Homemade Olive Oil Granola
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Seriously delicious homemade granola you’ll always want in your life! This recipe makes a big batch of fresh, crunchy, vanilla-scented granola full of whole grains, nuts and seeds baked with olive oil.
Oh, wow, this granola.
All I can say is this stuff is deliciously crave-able — salty, sweet and crunchy, with nicely formed clumps, lots of nuts, seeds and tangy dried fruit bits (if you’re into that).
This is my go-to granola recipe, and has been for years.
I promise that if you’ve never tried and/or tasted homemade olive oil granola, your life is about to change.
In the best, most nourishing way.
The best granola!
It makes so much sense to make homemade granola.
- It tastes really good.
- When you make granola yourself you skip added preservatives, tons of extra sugar and any other artificial junk.
- Think about the economics of DIY granola: It’s much more affordable to make your own than to buy those fancy little bags that can cost more than a good bottle of prosecco.
Honestly I’d rather spend my dollars on the prosecco (we all need priorities).
Every time some well-designed granola packaging tempts me while I’m grocery shopping (usually while hungry, always a mistake) I walk past it quickly, jotting a mental note to myself to make a batch ASAP.
But here’s the thing — making granola often ends up becoming a task that seems to lose priority, and it really shouldn’t be.
The process is pretty easy and hands-off, just mix, dump and bake.
First time I ate homemade granola that didn’t come out of a box was in college, when my friend let me sample her mom’s homemade version.
I actually still remember that moment because it changed what the word “homemade” meant to me, forever.
What I tasted was about a million miles away from the achingly sweet stuff I would eat by the handful or use to garnish bowls of ice cream.
It smelled of buttery vanilla, and each grain and seed in the mix was fresh, crunchy and toasted. It tasted like delicious. I ate it all and wanted more!
This is my closest approximation of that granola.I had to approximate because for whatever reason my friend never shared her mom’s recipe.
Apparently it was closely guarded family secret. Either that or for all I know, that family made a fortune selling granola!
Tips for making homemade granola without butter:
- Make sure to choose an excellent quality extra-virgin olive oil.
- Grate fresh orange or lemon peel into the bowl when mixing, along with the vanilla.
- Leave the baked and cooled granola plain, or toss in about 1 cup of your favorite dried fruit. I love tangy bits of dried apricot, cherries or cranberries.
- Add a few tablespoons of wheat germ or ground flaxseed.
- Serve the granola with fresh berries and creamy unsweetened ricotta, whole milk yogurt or coconut yogurt.
- Sprinkle with bee pollen for an extra-fancy healthy touch.
- Store granola for about 2 weeks in a sealed container, like this pretty jar.
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Homemade Olive Oil Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups (270 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (143 g) whole raw almonds
- ½ cup (55 g) sliced almonds
- 1 cup (64 g) raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup (100 g) unsweetened dried shredded coconut
- ½ cup (125 ml) pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (37.5 g) white or brown sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup diced dried apricot, dried cherries or cranberries, golden raisins.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300 (130C) degrees, with oven rack placed in the middle of the oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
- Layer the ingredients in a large bowl in the order listed (except for dried fruit). Stir to mix, working from the bottom of the bowl, until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread the granola mixture on the sheet in one even layer. Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the granola looks golden and toasted.
- Let the pan cool. If you prefer chunky granola, leave to cool completely before stirring. Otherwise, stir the granola as it cools so prevent clumping.
- Mix in dried fruit if using, and transfer to a sealed container. Keeps for 2 weeks.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Granola will keep for 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Easy to make & tastes great! (I’ve never made my own granola before.)
I used 4 cups of rolled oats instead of 3… did not need additional oil.
I skipped the brown sugar, and cut the maple syrup in half after the first batch.
I substituted sunflower seeds for sesame seeds, and used sliced almonds only.
I reduced the salt a little and used ordinary table salt.
Note that the baking temperature is 300 degrees due to the lower smoke point of olive oil compared to coconut oil; the recipe’s temperature and bake time were just right.
My second batch was 4 pans, once I knew how good the recipe was.
Dan – glad to hear you made this granola your own!
First time’s a charm, making homemade granola. I’m hooked! But this will not make it through one week and we are only 2 people! The smell in the house was amazing too!
Sooo glad you made this Carl! We have that “disappearing” problem in our house, too. 😉
Seriously delicious, this is the perfect granola any time of day!
I love homemade granola! Looks so delicious and healthy! Perfect snack!
Looks delicious! I agree with Len about the sugar. I have a basic granola that uses honey, and you can add your different nuts, seeds and flakes. Another good thing to add to granola is Oat Bran!
The olive oil intrigued me, would be an interesting taste with a real tight first press EVO. Looks great, luv the abundance of nuts and seeds.
Don’t know anything more sensible that making granola at home. So true! THat’s a nice mix. Since I have a fading interest in sugar, I’ll probably skip the syrup and sugar part and add honey at breakfast. I have found it’s both flavorful, healthier and.. more economical to do it at the time of meal rather than while baking. Plus the raisins, which I add because they work so well with natural yogurt, are quite sweet. Another mealtime extra is grated apple. Highly recommended! Anyway, have a nice day!
Y.U.M. I am way overdue to make granola, will definitely try this version!