No-Stir, Lots-of-Clusters Granola
I first published this ten years ago (!), so it needed a small update, and it now includes a printable recipe card...just scroll all the way to the bottom of the post for that.
I am seriously so excited to share this recipe with you. Woohoo!
As you know, I make my own granola on a regular basis, because store-bought granola is ridiculously overpriced. And making granola at home is just not that hard.
My least favorite part of the process, though, is the stirring. Opening the oven frequently lets a lot of heat out, plus even with rimmed baking sheets, I still manage to spill some granola every time.
When I got the America's Test Kitchen DIY cookbook, this granola recipe caught my eye because it promised perfect granola with no stirring while baking.
Count me in!
Not only does this method save time, but it also produces granola that is nothing but clumps, and if you're like me, this will make your heart sing.
The granola comes out as one big piece, so you can just break it into whatever size pieces you like.
This granola is perfectly crispy without being heavy. So good.
Also, baking it flat like this allows for much more even baking; no more burnt bits on the edges of the pan.
I didn't plan this, but when I lined up all my ingredients, I realized almost everything is from Aldi (yep, even the maple syrup!)
In a large bowl, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil.
Next, stir in the oatmeal and chopped almonds. I love coconut in my granola, so I added some unsweetened flaked coconut.
Now, press the granola mixture into a rimmed baking sheet. (I use a half-sheet baking pan, like this one.)
You can use the back of a spatula to make sure it's evenly pressed down.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.
If you like your granola slightly less brown, you can always bake it a little less.
Let the granola cool for about an hour. At this point, it should have hardened, and you can break it up into clusters.
The original recipe says you can add 2 cups of dried fruit at this point, but if fresh fruit is readily available at this time of year, I opt to skip that step.
But in the winter, raisins, craisins, or dried apricots are good additions.
Store your granola in an air-tight container.
You can eat this as a breakfast cereal with milk, of course, but it's also really good sprinkled on top of yogurt.
As with most granolas, there's some flexibility here. You don't have to include coconut, you can use nuts other than almonds, and you can use coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil.
No-Stir Granola
Scroll down for printable!
⅓ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ cups raw whole almonds, chopped
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cups raisins or other dried fruit
Heat oven to 325 ° F. Grease a rimmed half-sheet baking pan.
Whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil. Stir in oats, almonds, and coconut.
Spread the oat mixture into the prepared baking sheet; press evenly to compact granola.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until granola is lightly browned, rotating baking sheet halfway through the baking time.
Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly. When granola is cool, break into clusters and stir in dried fruit.
Store in an airtight container up to 1 month.
No-Stir Granola
This granola requires NO stirring during the baking time! Less mess, more even baking, more clumps. Perfect.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups raw whole almonds, chopped
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 cups raisins or other dried fruit (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 325° F. Grease a rimmed half-sheet baking pan.
Whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil. Stir in oats, almonds, and coconut.
Spread the oat mixture into the prepared baking sheet; press evenly to compact granola.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until granola is lightly browned, rotating baking sheet halfway through the baking time.
Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly. When granola is cool, break into clusters and stir in dried fruit.
Store in an airtight container up to 1 month.
Notes
To use coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil, just melt it before mixing with the rest of the liquid ingredients.
Use a combo of vanilla and almond extracts to switch things up.
Do you think you could somehow make a peanut butter version out of this? I once got this awesome peanut butter granola that came in clumps like yours, on deep discount at a discount grocery store and loved it, and I have been craving it ever since, but I don't want to pay the full price for it! I got it for $1 a bag, turns out it sells for almost $4 a bag in the grocery stores. I could switch out the almonds for peanuts I guess that would be step one...not sure how to get the peanut butter in there.
PB would probably get added to the "wet" mixture, though you might need to adjust (dial down) something else to make room for it in the recipe. It might be a matter of reducing the maple syrup, vanilla, and brown sugar slightly. (Syrup because it's wet, vanilla so it won't compete with the PB flavor, and brown sugar because PB has some sugar in it already.) Good luck!
They now make bags of peanut butter powder, which you could add to the mix before baking,
Also, it looks like you could buy "Peanut Butter Flavor" from King Arthur Flour company, which could just be easier/quicker than reworking the recipe entirely...
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/peanut-butter-flavor-1-oz
Ooh, that does sound really super yummy. I agree with Liz about it being added to the wet mixture, but I'm not sure exactly how much you'd need to add. Have you poked around online to see if there are other peanut butter granola recipes? That could give you some idea of the proportions that work.
