This is the granola of your dreams. If you never made it at home you'll be surprised how easy it is and how long it lasts (hint: it can be frozen)! Crunchy, sweet but not too much, and full of your favorite nuts and dried fruit, you'll never go back to the purchased stuff.
About this recipe
Seriously. Your search for the best granola recipe is over. It's called crack granola (it's original name) for a reason: it's addictive.
The recipe is an adaptation of the now famous granola from Eleven Madison Park (via the New York Times), a restaurant in New York that gave their dinner guests a gift packet of wonderful granola for breakfast the next day.
I've been making it ever since. Adapting it here and there. But two ingredients never fail to deliver (besides oats of course), and that's the combination of olive oil and maple syrup. It's simply the best possible thing to add to your homemade granola. So good it deserves the name crack granola, because it becomes an addiction, albeit a good one.
By now I wonder who buys commercial granola, usually so lackluster, a mountain of oats with few add-ins and not exactly cheap, at least around here. This homemade granola is SO easy to make and keeps so well if done correctly. Who would want to settle for less, right?
Ingredients
Besides the basic ones, the add-ins are incredibly versatile and can be adapted to your palate or to what you have around.
- Oats. I recommend the traditional or rolled kind. They're sturdy and have a great crunch. Instant oats just don't work as well.
- Oil. Use olive oil for the best results. It's one of the key ingredients.
- Sweeteners. Maple syrup and brown sugar (light or dark).
- Nuts. For me, the sliced almonds are a must. They provide a crunchiness different from chopped or whole almonds. I also add hazelnuts, but the sliced almonds are essential.
- Dried fruit. Cranberries are my favorites, but raisins work very well also.
- Flavorings. Cinnamon, orange and vanilla is what I use. The combination is wonderful.
The oats
Though names sometimes vary depending on the country you are, there are 2 types of oats good for making granola:
- Traditional oats - also called old-fashioned, these are medium-sized, shaped like a disc but very irregular or downright broken in aspect. It's the one in the box we grew up with, that is used to make porridge (big fan here!) and many other breakfast dishes.
- Rolled oats - is coarser and thicker, the discs are more formed and need more hydration to become chewable. It holds very well with this recipe.
Instant oats - I don't recommend it for this recipe.
How to make it
Keep in mind my top tips below when making this recipe. It's easy, but those details make for the best result.
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My top tips
- Drying the oats correctly. This is the key to a crunchy granola. The oats are impregnated with a mix of olive oil and maple syrup, that is warmed with some brown sugar. This sticky mess is then baked at a low temperature (very important) to dry the wet mixture, resulting in a caramelized granola, every part coated until it hardens.
- Slow baking. It's important to give it the time it needs in the oven. If it doesn't dry it will not keep well, and it will be chewy without being crunchy, like a piece of regular toast vs an oven dried toast, the latter keeps for weeks.
- Baking pan. The type of pan/amount of oat mixture ratio is important. I use sheet pans or cookie sheets, so the granola is spread as much as it can and is more easily dried before it colors too much. A golden color is great and good for the caramel flavor, but it should be dried further. If you put too much oat mixture in a smaller pan it will take too long to dry out in order to stay crunchy.
- When to take it out of the oven. Follow the time given in the recipe, and stir it a few times during the baking time. It will still feel wet when you take it out of the oven, but it will harden as it cools. You'll get the hang of it when you start making it regularly. Because you will. One batch of homemade crack granola and there's no turning back. You're spoiled for life.
Frequently asked questions
With the recipe in this post! The whole recipe with ingredients and instructions can be found below in the recipe card.
Because it didn't dry in the oven enough. It's baked in a low oven because it actually needs to dry out so it becomes crunchy when it cools down.
Absolutely! Commercial granola can be expensive and of a lower quality, especially considering that you know what goes inside yours.
It depends on how much sugar or other not healthy ingredients you add to it. Most ingredients in granola are not bad for you, like oats, nuts, dried fruit, but sometimes too much sugar is added or oils that are not very healthy. Commercial granola tends to be less healthy than homemade.
