The Only Basic Granola Recipe You Need (2024)

There is only one basic granola recipe you need to remember. Master thisand you can mix and match your favourite ingredients for countless homemade granola possibilities!

(A fan of grab-and-go breakfast that’s also good for you? You’d love these Healthy Superfood Breakfast Cookies!)

When I learned howto bake, I realized that I can make at homea lot of the stuff we purchase at the store. And that homemade is way better tasting than ready-made.

For example, we don’t buy these things anymore; I just make them!

• Quick and Easy Homemade Lemon Curd
• Homemade Whipped Cream
• Homemade Mexican Chocolate Pudding

I’m adding granola to that list. We haven’t bought granola (or cereal!) in a very long time.

And what’s great is that this is almost a non-recipe. It’s a simple basic formula that is fully customizable so that you can make perfect granola each time.

One basic granola recipe you need to remember

The magic formula is this: 1 cup wet ingredients to 6 cups dry ingredients. That’s it!

There’s this great video on Epicurious where they explain that it doesn’t even have to be actual measuring cups. It can be a bowl, a coffee mug, whatever. Just whatever you use, the magic number is 1:6.

Related: How to Make No-Churn Ice Cream

What to use to sweeten granola

To sweeten my granola, I usually stick with honey or agave syrup though a lot of times I put peanut butter too (I am so tempted to put Nutella or cookie butter – maybe someday I will!).

I know a lot of you are into almond butter and I’m sure that will work too.

Related: Soft and Chewy Cookie Butter Blondies

Do you put oil in granola?

In case you’re wondering if you need to add oil to your homemade granola, the answer is yes. Otherwise, you would end up with a very dry batch.

I always put olive oil. Tastes great too.

Tips for success

I’ve tried and tested this basic granola recipe countless times with different ingredients. And while I encourage you to go crazy and creative, here are my guidelines for a fantastic batch of granola every time:

• Use rolled oats– not quick-cooking oats – as your base. Quick-cooking oats would brown quicker than the rest of your ingredients. We don’t want burnt granola, yes?
• Don’t use less than 3 cups of rolled oats. I tried more and less and 3 was the magic number for me.
• If you’re using dried fruit (and you should!) like cranberries, blueberries or fig, don’t bake them. Add them after you remove the baking sheet from the oven while the granola is still warm. Otherwise, they would turn really tough and hard.
• If you’re using chocolate chips (and again, highly recommended!), add them once the granola is cool. If you add them when the granola is still warm they will melt and disappear (unless melted chocolate is the goal? Then go for it!)
• Add an egg white. I tried batches without (there are times when I don’t have extra and I didn’t want to waste an egg yolk) and while it did not affect the taste, the granola turned out less crispy, looser and just overall less shiny.
• Remember to spice things up! I usually just add salt, sometimes cinnamon. But you can put cardamom, nutmeg, whatever you think would complement the rest of your ingredients.

Granola variations

I love granola experiments (the recipe I share here is just one of the combinations I use). You put in your favourite things so what comes out is your favourite granola. We sprinkle it over yogurt, drench it in milk, snack on it like popcorn.

So go and experiment! Find what your favourite granola combo is and never buy ready-made granola again.

Related: The Ultimate List of Breakfast Ideas

(Recipe adapted from Epicurious)

Happy baking!

Did you take this basic granola recipe for a test run? Tell me about it in the comments section below. I’d love to hear all about it. What’s your favourite combination?

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