Let me know if you find a recipe, because I would totally make a batch. And if I find a recipe, I'll be sure to share it here.
Betcha you could replace the oil with any nut butter, maybe use a little more. This is what I did with my clumpy granola recipe, worked fine. This recipe is a little different but looks yummy.
This is EXACTLY what I would do, and have done in other baking recipes! Works out perfectly, and I'm sure it will with this too. Add in some dried berries, and it'll be like PB&J granola!
Victoria, the same company published a peanut butter version in the magazine Cook’s Country using the same baking technique for their October/November 2016 issue, if you want to check that out and see if any of them peak your interest. They also include: Almond-Raisin Granola, Cherry-Chocolate Chip Granola, Honey-Pecan Granola, and (the peanut butter one) Salted Caramel Peanut Granola. I’ve only made the Salted Caramel-Peanut version from that set of recipes, and it is AMAZING!!! I’ve only had a PayDay candy bar once a long time ago, but it tastes like what I think I remember that tasting like – haha – only a lot more fresh and even more delicious. I’ve made both of those recipes 2x now. I will have to try this version out that frugalgirl posted! Anyway, I wanted to pass on the info about the Cook’s Country granola set in case you hadn’t seen it! Identical cooking method to this one! I am guessing that the recipe author Adam Reid made all 9 granolas at the same time, and they chose to publish five of them in Cooks Illustrated and four in Cooks Country, as well as replicating this one in the DIY cookbook. I made the spiced apple version too and it is also REALLY good!
Quick question - What is your method for chopping the almonds (knife, food processor)? The reason I ask is because I've been making homemade granola for years as well but have been buying the pre-sliced super thin almonds. However it is pretty pricey in my opinion and turns me off from making it. I'm not crazy about huge chunks of nuts in anything so I never chopped them myself.
I usually just chop them by hand because I don't mind having chunks of nuts in my granola. Could you use a food processor to chop them finely?
Or is there maybe a place where you can buy sliced almonds in bulk? Aldi carries them intermittently, so if you have an Aldi near you, you could stock up on the almonds when they have them and then store them in the freezer.
Do you think this recipe would work with Splenda Brown Sugar?
I'm not sure, since I've never used it. Splenda is supposed to be substituted cup for cup, though, right?
You could always just give it a try and find out. 🙂
The only problem with Splenda that I see is that the sucralose doesn't carmelize the way real sugar does. So, it might not clump as well. You still have the maple syrup in there, so that might hold things together ok.
Or butter, because butter makes everything better. 🙂
This looks good. And what I like about it is it could be eaten as a snack, without a bowl, perhaps even scored into bars before baking. Thanks for the recipe.
what a great idea! I love crunchy granola bars!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I make my own granola too, and it makes me smile every time I go past the bulk bin in the health store which has fancy granola for $29 a kilo. Mine costs about $5 a kilo at most.
I agree with Lili, this would make great bars for packed lunches. I might try it out.
You must have read my mind. Just this morning I was thinking about fall and wanting to make granola, but I wanted a clumpier version of the kind I usually make. Looks like all the ingredients we love! Yum!
I really like the sounds of not having to stir the granola while it's baking. Taste-wise, do you prefer one recipe over the other (the old recipe vs. this new one)? Sometimes the ease of one recipe over the other might make a difference as to which recipe I might prefer, but I'm wondering whether you prefer to eat one more than the other! Or are they equally good that way.
Despite loving baking, I've never made granola! I must give it a go...
Aldi UK also does maple syrup - and it's much cheaper than other supermarkets!
Hmmmm...I like the idea of clumping, but this recipe has more than twice as much sugar for 3 c. of oats as what we currently use. I bet that's what sticks it together as the sugar melts.
Hi Kristen,
This my first comment. I have been enjoying your blog for a while. This recipe looks so good, I would love to fix it right now. I do not have maple syrup at home. Do you think I can use honey instead?
Hi Kristen,
Real great recipe and i love the way you have laid it all out! Beautiful. Going to try this one out! Thank you,
Andris
I'm so excited to try this! I love clumps, too!
Looks so good! Can't wait to make it. Adding maple syrup to my Aldi list 🙂
I was at a bookstore a few weeks ago, and picked up a cookbook from ATK and was looking at their granola recipe. I almost bought the cookbook just for that one recipe, but the rational side of my brain took over. I'm so glad you've shared this recipe! I love homemade granola, but hate waiting for hours for it to finish!
