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I love granola for breakfast. Especially when it is swirled together with Greek yogurt and fresh berries. The problem is that store-bought granola usually falls into one of three categories – (1) super-sweet, (2) like cardboard, or (3) ridiculously expensive.
It was because I do not like any of these three options that I went on a quest to find a simple and delicious granola recipe. It took me a while, but I have now created what I consider to be the perfect granola – not too sweet, not too cardboardy, not too fruity, just crunchy clusters of healthy deliciousness. It came with some hefty assistance (metaphorically speaking) from Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. She has an amazing recipe for big cluster maple granola in her book, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.
I made a few tweaks to her recipe (I switched out walnuts for almonds, put in flax seed instead of wheat germ, added chia seeds, and cut the amount of salt, maple syrup, and dried fruit), but I kept her genius addition of an egg white to glue the oats into crunchy clusters – the one thing that was missing from all the other recipes I came across. And the great thing about this recipe is that you can switch out anything that doesn’t appeal to you. You can change the nuts, add more syrup, less salt, increase the fruit, all to suit your taste.
So without further ado, here is the recipe for my version of this amazing cranberry almond granola.
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg white
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the egg white and cranberries.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until slightly frothy. Add it to the large bowl of ingredients and mix well.
- Spread the mixture on a baking tray, press down, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the granola cool on the baking tray.
- Once cool, gently break up the granola into clusters, sprinkle on the cranberries, and store in a jar or tupperware for up to 2 weeks.
Did you know you can change the course of your health just by eating the right food? I am here to show you how you can eat simple healthy food without stress, guilt, or shame.
I’ve been looking for a healthy snack I could take to work with me. This is a great idea.
That looks great! I’ve been looking for a relatively healthy granola recipe, but the amount of maple syrup and oil in some is astonishing. I like the look of yours!
Homemade granola is the best, and this looks like a delicious recipe!
Sounds yummy!
Love this! I’m always looking for healthier granola recipes.
Thanks for all your kind comments 🙂
I completely agree with your assessment of the too sweet/cardboard/expensive granola dilemma. This looks wonderful – I’ve started to make homemade granola more often lately but am always looking for new flavor combinations! Delicious!
Absolutely delicious – thanks for the recipe tweaking. A staple addition to a home. And no more lengthy decision making re bought cereals that just don’t deliver!
Thanks Rachel. The main tweaking was the photos!