How about some yummy nutritious granola for a nice quick breakfast (especially that Sunday morning rush)? Or top some fruit and yogurt with this delicious concoction! This is a simple recipe that includes the nutritional benefits of soaking the grains, if you so desire. It is quite delicious and actually rather simple to complete.
I have been wanting to make my own cereal ever since reading about the wonderful processing, heating, and destroying of all nutritional value that goes into preparing store-bought cereals (a process called extrusion), even the healthy organic kinds. Sally Fallon discusses it in detail here.
This granola has a great balance of grains, nuts, seeds and fruit, and it adaptable to your own creative choices – making it a very well rounded balanced breakfast, especially topped with some milk!
I normally make 1/2 of a batch at a time and that makes 2 1/2 quarts, so one whole batch should make about 5 quarts of granola.
- 8 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 1/2 cups kefir or cultured buttermilk (yogurt often produces a very tart flavor, unless you are skipping the soaking step)
- 1-2 cups water (use only as much as needed to produce a moist consistency for soaking)
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1/2-3/4 cup maple syrup (I increased the sweetener just a tad from the original, and I think it was almost perfect – so flex as you desire!)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried shredded coconut
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds or chopped pumpkin seeds (I used the pumpkin seeds!)
- 1/4 cup minced dried figs (optional)
- 1 cup nuts (optional) – chopped almonds is wonderful!
- 1 cup dried apples, chopped
Directions:
Mix oats with the melted butter and oil, kefir and water in a large bowl. Cover with a cloth and/or plate and allow to sit at cool room temperature for 24 hours. After the soaking time, preheat the oven to 200° F (93° C).
Place honey, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla in a glass measuring cup in a small pot of warm water on the stove. Bring water to a gentle simmer, stirring honey mixture, until honey becomes thin.
Combine honey and oat mixtures, mixing to incorporate.
Spread mixture out over two parchment paper-lined cookie sheets (don’t use regular paper – I learned this lesson the hard way!). Bake for 2-4 hours, until granola is dry and crisp. Four hours was perfect for a slightly softer granola in our oven, which was what we like. Allow to cool in oven before removing to a container. It will get crisper at it cools.
Mix in coconut, raisins, sunflower seeds, fruit and nuts, as desired. Store in an airtight container. Serve with chilled raw milk.
This recipe is a modification of Natural Food Recipe for Granola. Thanks to Michele at Frugal Granola for passing on the recipe.
I see “1 tsp salt” in the list of the ingredients, but in the directions I don’t see when to add salt. Any suggestions?
jennifer,
Just from looking at the order of ingredients, it seems that you should add it in the 2nd step, along with the honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Thanks!
First I just want to say what a blessing it has been to have stumbled upon your site. I have made this for the fourth time and we all live it. I have been familiar with the W.A. Price information for a few years now but was never serious about making changes until the last two months. I definitely see such a difference with soaking the oats. My two year old can have this every morning without having irritating bowel movements, versus making oats the regular way.
This has been the best granola recipe I’ve tried. Yum. I was wondering, can this be frozen?
I’ve honestly never tried so I can’t say.
I have frozen this many times and it’s just as good out of the freezer as when it’s fresh.
This was so, so good. I have made homemade granola before, not soaked, and cooked at a much higher temp. It came out much too crispy and had a sort of burnt-butter taste. Your recipe came out so much differently, we love it! I love the softer texture. My 2 year old also loves it. Thank you so much for posting this!
It’s so nice to have a truly healthy granola for us to all enjoy.
Just wanted to drop a quick thank you note here… this is amazing granola! It is is our standby now in our house, and we make ours with coconut kiefer and all coconut oil in ours (we are vegan for the most part)- but it is a hit with my sweet family. And- it is our Christmas gift to families this year. We like to attach a recipe with our homemade Christmas treats, so I wanted to ask before doing so, as it isn’t my recipe. I would give you attribution, of course. And, if not, no problem.