Omgoodness! This looks/sounds delicious! 🙂
I love my 'clumps' when it comes to granola. Thank-you so very much for sharing this recipe. 🙂
Wow, that looks so good! Ooooh, you could make little granola bars or make granola sandwiches with some sort of delicious center like peanut butter or something. 🙂 I love Cook's Illustrated...yum.
I really want to try this recipe! I don't have any maple syrup, but I do have some sorghum, do you think that would work instead?
LOVE the granola recipe. I sure will be trying this out!--thanks so much for sharing.
By the way, what are your initial thoughts on the America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook? I sure love my The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook & America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I'm looking forward to looking through their new cookbooks!
So far, I really like it. I'll be trying more recipes and sharing a review in the next few weeks.
Sounds great! I'll be looking forward to it!
Thanks!
Never thought of making bars out of granola. DUH. Great idea. Thank you!
I've never had "clumpy" granola, but it does look good & I love the idea of making granola bars with it. Maple syrup is SOOO expensive here I've never purchased it. I wonder how homemade maple syrup (brown sugar, water & mapline) would work.
As for stiring granola I never do. I spread it thin on the baking sheet and put it in the oven at 170 degrees (the lowest my oven goes) It takes a while but when Its golden brown I just let it cool and put it in my storage container. no muss no fuss.
Yeah, maple syrup is crazy expensive, but at Aldi, it's not too bad. I've wondered if you could use honey instead of maple syrup..I'll try it one time.
I made this today even though it has a lot more sweetner (and oil) than my regular recipe. However, my kids don't really like that recipe, so I thought maybe they'd go for a sweeter one. I chopped the almonds up into a coarse meal so they wouldn't be noticeable as almonds (for my picky eaters), same with the coconut. I added about 1/4 cup of flax meal, and used honey instead of the brown sugar. It turned out AWESOME. My son loved the big chunks and was just eating them like cookies. I think it tastes like graham crackers!
Made this yesterday, so yummy. Nice to have the pieces so you can eat it on its own or in yogurt!! Another great recipe find Kristen, you rock at that!
Well, that's mostly because I use so many Cook's Illustrated recipes. 😉 I rarely come across a dud from them.
Thank you! I have been making granola in the crock pot (still has to be stirred but no spilling!) but this looks LOTS easier!
This sounds great, and easy, too!
Do you have any nutritional information on this? I'm "pre-diabetic" and need to watch sugars, carbs, & fats.
Thanks!
I made granola this morning and it stuck something fierce! I used a generous amount of coconut oil too. I used half pepitas and half almonds plus coconut. It was so good and I worked off all the calories just getting it out of the pan. 😉
I finally got around to making this today. Didn't have maple syrup, so I used honey. Maybe that was a mistake because I just about had to use a chisel to get it off the pan. It came out really greasy too- weird. I followed the recipe to the letter, except for the honey part. Maybe it's me????
Oh no!! I've substituted honey for maple syrup and it comes out perfectly each time.
Yum! I made this today and it is so good. I've tried several granola recipes this year and this one is perfect in my opinion. It was crispy when it cooled and so easy to throw together.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It's similar to how I make mine. I don't grease the sheet pan....I use parchment paper and it is so easy to flip out...no cleanup at all. I also buy sliced almonds and whole walnuts at Sam's Club. The price is excellent and the large packages last several months (and I make granola once a week). Thanks again!
This was so delicious, I'm making our second batch today. Came back to see if the peanut butter version was worked out:)
Granola is a favorite of so many people and many of us, like myself have never made it before. In fact, before reading this article many people probably never thought much about making their own either. This easy recipe will surely keep many of your reader's smiling. Thanks for the post.
I just made this yesterday and it is by far the best granola I've ever made! (and I've used quite a few different recipes) I also used regular syrup since I didn't have any maple, and added some pumpkin seeds as well. I can't stop eating it! 3 servings in less than 24 hours 🙂
Yum, except for the maple syrup. Just don't like that flavor. Is there anything else I could use instead of it?
I'm guessing that honey could work, but you might want to use a little less, since honey seems sweeter to me than maple syrup.
Thank you so much for posting this! I have made granola for many years, but could never get it very clumpy. My family loved this so much, thank you!!
I love reading your blog and usually try your recommendations seeing as how they always turn out great! The same with this granola recipe. It is awesome! I used coconut oil instead of regular oil and I spread it thinly on a whole sheet baking pan. It came out thin and yummy and too good to stop eating! I made my first batch yesterday and it's already gone. Making another batch now and that's what prompted me to leave a comment. My kid's love this stuff! I also left out the fruit as fresh fruit is so readily available. (Isn't that what you said too? lol) Keep up the good work Kristen!
