Beth at you know what you oughta do was tweeting about her yummy Easy Vanilla Granola recently and since I’ve seen so many bloggers raving about homemade granola, I decided it was time I gave it a try. And I’m so glad I did. It really is so much better than granola from a box. It has a softer texture and my husband says it’s more like an oatmeal cookie.
One of the reasons I hesitated making granola in the past was because I didn’t want to buy a whole box of an ingredient I might not use again. But recently I’ve fallen in love with the Winco bulk foods section. For some reason I use to think of the bulk foods section as a place you go only when you want to buy a huge amount of something. But it finally dawned on me that it’s also a great place for buying just a small amount of something when you just need a little bit for a recipe.
My tropical granola version is below, but I’ve made this five times now and we love it just as much with other dried fruits. Thanks Beth for sharing your recipe. It’s become a weekly habit for us now.
Tropical Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut or sub sweetened
- ½ cup dried tropical fruit or sub any dried fruit
- ¼ cup of flax seed meal
- ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 3 tablespoons citrus honey or sub any honey
- 4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix oats, brown sugar, coconut, dried fruit, flax seed meal, and salt.
- In a saucepan heat canola oil and honey until warm. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract. Pour this mixture over the oat mixture and mix thoroughly till everything is completely coated.
- Spread this evenly on a parchment or silpat covered cookie sheet. Bake at 300º for about 20 minutes until slightly golden brown. Don't stir during baking.
- Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an air tight container.
I’ve been having so much fun baking with the Citrus Honey I brought home from my Caribbean cruise. It has a subtle, but very noticeable hit of lime. I’m thinking I might have to order some if I can’t find a place to buy it locally. Pirate O’s sells the Tortuga Rum cakes, but not the honey.
lynn
I printed this out in 2010 and finally made it, Barbara. It is delicious! I have been testing out different granola recipes the last few months, and this one is one of the favorites 🙂 Another one I really liked was from the cookbook called Flour. Thank you for the recipe and happy baking.
Amber
Wonderful granola recipe! I have made it several times now and it always comes out perfectly. I made a few changes such as leaving out flax seeds (because I didn’t have any) also, I added about 1/3 cup of Vanilla Toll House chips and macadamia nuts. I also added 2T of extra virgin coconut oil in addition to the canola oil and honey. It is really decadent and not really healthy but it is soo delicious.
Barbara
Hi Amber! So glad you love the recipe. Thanks for letting me know. Your additions so wonderful.
Suzanne
This came across for me on Stumble today and I’m so glad it did! I love homemade granola but have never attempted to make it. Now I have inspiration!
Mimi
I love homemade granola. Thanks for a new recipe.
Mimi
Arlette
gorgeous home made granola, I think its my time too to try my hands on some…
thanks Barbara for a good recipe.
Chetana
Long time since my last visit…home made granola, isn't tat cool…put as much or as lil u can…and u end up wit the most healthiest version.
Cheers.
Barbara Bakes
Lynn – if you can't find flax seed meal, your could use flax seed or just leave it out. I think it's included to boost the nutrition. It's the new wonder food http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-flaxseed Let me know how it turns out. Thanks!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
You'll see me raving about it soon – I made some just over a month ago but haven't got around to blogging it yet. It really is amazing isn't it and I think I will be making it a lot in future.
Cristie
Barbara, I love this recipe for granola and I can't wait to try it! When we were in Hawaii we bought some beautiful granola and brought it home as gifts but I gave it all away without trying a single bag! Thanks to you I can have some tropical granola without living my home 🙂
Maria
I love the big clumps in your granola
RecipeGirl
YUM! I love granola over Greek yogurt.
Grumpy and HoneyB
I'm loving this honey…granola sounds yummy!
Lynn
What a great insight, Barbara, that you can use the "bulk" section at the grocery store for just buying small bits of stuff. I don't often shop that bulk section, but you're right, it would be perfect for purchasing just enough of something for a recipe like this. I don't think I've ever had flax seed meal. Do you think it's an important ingredient in this? Should I just go for it? 🙂
Melissa
What a great Idea! Thanks–it looks delicious!
sweetlife
homemade granola is the best..you can add your own tiwst..great recipe barbara..it looks divine
sweetlife
JG
Wow! Homemade Granola is SO much better than the boxed stuff! I have not made a batch all year. Thanks for the reminder to get busy!
Faith
Homemade granola is incredible — it has so much more flavor than anything I've found at the store! Yours looks delicious! (And that honey sounds pretty amazing too!)
Megan
I love homemade granola. No comparison to the boxed crap, er… I mean stuff. 😉 It's time I move on to another granola recipe and I broaden my horizens!
lisaiscooking
I've gotten addicted to homemade granola lately too! This one sounds fantastic and so does your citrus honey.