Blessing to you and your family! (Oh, and if you/your family eat rye or barley- sometimes we sub in 2 cups of rye flakes and 2 cups of barley flakes for grain variety and it is deliciously nutty.)
I have 3 questions.
First, do you usually soak your nuts in the oat mixture?
Second, is there a reason that you add your coconut and sunflower seeds at the end instead of baking them with everything else (& do they not need to be soaked?).
Third, do you stir your granola during baking and if so does that mess up the parchment/ make a mess?
I can’t answer all your questions, but I can tell you that if you put in nuts, seeds, or coconut with your oats, they’ll burn very quickly in the oven (especially the coconut)! I toast mine separately in my toaster oven at 350 degrees F while the oats are in the oven, but you could put them in the oven while your oats are cooling. Coconut only needs about 1 – 2 min, while nuts are 5 – 6 min.
I stir my granola once or twice during baking to make smaller pieces, but it doesn’t make much of a mess as long as you take it out of the oven while you stir (learned that one quickly).
Okay! I have made this recipe a few times now, and have adapted it a little… just wanted to share what I am doing differently.
Instead of adding water to the oats, I just use the kefir and make sure to stir a LOT to coat the oats well with the kefir. Without the excess water, you will have more of a cereal granola consistency.
I also have been using my Excalibur dehydrator with the nonstick sheets to ‘bake’ my granola. I have been doing it on the highest setting. It works GREAT!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Everyone in my house loves it!! We have been eating it every morning for breakfast for the last 2 weeks!!!
Hi, Just wanted to say that you have to refrigerate the granolas or they will mold.
You have to refrigerate the Excaliber granolas, or just this recipe in general? I was wondering if I could use my Excaliber, but I didn’t want to use up all kinds of fridge space to store it.
Hi Lindsey
This is a wonderful granola recipe. Each time we have made this, the granola never lasted more than two weeks…and that was making a FULL batch.
I do have a question, however, I read on another site that soaking oats without adding wheat flour will not affect the phytates. I’d hate to go through all the soaking process if it isn’t doing any good. How much flour should we add to your full recipe?
Also, each time I’ve made this, I’ve popped the granola in the oven immediately after soaking and ended up with chewy granola (which I love), but I hear that it’s supposed to be crunchy? Am I doing something wrong? Should I dehydrate the granola before I add the sweeteners and pop in the oven?
Thanks for your help and your wonderful blog.
-Soccy
Does the soaked granola need to be broken up in the food processor? I think I added way too much liquid to mine and it doesn’t taste like regular granola at all. I warmed up the soaking water as per kitchen stewardship (and added lemon juice and whole wheat flour) but I think I warmed it up too much. sigh. Is this granola supposed to taste pretty normal even though it is soaked? mine is kind of rubbery…
That was my experience too. We like crunchy granola, but this was more rubbery…that’s a good description. I baked it at 170 all day long in my oven.
I bake at about 150 degrees for a full 24 hours or, for double batches, I use a dehydrator set at 145), turning several times. It get’s completely crunchy. But weather does affect outcome, sometimes it’s more light and crispy and sometimes it’s more dense.
After it dries, I break it up by hand. It will not look like individual pieces of oats like a store bought brand but it is crunchy. Unfortunately every oven takes to it a bit differently. Th oven that came with our new house us totally different from my previous one so it takes some experimenting. If it seems to be taking too long, turn our oven up.
Hi,
I’ve been using this recipe for our family’s granola for the past several months and we love it! Even my husband, who’s usually not crazy about granola says that he really likes it. YAY!
I’m wondering if it’s possible to “over soak” the oats. I wasn’t able to get around to cooking my granola yesterday when I should have, and now the oats have been soaking for about 48 hours total. I’m going to start cooking them now…should this granola still be safe to eat? Thanks in advance for your response.
Is this granola supposed to be crunchy? I find that with the soaking, it never gets crunchy. I baked it for 7-8 hours at 170! After soaking it was just like a glob of mush.
Thanks for advice about getting it crunchy.
I appreciate any help. I really want it to be healthy.