Related recipes you might like:
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Crack Granola
This is the granola of your dreams. If you never made it at home you'll be surprised how easy it is and how long it lasts (hint: it can be frozen)! Crunchy, sweet but not too much, and full of your favorite nuts and dried fruit, you'll never go back to the purchased stuff.
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 3 cups oats (traditional or rolled)
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (I buy them without the skin)
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa nibs (optional)
- ¼ cup shredded coconut (optional)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- Large pinch of sea salt
- Zest of 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup dried cranberries and/or raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ºF / 120ºC.
- Mix oats, almonds, hazelnuts, coconut and nibs if using, salt, zest and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Heat olive oil, maple syrup and sugar in a small saucepan just until dissolved, it doesn’t need to boil.
- Add at once to the oat mixture and mix well with a fork or spoon, making sure it coats everything.
- Spread on a large baking sheet (preferably with 1-2 inch borders) and bake for about 1 hour, removing from the oven and moving it around the pan and spreading evenly again three or four times during this time, so it bakes evenly.
- It will still feel wet, but after an hour it will be golden, and some parts will be dried.
- Remove form the oven.
- Add the cranberries or raisins. You can add them during the last 5 minutes, but I like to add it when I take it out of the oven. Why? Because too much baking and they dry out and harden, and sometimes get bitter, especially raisins.
- Let it cool, moving it around at first so it doesn’t clump too much.
- Store in jars with tight lids or in the freezer.
- Serve with fresh fruit, milk and more maple syrup if you want.
Notes
Add-ins. I like to add coconut and cocoa nibs to my granola. Also, use a different citrus zest, spices, combination of nuts and/or dried fruit. I do highly recommend using sliced almonds (no matter what other nut you add) because they provide a crunch that is amazing and can't be achieved with other types of nuts.
Drying the oats correctly. This is the key to a crunchy granola. The oats are impregnated with a mix of olive oil and maple syrup, that is warmed with some brown sugar. This sticky mess is then baked at a low temperature (very important) to dry the wet mixture, resulting in a caramelized granola, every part coated until it hardens.
Slow baking. It's important to give it the time it needs in the oven. If it doesn't dry it will not keep well, and it will be chewy without being crunchy, like a piece of regular toast vs an oven dried toast, the latter keeps for weeks.
Baking pan. The type of pan/amount of oat mixture ratio is important. I use sheet pans or cookie sheets, so the granola is spread as much as it can and is more easily dried before it colors too much. A golden color is great and good for the caramel flavor, but it should be dried further. If you put too much oat mixture in a smaller pan it will take too long to dry out in order to stay crunchy.
When to take it out of the oven. Follow the time given in the recipe, and stir it a few times during the baking time. It will still feel wet when you take it out of the oven, but it will harden as it cools. You'll get the hang of it when you start making it regularly. Because you will. One batch of homemade crack granola and there's no turning back. You're spoiled for life.
Oats. I recommend the traditional or rolled kind. They're sturdy and have a great crunch. Instant oats just don't work as well.
Gluten free. Use certified GF oats for a gluten-free option. You can buy it online: Quaker Gluten Free Old Fashioned rolled oats or Anthony's Organic rolled oats.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 60
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛
- Calories: 429
- Sugar: 24.4 g
- Sodium: 293.7 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.7 g
- Protein: 6.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: granola, crack granola
Liz says
Just gorgeous, Paula! Now I have a big granola craving---and this will disappear quickly!!!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I can munch on this all day long! It looks super!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks Angie!
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
I agree, just say NO to store bought granola! With fall on the horizon making my own granola sounds so inviting. This version sounds divine!
Paula Montenegro says
Homemade granola, absolutely Deb!
Marissa says
This looks and sounds just incredible, Paula! On my MUST TRY list for sure...
★★★★★
Paula Montenegro says
You should Marissa, it's amazing!