely, stir in the finely chopped dried fruit.
How to store almond granola?
I prefer to store any granola in a glass airtight container and have it ready on the counter for quick snacks. Always make sure the container is really tightly sealed, otherwise the granola could get damp. It's also important to transfer the granola to a jar as soon as possible after it's cooled.
How long does almond granola last?
Homemade almond granola will last (taste best) for about two weeks in an airtight container. However, because it contains ingredients that don't go bad fast, the granola will last much longer.
TIPS:
- you can omit dried fruit from granola altogether, but I like the extra dimension that dried fruit gives to granola (especially cranberries)
- instead of cranberries and dates you can put mulberries, finely chopped dried apricots, dried pears, currants, etc.
- Instead of almond butter, also try sunflower seed butter, cashew butter or all time favorite peanut butter
- granola is also great as a topping for smoothies or smoothie bowls
Recipe
Homemade almond granola
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 0,5 shredded coconut
- 0.5 cup sliced almonds
- 0.5 cup sunflower seeds
- 0.5 cup puffed quinoa
- ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts (optional)
- larger pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.5-1 cup dried fruit (chopped dates, cranberries, raisins)
- 2 heaped tbsp roasted almond butter
- 2 heaped tbsp honey
- 2 heaped tbsp coconut oil or butter
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, shredded coconut, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, puffed quinoa, chopped hazelnuts, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
- Combine the almond butter, honey, coconut oil in a small saucepan and heat the mixture, stirring with a whisk. Beware, almond butter tends to burn so you'd better not walk away from the saucepan at all.
- Add the almond-honey mixture to the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat everything.Add the almond-honey mixture to the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat everything.
- Line a larger baking tray with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly.
- Bake the granola in a preheated oven at 150°C for approximately 45 minutes. Stir the granola about every 10 minutes to prevent burning.
- Once cooled, add the finely chopped dried fruit and store in an airtight container.
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