Mindy
I wonder if I could make granola bars some how out of this same recipe bye adding more honey maybe? Anybody have ideas?
I LOVE this recipe. Best granola ever!
Wondering what you think about what I just read….”Be sure to add whole wheat or spelt or buckwheat flour (to soaking oats) in order to have some phytase available to break down the phytic acid. Without it, this process is worthless.”
Is my soaking really worthless without the wheat which this recipe doesn’t include or need?
I”m looking to make this before I”ll be heading to the store- and don’t have kefir or buttermilk. Can I substitute something else? Can I make my own buttermilk by souring some milk with lemon? Wasn’t sure if I could then leave it out of the fridge during soaking. Thanks.
You could try souring milk, but it would be easier to just buy buttermilk or yogurt for use in this recipe.
I am eager to try this recipe. It sounds wonderful. But, I do have a question. To clarify, for the coconut oil and butter, do you mean 3/4 cup melted coconut oil or 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted? The same for the butter. I assume you mean the latter, which seems to a more logical way to go about it but when I read the recipe it sounds like I should melt the coconut oil and then measure out 3/4 cup. Thanks for your help!
Does anyone know how long this granola stores for? Does it go bad after a week, month etc? I want to make the big batch, but I also don’t want to waste it if it goes bad quickly. Thanks in advance!!!
I would say it lasts about a month. IT definitely does not go to waste quickly.
Lindsay, first of all, thank you for all that you do! Your website has provided me with so much education and information as to how to feed my family in a better, healthier way. I have truly been motivated by you!!
Secondly, I LOVE this granola. We go through it so quickly, I can’t seem to keep it around! I have recently started a dairy-free diet for myself, though, as to help my baby with his reflux issues, and I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for altering this recipe. Should I just replace the butter with a soy butter substitution, or would you recommend just using more coconut oil? Also, any suggestions for how to replace the kefir? I haven’t tried any of this yet, but I thought I’d see if you (or your readers!) had any initial suggestions.
Again, thank you for your wonderful ministry through Passionate Homemaking!
I would recommend using coconut oil. It is the best most nutritious option and I have used it regularly in replacement of the butter. I also would recommend coconut milk kefir as an alternative to kefir. You could also try water kefir or kombucha.
Lindsay, I just wanted you to know what a tremendous blessing you are and how much I admire you – as a woman of God (I love how you describe yourself as a lover of Jesus Christ) and as a truly passionate and knowledgeable homemaker. It is obvious that God has truly gifted you in this area. Your website along with a handful of others and the book Nourishing Traditions, have truly transformed my health. I have become so passionate myself that I start sharing what I have learned with women in by bible study groups and have transformed my passion for cooking into a passion for learning everything I can about real food cooking and sharing it with others. After much prayer and counsel of my husband, I decided to start a facebook page: The Nourishing Home. I mention your site frequently on it, because I truly do appreciate your wisdom and the God-honoring focus you provide. I particularly liked your article about not making healthy living an idol. Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to encourage you and let you know that you are touching many lives in important ways – not just in health and homemaking, but spiritually in evaluating how we can better live our lives in service and gratitude to God! Blessings to you in Christ, Kelly
Thanks Kelly for your kind encouragement!
I love this recipe!
There has been three times including the current batch I just made where for some reason the final product has had this funny soapy bitterish taste to it. The first time I tasted the buttermilk afterwards only to find out that it had gone off. this last batch the buttermilk was new and good.
I have been using buttermilk and a combination of coconut oil and sunflower oil. I have made this recipe several times and only 3 of those have turned out funky.
This last bach I tried leaving in a cooler room to soak which didn’t make a difference. One thought I have was the possibility that I heated the coconut oil too hot?
Any thoughts/ideas?
I would imagine its the sunflower oil. That stuff does not taste very goo.
Thank you for this granola recipe! I have tried a few and this is by far my favorite! I make it regularly and try out different additions each time.
I am wondering if I could use Whey instead of Keifer?? I’ve got a good bit of Whey but I’m not sure if that would work? Thank you!
