I have extremely fond memories of helping my mother make granola when I was a child. We would make huge batches, divide it up and each of us got to add the ingredients we liked. She always added dried fruit to hers, my brothers hated nuts, so on. We had this huge silver bowl that we would make the granola in and I remember standing on a kitchen chair to stir; stealing bites from the bowl when my mom wasn’t looking. Then the smell. Oh, the smell. It was so wonderful, for hours it drifted out of the kitchen perfuming the house. The best was eating it while it was still warm with cold milk (soy even then). This recipe takes a little time though it is very easy. You just have to be around the house for a few hours and available to stir the granola every 20 minutes. Whenever I make a batch of this granola I end up eating it 3 or 4 times a day for the first week because it is so good. It’s great for a snack, breakfast, and dessert. Remember this recipe is flexible so use the ingredients you like.
Homemade Vegan Granola
Ingredients
- 6 cups rolled oats
- 5-6 cups total of a mixture of the following
- Rolled Wheat Flakes
- Sunflower Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Shredded Coconut
- Unsalted Nuts (I like salted)
- Flax Seeds
- Bran
- Millet (one of my favorites)
- 1 TBL Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ C. Oil
- ¾ Cup maple Syrup, honey, agave, or molasses or a mixture of them
- ½ water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp almond, hazelnut, or more vanilla extract
- 1-2 cups dried fruit (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil, maple syrup and water in a pan.
- When warm remove from heat and add extracts.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and mix together.
- Divide between enough shallow baking pans to evenly spread the granola in a single thin layer. About 3 9 x 13 or larger pans.
- Cook in 250 F. oven, stirring every 20 minutes until granola becomes golden brown and dries out. About 1-1 1/2 hours.
- Granola will become crunchier as it cools.
- After granola cools add dried fruit if using.
- Store in airtight containers.
Happy Food Ninja 