I decided to try this recipe because my fiance takes granola bars in his lunch every day, and I thought I would just make bars instead of clumpy granola. Well, I just made this and my fiance loves it! I used chocolate chips and raisins instead of almonds and coconut flakes and I also snuck in some wheat germ and flax seeds. Thanks for posting.
Kristen,
I just wanted you to know that the very day you posted this I went into my kitchen and made a batch. I never buy real Maple Syrup because I'm so cheap, um frugal. I used Aunt Jemina's maple syrup which is imitation and I used pecans instead of almonds. The entire batch was gone that night! We were leaving on vacation two days later and the entire family requested that I make a huge batch to take with us. I made 3 batches to take with us and we ate all of it within 5 days. We've been home for a week now and all I've heard since we've been home is, "When are you making more granola?" So, here I tromp off to the kitchen to make a double batch. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. My daughter even suggested we make a batch and before popping it out of the pan to smear melted chocolate over the top. She thought that would take like the new ones that Nature Valley sells. I think I might try half a pan just as a test for possible Christmas gifts. I think it would be more of a candy that way, but I'm going to try it.
Thanks again!
Yes! It's SUCH good granola. And don't you just love that it doesn't need to be stirred??
I just made my third batch of this recipe. The favorite in the house is the one that I substitute 1/2 cup peanut butter added into the wet ingredients instead of the coconut. I have made granola many times before trying this recipe for the simple reason of finding a no stir granola recipe.
I love this recipe and will continue to make this for a long time.
Thank you Kristen!
Do you have nutritional facts for this recipe?
I don't-I'm sorry. But I'm sure you could find an online tool that will calculate it if you input the ingredients.
Mine is baking right now. Can't wait to eat it. The raw version was yummy, so I'm sure the finished product will be even better. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This recipe looks almost identical to what I make each week, except I don't use any brown sugar, just 2/3 cup of honey or maple syrup instead. I also throw in a cup of ground flax seed and 1/2 - 1 cup of wheat germ, and my kids don't even notice it's there! Mine doesn't clump quite as firmly as your's, but it's pretty clumpy nonetheless, and very yummy. Wonderful next to your homemade yogurt recipe! Thanks for sharing!
My new favorite granola recipe. I'll be trying this with peanut butter next time, it turned out AMAZING!
Can I just say...I've made this MANY times now. I have it memorized. There is no way ON EARTH this would last up to 1 month! I have a hard time making it last up to 24 hours in my house!! Thank you SO MUCH. Enjoy, everyone!
I know just how you feel...it's the best granola e v e r. 😉
I really want to make this and normally we do put nuts in all of our granola but my youngest has just been diagnosed with a nut allergy(to include coconut). If I omit the almonds, do I need to add something in it's place or can I do it without? I was thinking if i needed to add something that I would do sunflower seeds or even sesame.
Thank you so much!
I make our own granola but my husband loves the clumpy kind and I could never figure out how to make it like that. He will be so excited to see this on the counter!
I adore this recipe...i make it every week! I reposted it on my blog at http://cookingamidchaos.com/2012/10/30/no-stir-granola/ I use half honey and half dark corn syrup and it is WONDERFUL. I also use coconut oil and I add flaxseed and reduce the brown sugar by half. I always make a double batch and I eat it every morning as cereal 🙂
This is so similar to my version. It caught my eye because I've never tried peaches; looks yum. I prep mine just the same and do not grease pan, but use silpat mat and make 2 pans at a time, which is 14 cups! I most often bake 15 minutes and leave over night w/o stirring and it makes big clumps as well. I like the addition of the whole almonds, that looks hearty. Here's mine to check out:
http://momonamission.me/favorite-granola-recipe-1/
Finally made this recipe! It looked so good that I immediately made another batch so I could bake both pans at once and not have to wash utensils twice. I confess I used Agave syrup instead of Maple syrup. I use Agave on my husband's oatmeal every morning. Last time I was at Winco, I found a great deal on a GALLON of it. I was wondering what I was going to do with it all. I see a LOT of granola in our future... It's still cooling, so I don't know if the Agave will have any effect on the clumpiness. I do know that it smells so good I had to sit down at the computer to distract myself!