Certainly. Most acid mediums are interchangeable in soaking.
I can’t have dairy so I’m considering using lemon juice and water for the soaking step.
Will store bought, bottled lemon juice work?
Yes, you could use lemon juice but it might taint the flavor. I would recommend you try water kefir or coconut kefir to avoid the dairy.
I don’t have access to coconut oil or real maple syrup. can this be made with all butter and all honey? also, how would it be to add the chopped nuts into the soaking process? My family enjoys granola, so I’m quite excited to find a recipe that includes soaking!
Certainly. Butter and honey would work just fine. In fact, I use a combination all the time. Yes, you can add nuts to the soaking mixture as well.
Sweet!
I’ll start it today. What Africa lacks in maple syrup, it makes up for it in raw honey!
HELP! I just put my oats in to soak for this recipe and then read that the buttermilk must be cultured, well I just put it all together and used the only buttermilk available to me, which isn’t cultured I don’t think.
Trying to do the best by my family, but I don’t have access to raw milk.
I hope I didn’t ruin 8 cups of oats and all that coconut oil too.
Don’t worry about it. Is the buttermilk store bought then? If so, it is most likely cultured. Even if not, soaking will still help!
Thanks for the reply. I guess I don’t know if it is cultured. What does it mean to be “cultured?” It is store bought.
Is it safe to leave it out in room temperature for so many hours like that?
Thank you!
Yes, it is completely safe. Does your yogurt not say “cultured” on it? If it is store bought, it should be cultured.
Thank You!
This is the first “soaked” recipe of any kind that my family has approved of. I can pull the wool over their eyes with bread, but the soaked oatmeal was not going to fly.
Thank you so much!
My husband was sure that this was the super oily and sugary granola because he felt it tasted too good to be healthy. It actually has less sugar and about the same amount of oil as the recipe I have been making.
This is a keeper.
Where does the salt get added? I added it with the honey, syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, but wasn’t sure. This is in my dehydrator now and I’m so excited for when it’s done!
Oh my goodness…once again Lindsay has blessed me with another fabulous recipe!! I made a granola recipe last week and so disappointed with the lackluster flavor. Then the thought hit me…go to your favorite website! Just finished off my first bowl and it is THE BEST granola I have ever had. WOW!
I baked @ 200 degrees for 4 hours then turned off the oven leaving the granola overnight. It was perfect with a little chewyness. I can’t wait for my family to wake and try this.
The added bonus of course is that my house smells so fabulous!!
Thank you again!
Oh I forgot…I only added 1/2 cup of water.
My family loves granola. I don’t have any buttermilk or yogurt but have raw whole milk. Can I add white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to the raw milk instead?? I could buy some yogurt tomorrow if needed; I haven’t made any for awhile…..
Thanks!!
I made this about a week ago, and substituted a bit of the oatmeal with flax meal! Added diced dried figs, dried apricots and also sesame seeds! Yummmmm
Does the honey have to be “raw”…not having much luck finding that specifically in our town
Thanks for the awesome recipe; I’m hooked since my SIL shared hers with us but, we’ll see how mine turns out… lol
This is great! My hubby is thrilled. I put in low sugar, unsulphured dried pineapple and sunflower seeds at the end. Also, a reader asked if sucanat could be used to substitute the honey and maple syrup. I also can get sucanat at a cheaper price, so I made a syrup from it using a generous 1 c sucanat and adding 1/4 water, along with the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. I think next time when I make the sugar syrup, I won’t add the extra water, since the vanilla is liquid enough to make it a syrup. I did find making the whole recipe that it was taking way too long to dry in my oven at 150, so I turned it up to 200 after about 4 or 5 hours. I’ll keep experimenting with my oven and liquid amount. So happy to find a soaked granola recipe!!!
We love homemade granola, and I am so excited to find a recipe that includes soaking!! I will be trying this as soon as I can get to the store and get some more soaking medium. Can’t wait!! Thanks!!!
