Easy Homemade Granola

Homemade granola is a super easy and delicious way to get in healthy additions to your breakfasts, snacks and deserts. Making your own is surprisingly simple and satisfying, and you probably have most of the things you need on hand. I love home making staple items like this, because then I can know EXACTLY what is going into my food. This recipe provides a healthy serving of fiber, complete protein and omega-3’s, all while still being sweet. I add it into dairy free yogurt, fruit salad, or over NadaMoo ice cream to make anything more filling. Not to mention I eat through a good third of it while making it. You can do it up anyway you want, adding in chocolate chips, nuts, fruit or any other flavor you crave (see recipe notes at the bottom)

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cup puffed brown rice* (see notes)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup vegan butter spread*

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

How-To:

1. Preheat oven to 300*F. Line a baking sheet with either foil or parchment paper. Parchment paper will keep it from sticking and clumps a bit better, foil will help it harden and roast a bit better. Either way will work, you just want to use something so that it doesn’t stick to your pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oats, rice and chia seeds.
3. Heat a small pot over medium low heat. Melt butter, then whisk in brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir until fully combined, then bring to a low simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Most of the chia seeds may have fell to the bottom of your bowl so make sure those are combined well.
5. Pour mixture into sheet pan evenly. For chunky granola, pour it into a thicker layer, closer to filling the top of the baking sheet, which will look more like half a pan. For lighter, more crumbly granola, lay it across evenly.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning all the granola at about 15 minutes.
7. Let the granola cool COMPLETELY and then some before crumbling. I suggest waiting at least an hour. After my oven cools, I usually stick it back in the oven to cool over night.
8. Crumble your granola. This will easily keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks, or it can be refrigerated or frozen to last longer if needed. Enjoy!

Notes:

• In case you are as confused about the oat situation as I once was, all old fashioned oats are gluten free, but most are processed in places that also process gluten. If you have a gluten allergy, it is safest to find ones labeled specifically as gluten free which are processed at their own facility or line, such as Bob’s Red Mill GF oats.
• Puffed brown rice can sometimes be hard to find, most of my luck is usually in the cereal isle of grocers. You can also order it online through Amazon or Thrive. I found a box of it at Lucky’s Market. It is sometimes disguised as a healthier “Rice Krispies” Cereal, but is really just puffed brown rice. If you cant find it anywhere, I suggest subbing pecans or sliced almonds!
• You can use any vegan butter you wish, but I prefer using Earth Balance coconut spread here to keep it a bit lighter. I also like the Nutiva vegan butter flavored coconut oil. Coconut oil holds heat well and is a bit healthier than other vegan butter options.
• This is a pretty basic granola, but I love it! It can be put on anything which is really convenient, but you can add things like nuts, dried fruit, other seeds, puffed quinoa or whatever you like easily. If you want to add chocolate chips, wait until the granola is done baking, then mix it in really quick before the granola can cool so that the chips don’t melt. I also sometimes double the cinnamon for a more cinnamon-y granola base.