Side Note, particularly to KimN: I make dozens of batches of toffee for Christmas gifts. I used to buy the whole almonds at Costco. Chopping and toasting was the most tedious part of the process. I discovered that Winco sells chopped almonds for about 50-60 cents more per pound. Worth. Every. Extra. Penny. They are not toasted, but they do not have the "raw" taste of whole almonds, which lets me skip toasting them altogether. Hey, maybe those extra pennies are frugal after all. I still had some left over from last December, so I used them in today's maiden batch of granola. Win-win!
This is in the oven right now, and it smells so good! Thank you for a fantastic recipe. Stirring granola is one reason why I don't make it more often, so this recipe is much appreciated!
Thanks for this recipe! It is by far my favorite homemade granola I've tried. I used 1/4 cup honey instead of the brown sugar and butter and coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil. Thanks again!
Do you think you could substitute coconut oil for the vegetable oil?
Yep! I do it regularly.
Totally yummy! Used honey in place of the maple syrup and reduced brown sugar by half, still very sweet! Oh...used the cocoa roast almonds, too! Delicious! As a previous poster mentioned I'm using this with chocolate on top as Christmas gifts! If the worst part is chopping nuts the recipe is easy!
Just made this. I added chia seeds. Good texture but there is a little bit of a bitter flavor. Could it be the chia seeds or something else. Definitely will try this one again.
I love this recipe!
Kristen,
have you or any of your readers tried substituting honey for the brown sugar? If so, how did it turn out? Thanks and I love your blog!
I haven't personally. I'm wondering if the extra liquid would affect things. I have, however, tried reducing the amount of brown sugar and that does work, although the less sugar you add, the less clumpy the granola tends to be.
Delicious but a bit oily. Made this yesterday and was very happy with the flavor and ease of the recipe, but the half cup of oil made it a bit too greasy. Maybe my Trader Joe's Organic Old Fashion Toasted Rolled Oats don't absorb as much oil as other brands. Next time I'll try it with coconut oil as mentioned by another commenter, and will reduce the amount by a tablespoon. Also, I have two thermometers in my oven, and both showed the same temperature reading of 325 degrees when I put the pan in the oven, but my granola was just shy of burnt at 30 minutes (I rotated the pan halfway through the baking time), so I'll check it at 25 minutes next time. This is a great recipe that I will continue to make, but with adjustments to the amount of oil and the baking time. Thanks for sharing!
My granola doesnt clump well. By the end of the week it is completely seperated.
Thats good stuff! Light, crispy and like an oatmeal cookie without the chew.
My family has been on a granola and protien bar bender and even at Aldi prices this adds up fast! Not to mention all the extra things in the packages.
I usually pass on the "bars" but as I sampled this, I kept sampling, I became full and I think that was my dinner at 2:30pm today! Lol I think I ate 25% of the tray.
New pantry staple! Thanks!!
PS I used coconut oil instead of veg (plus the flakes) and chopped walnuts on 1 in the Vitamix.
Not sure why it took me this long to try it, but I’m so excited. As a bonus, my house smells amazing! We love granola in our yogurt, especially my husband, so I’m thrilled for a more economical option!
Used honey instead of maple syrup and avocado oil as the vegetable oil. No coconut flakes or dried fruit (because I don't see the point if the fruit is simply going to be floating loose among the clumps). Perfect, and so economical!
Years late to this post party 🙂 but I love your site and this recipe! My family doesn't like coconut/dried fruit, so I skip that when I make it for them; I use sliced almonds and I confess, I'm so frugal that I have stretched this recipe to up to SIX CUPS of oats and three cups of nuts (1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts with the almonds) it works beautifully! It's light and crispy and wonderful. I can't thank you enough for simplifying the whole granola process. Holiday and 2020 blessings to you and yours! ~Trish
I've waited too long to tell you that this recipe is wonderful and close to life changing. I make it as gifts for everyone I know and it's always a hit! For diabetic me, I use Splenda brown sugar and sugar-free maple syrup and it still crisps up perfectly. I've also used all kinds of nuts, even salted almonds but pecans are my favorite. Another twist is the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg. Smells amazing while baking. Many thanks.
This is one of our favorites Kristen and our son has shared it with his sporty type friends by their request!
No more store bought granola for us.
I always think store-bought granola is surprisingly expensive considering the ingredients it has. I don't know why it costs so much!
So good. I make it with cashews and eat it like cookies not cereal. Love the crunch.
Don't like overly sweet or Maple flavor, Any ideas ?
I wouldn't say this granola has a particularly strong maple flavor. You could maybe try honey instead, although you might need less honey than maple syrup.
You can reduce the sugar, but the resulting granola will probably be a little less clustery.