First of all – this is a great recipe. I printed it out and am headed home to make it tonight! Second of all – your link to Sally Fallon’s article is awesome. I mean awesome. So awesome that I had to write about it myself!
Amanda
http://mommyinthemaking.tumblr.com/post/628813492/dirtysecretsofthefoodprocessingindustry
This granola is DIVINE!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!! First, we woke up to a home that smelled like a bakery! Then I felt like it was Christmas morning as the aroma caused me to anxiously go down the stairs to peek at my present……..the best granola I have ever tasted!!!! I dehydrated mine overnight. I added some apple and strawberry instead of the nuts (just b/c I didn’t have any on hand) and it was just “perfect chewiness”! My kids are crazy over it too. They are thrilled that they can actually have “cereal” for once in their lives (if I don’t eat it all myself)! Just an FYI to those who said they couldn’t use their dehydrator b/c of the holes in the trays…..I lined mine with parchment paper which can be re-used for future batches. Thank you Lindsay for this incredible recipe!! You made our day today and I’m sure this will be requested in our home for eternity!!! God Bless!!
I just made the full recipe and it’s wonderful!! I love granola, but have missed it since moving toward a more healthy diet. My nine year old boy is eating it as I type. His comment: “It’s really good, and I would recommend adding fresh strawberries.” Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I'm getting ready to make this for a second time, and just had a thought…Why do you add the sweeteners after you soak? I've noticed in many of your other baked good recipes, you add if before.
I wondered if by adding the sweeteners before, you could lower/omit the water, while still insuring that your oats are wet enough for proper soaking(???) Just wondering…
Either option is workable.
Looks great! I assume I could use coconut kefir rather than milk kefir for the soak? Or when I don’t have kefir on hand, do you think I could use warm water and whey, per the Nourishing Traditions suggestion for soaking oats to making porridge? Thank you.
Yes to both!
I have made this a few more times and I decided to leave out the water last time, and I love the result. I checked with our local Weston Price gurus and they tell me that soaking the oats in the fats and yogurt (without water) will accomplish the goal (of improving digestibility of the oats). Voila! I love it. With the water, my granola was coming out with a texture that masked the beauty of the oats; without the water, I get to see and enjoy the texture of the oats. Just personal preference, but I thought I’d share in case anybody else was having texture issues…
I have to admit that the first time I tried this recipe I bombed out miserably! It was like goopy oatmeal that I could never get to a crispy state. I so wanted to find a soaked granola recipe b/c regular granola was hurting our tummies. I just could not figure out what in the world I was doing wrong. I am so glad I came back to the site and read this post! I left out the water and it turned out great. Also, I realized another crutial problem I was having. I was only using 1 tray, not 2. I must have read right over that part in the recipe and I was also used to putting that much on a tray with my old recipe. Anyway, texture issues solved. Thank you.
Concerning the texture, I discovered that if I use the “thick” rolled oats, my granola looked like granola…the oats remained whole instead of becoming oatmealish. I had always bought the “rolled oats” from a dispenser but one day just happen to notice that the store had another less noticable bin labeled “thick rolled oats”. My granola looks great now!
I tried to make this but the mixture was off by morning and smelt terrible. I checked all of the ingredients (butter, coconut oil, oats etc) and they were all good. Should I have used lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar or is it possible that our room temp was too warm? It is summer here in Australia but the house wasn’t overly warm. Is it possible to soak the oats successfully in the fridge or perhaps in an insulated bag with an ice brick?
I am not sure what to say. Did you bake it? You might try it and taste it. It may be perfectly fine. I don’t think the temperature is a problem. Just make sure all your ingredients were not bad prior to putting them in. Soaking oats in the fridge would make the process ineffective.
Yes I baked it for 4 hours and it was really crispy, but smelt and tasted very bad (we had to air the house for hours afterward and the oven still smells a little). I will certainly try again though as I love the sound of this recipe!
You can’t soak oats in the fridge. You need the acid medium (the yogurt) to work its magic in preferably around 90 degrees in order for all the phytates and other junk to reduce. I’d say it was definitely the apple cider vinegar. Use lemon juice or whey instead. I’ve had flops using vinegar and it gives it the weird “off” smell. Also, check the quality of your oats. If they were rancid to begin with, they’ll turn.
Instead of adding dried apple, which can be expensive to buy, I grated (shredded) up a couple of apples and added them to the mixture before I dried it in the oven….worked great, just took a little longer to dehydrate
Ooh, great idea!
Hello,
Thank you so much for this great blog!
Question… Can you store soaked oats in the fridge for a few days? I soaked my oats to make the granola but I’m waiting on my cocunut oil and I don’t want the oats to go bad. It’s already been 24 hours. Any idea? I couldn’t find info on the net anywhere.
Thanks much!
~Gina
Sure! I have done that before as well. It may affect the taste of the final product (more sour possibly), just so you are aware.
Looks great – I would love to try this. I am new to soaking and I have a little with a dairy allergy. Can I soak my oats in just lemon juice or lemon water?
Yes, of course.
Do you think you could use all sucanat instead of the honey and maple syrup? (I can get sucanat cheaper than honey and maple syrup). Another question: I just made my 2nd batch of this and it turned out a lot more crumbly this time…almost all crumbs ~ any idea what I did wrong? It still tastes as good though
TIA.
If you use sucanat it will definitely be more crumbly. The honey/maple syrup helps hold the ingredients together.
Some of us in the family don’t like the taste of coconut. Can you suggest another oil to use to replace the coconut oil. Thanks starting first batch today.
Butter!
Refined coconut oil has not flavor, so you could consider that as well! I think the coconut oil gives a crisper result.
Thanks for the recipe!!
I am eating this plain and dry right now for a snack and just had to come say how much I LOVE it. thank you for the recipe! I cannot get enough of it. I bake it for five hours at 200, then break it up into large pieces and put it in our dehydrator overnight so it’s nice and crunchy (I’d do it all in the dehydrator if I had trays that would hold liquidy stuff). YUM. And, it makes my house smell absolutely HEAVENLY all afternoon while it’s baking!
I have mine in the oven baking now, and I was wondering, Do you stir it while it’s baking at all? (I ask because this is how my other recipes were done, but yours didn’t say to)
You can stir it occasionally as desired, but I don’t think it is totally necessary. Use your judgment. If it is not drying all the way throw than definitely rotate it.
Thank you for this terrific recipe! I’ve been wanting to try a soaked oat granola for a while, and this weekend I’m finally going to give it a go. Looking forward to reading more of your blog!
Love the looks of this recipe.. it is similar to Sally Fallon’s granola recipe in Eat Fat, Lose Fat. My question for you is about texture when it is done: does it look like the picture at the top of this post? that is, can you see each oat? Or are the oats more clumped together in gobs, with less definition, so that you couldn’t necessarily tell that they are oats? I know this probably sounds like a strange question, but I ask because when I make the recipe from Eat Fat, Lose Fat (which includes soaking, like this recipe), my granola comes out sort of undefined–I have to break it apart and it looks like chunks of something, but not really like little oats (but it is made of rolled oats!). I’d love to try your recipe here if it is going to look like the picture at the top of the page! Many thanks for any feedback.
The picture above is a picture of this recipe. I usually do break it apart somewhat after it is done because as it dries on the tray it naturally will dry in small clumps, unless you can spread it out very thin on the pan. But what you see is what I get!
Thank you, Lindsay. I realized I was baking my granola too long… my last batch came out looking more like the yummy picture you have posted above. Thanks, again!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. For all who had an issue with softness, I would make sure you’re using long-cooking oats. When I tried to adapt my granola recipe to soaking, I used quick oats (all I had at the time) and it took all day to dry them out. They act just like a sponge, and hold in all the liquid. HTH, and thanks for another great recipe!