This recipe is so good! My daughter has allergies so I was happy to modify the ingredients just for her. She was so happy to have granola again!
Lol, it's on my to-do list to make this today. Lovely timing!
We go through huge quantities of this, so I double the dry ingredients. Then I put the single-batch amount of sugars and oil into a large measuring cup and make up the volume with hot water. Stir to dissolve, the pour over dry ingredients. It's not quite as clumpy, but it still tastes great!
I've also taken to adding sunflower seeds, plus ground flax, chia and/or hemp seeds, based on whatever I have on hand.
We eat this for breakfast, topped with plain yogurt and fresh berries. It sticks with us all morning!
Thank you for sharing your modifications! I hadn't thought of adding chia seeds; I will try that next time.
I’ve been making your recipe for years now. I just asked my husband if he remembered when I first made it, and it’s been so long that neither of us is sure. But we know that I have never made any other granola since. I always use coconut oil. I love to eat it with yogurt and fruit. My husband and kids love to eat it plain for a snack. I have given it as a gift many times, and everyone always loves it!
I’ve been making this for at least 10 years now and it’s by far my favorite! Sounds great right now for fall…maybe I’ll make a batch this week!
We love this granola and I’ve shared the recipe with everyone who has tried it!
I used this recipe for the first time and made a double batch with my 3 year old daughter last night. It was a big hit because she can mix everything "all by myself" 😀
Thanks again
I love this recipe and and make it regularly with lots of substitutions and alterations. I find it to be a very flexible and forgiving formula.
In case anyone is wondering, I did a cost breakdown of the original recipe using today's prices (November 2022) at Aldi. One batch (which gives me about 14 half cup servings and gives my family about two breakfasts) costs 9.09 as written.
1/3 cup maple syrup 1.33
1/3 cup brown sugar .10
4 tsp vanilla 2.00
1/2 tsp salt .01
1/2 cup veg oil .19
3 cups oats .73
1 1/2 cup almonds 2.25
1/2 cup coconut shreds .77
2 cups raisins 1.71
Total: 9.09
This is still cheaper than the cheapest store bought granola I could find which comes to 11.80 for an equivalent amount (would need to purchase multiple bags), but not by a whole lot. My ideas for reducing costs (if you need to) are to either make homemade vanilla or reduce or omit the vanilla, use peanuts or sunflower seeds to reduce the nut cost, and use another sweetener in place of some or all of the maple syrup. You could also leave out the raisins and use chopped bananas or apples instead. I hope this is helpful to anyone who is really needing to watch their pennies, and thank you, Kristen for such a winner of a recipe!
Oh wow, 4 teaspoons of vanilla costs $2 right now??
I usually use a combo of almond and vanilla extract, and since it's a baked product, I use imitation vanilla. ATK's testers couldn't tell the difference when imitation vanilla is in baked goods, so I figure I'm good to go.
I do use real vanilla for things like whipped cream or pudding.
@Kristen,
Vanilla at Aldi is currently 4.99 for a 2 ounce bottle (it went up!) and according to the internet, there are 9.6 teaspoons in 2 ounces, so I think I mathed that right...this recipe would use less than half the bottle, but only slightly less. How much cheaper is vanillin? I don't buy it because I avoid artificial flavors, but I know it used to be much cheaper. I wonder if it still is...
Oh yeah, vanillin is WAY cheaper. I can usually find a big bottle for just a couple of dollars.
To make this nut-free (I have a sensitive kiddo!), just add 1 more cup of oats, for a total of 4 cups, and proceed as directed.
I can’t buy granola in the store - every granola sold in my grocery stores is made on equipment that processes the nut versions, which is enough to set off my nut-sensitive kiddo. I was thrilled to discover this option!
It also works great for a quick-and-easy one-serving crisp - just heat up canned pie filling (or previously-cooked fruit), and top with this granola!
Can I substitute avocado oil instead of using the vegetable oil?When I grease the pan, do I use i.e. Crisco shortening? I assume using butter may burn. I never use a spray for greasing pans & don't have any. Your help is truly appreciated.
Thank, Maria C.
Yes, you can use any neutral tasting oil that you'd like.
And you can grease the pan with butter if you'd like; this doesn't bake at a high temperature and the butter shouldn't burn. Hope that helps! 🙂
Would it turn out just as good if I substitute the vegetable oil by using avocado oil?
That should work fine! If you use coconut oil, it'll have a more tropical flavor, but a neutral oil also works fine.
My family loves this recipe so much! I'm starting off the new year right making a batch by request!