Hi…love your website!! You may have answered this somewhere but I haven’t found it yet: Sally Fallon recommends an oven temperature of not over 150 degrees F but you say 200 degrees. Why? Like most stoves today mine will not go below 175 degrees so I like your criteria better but just wondering how you came up with 200 degrees.
thanks
Debra
Yes, it is preferred to dehydrate the granola at 150 degrees, but my oven also does not go down that low. Eventually I would love to get a dehydrator! Anyway, the temperature is really flexible to adjust to meet your desires.
Thanks for posting this recipe – I’m very excited to try it out !
I’m in the process of making it right now. I’ve soaked my oats, combined the sweeteners and put it in the oven to dry.
My questions are: What should the pre-bake texture be like ? I’ve never made granola before and it seems like there’s quite a lot of moisture – almost like a cake batter but thicker because of the oats.
Also, When it is dried do I just crumble it up and add the remaining nuts, seeds and fruit ?
My questions are probably silly but I’m new to granola and NT. Thanks, Julie
You are on the right track! Yes, the texture will be somewhat wet. When it has completed drying, remove it from the tray, crumble it with your hands and add the remaining ingredients as desired. Enjoy!
I just made this granola. Our whole family is enjoying it. I did have a question though: Do you add the extras (nuts, dried fruit) before you place it in the oven or after? If after, how do you incorporate it into the granola?
Our granola is soft and chewy. I don’t mind it but would like it a little crunchier. Do I leave it in the oven longer? We did 5 hours @ 200 degrees.
Thanks Lindsay!
I add the remaining nuts/dried fruit after the granola has baked in the oven. If you like your granola crunchier you will want to bake it longer in the oven.
I’m so surprised you don’t add flax seeds to your granola.
That is definitely a good addition!
I love granola, and have been trying different recipes for over a year now. This is by far the tastiest! I love the combination of butter and coconut oil, which lends such a wonderful flavor. I was also happy to find a recipe that produced a softer granola rather than an overly crunch one. Other recipes I have used had to bake for about an hour and a half on a fairly high temperature, and required me to turn the granola every 10 minutes! I am so happy that my search for the perfect granola is finally over. Is it the soaking that gives the softer texture or the low oven temperature?
Soaking normally results in a softer/lighter final product. Isn’t it wonderful?!
Thanks so much! Just before I got my copy of Nourishing Traditions, I had made 5 gallons of granola – unsoaked. I read NT and haven’t made granola since – until I found this recipe. I plan to make another huge batch very soon. We like a “clumping” crunchy granola that doesn’t fall apart, so I’m going to compare your recipe with mine – adapt/convert/blend – and we’ll see what happens!
I’ve also had a chewy result. Very tasty, but not crunchy at all. I tried increasing the baking time, increasing the temp, but it still comes out pretty chewy. Should I decrease the amount of liquids??
You could cut back on the liquids. If you use buttermilk instead of kefir it will naturally be more liquidy, so you would probably want to cut it back. Did you soak the recipe? That can make a huge difference as well because it will absorb alot of the liquids in the soaking process.
Yes, I’ve been soaking it. When I don’t soak, I don’t have a problem…what should be decreased? The water in the soak step?
Yes, cut back the liquids for soaking and see if that helps.
I thought I had heard you should add flour to the oats while soaking to help break down the phytic acid?
Yes, I did discuss that in my soaking oatmeal post. You can add a bit of ww flour to this as well. You really only need about 1/8 cup or so.
Instead of the buttermilk/kefir can I use water w/ whey added (1 T per cup, as in most other soaking recipes)?
Definitely!
My one-year old son has a milk allergy and I am in the process of converting our home to dairy-free. I would really like to make granola. Do you think rice/oat milk + lemon/vinegar will work instead of the buttermilk? Any ideas for the butter? I have many butter alternatives when baking but not sure what would work here. Thanks for your web site – I am encouraged to keep trying new recipes!
You can use coconut oil in replacement for the butter. That is what we do over here frequently. You can definitely use your dairy free alternative milk with a bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. For more ideas, visit my diary free soaking post.
I’m wondering if it’s OK to make this recipe, only with just 1/2 cup water (instead of 2 cups) when I soak it. I tried that, and it turned out much better (not all mushy), but I wondered if the drier “soak” was truly effective? The oats were moistened with water/kefir, but not drenched in it. Anyone know if that still does a sufficient job of neutralizing the phytic acid? Also, I soaked the nuts, hoping to get the benefits of that as well (but maybe they need to be soaked in water…)
I have never had an issue with mushiness. After drying in the oven it turns out perfectly crunchy. Maybe you did not dry it long enough? You do want to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed and moistened for the soaking to be effective. If you want to cut back on the water, I would try adding more than just 1/2 cup. That seems too little to me personally.
Thanks for the recipe, Lindsay. I’m not a huge granola fan, but my husband is. We also read a suggestion a while back that granola is a good thing to have available to offer to homeless people. I thought that was a great idea. We already carry some blankets in the car so that we have something to offer if anyone asks and now I have little baggies of granola in my glove box. So far I haven’t been able to give any out because the last guy I offered it to was missing teeth and he said he wouldn’t be able to chew it. (Hadn’t thought of that!) I have been trying to find something I could carry that would be filling and nutritious and could be carried in the car for a good length of time…and didn’t require a can opener–not an easy bill to fill, but I think the granola works! Thanks!
I just had to leave a note about this: AMAZING! I have been devouring it for breakfast with a kefir/banana smoothie poured on top. Thanks for the great recipe!
I love granola that is fresh made without all the added stuff I can’t pronounce. Your recipe is versitile and lets me adjust the ingredients I want to add later. I want to try this now. Have to wait till I finish with the Orthodontist. Thanks for the recipe.
I have made this in the oven and my Excalibur and it has turned out sooo wonderful. I like it because the kids can each flavor it by adding their favorite toppings. I will definitely make this every week and the best part is that it is healthy!
I am SO excited to try this. We are cold cereal eaters and that clashes with our traditional foods preferences
Thank you for posting this!
I also had this problem, but concluded either I need to store it in the fridge or cook it longer. This is a tasty recipe.
How do you keep it from going bad? I love your recipe but the granola turned moldy in a few days. I had it stored in an airtight container in my pantry?
That is very odd, and with the several batches that I have made, I have not experienced this problem. Did you cook it long enough? It must have either not been sufficiently cooked or one or more of your ingredients was bad previous to using.
Love your website! Praise you for sharing. I would love to know the texture of your granola. My is almost tough and chewy. Any thoughts on what could be wrong?
Thanks so much!
I would recommend to try experimenting with the baking time. I find that it will be somewhat soft when I remove it from the oven and then it hardens as it cools. The result is a pretty standard crunchy granola!
I’m putting this on our list to buy this week! Yum!
Thank you so much for posting a soaked granola recipe! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it is soo good. We like it best with cranberries and coconut. : )
Thanks!
Kim, Yes. I am 90% sure this will work. If the lemon juice or vinegar is raw, that’s even better! The acid medium in the milk will clabber it and it will help break down the phytic acid in the oats.
HTH,
Carrie
http://oreganicthrifty.blogspot.com
Oh goodie!!!! We LOVE granola, but had to give it up when we gave up gluten and such. I hadn’t been able to find a recipe that didn’t include wheat! I’ll be sure to put “Gluten Free Oats” on my next Azure order and make some of this for my family! My 3 year old thanks you in advance!!!!
Just out of curiosity, can you use sour milk, you know a cup of milk with a tbs. of vinegar or lemon juice, to soak grain? I’ve heard you can but I’ve never tried it and thought it would come in handy in a pinch. We don’t have a raw milk source yet(waiting for a cow!) Thanks! I’m really learning a lot from you!
Thanks for the recipe…I have been wondering if I could soak the oats before I made granola or if it would just turn to mush..now I know it works! Thanks again
Cammie
Oh, a soaked granola recipe! My husband loves cereal but I just don’t want to buy him the garbage at the grocery store. I’ve been wanting to find a good recipe to make for him, so I will definitely try this one!