Mara’s Simple and Crunchy Granola Recipe
Surprisingly easy to make crunchy granola recipe with rolled oats, honey, coconut, and nuts. Make it from start to finish in about 45 minutes.
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I’ve been one of those people who almost mindlessly pulls a box of granola from the supermarket shelf. It’s one of those staples that I thought I didn’t have time to make. I mean, I get the *good* stuff but it’s just granola, right? I was about to get schooled with a crunchy granola recipe you’ll want to print out and keep forever.
We’re in Switzerland right now and started our trip with visiting friends in Zurich. On the first morning we woke up to a simple and healthy breakfast on the terrace. Imagine fresh fruit, yoghurt, lattes, and a view overlooking the lake. On the table, in pride of place next to the Lovely Greens honey, was a jar of the most delicious looking granola I’d ever seen. It was Mara’s special mix that she makes to avoid certain allergens.
Crunchy granola recipe with nuts and honey
Ah, it was delicious. We felt guilty eating most of it, especially since she also had a jar of traditional Swiss Bircher Muesli sitting next to it. It couldn’t even compete with that sweet, golden mix. Honestly, homemade crunchy granola is so much better than the best of the purchased stuff. It’s sweet and nutty and doesn’t have any raisins if you don’t like them. That’s one of my pet peeves with granola.
One of the other great things about this recipe is the HONEY. Not just because it was my own that she used but because of what it does. It sweetens while sticking pieces together to create golden clusters. Fortunately Mara is a gracious host. Instead of kicking us out she asked if I’d like to make more with her. Yes please! I mean we couldn’t leave without helping to restock.
Making granola how you like it
In her 20s, Mara developed severe allergies to soy, hazelnuts, almonds, apples, and quite a few other basics. They came on suddenly and the consequences of accidentally eating one are frightening. She makes her own granola and other foods to avoid having to be taken to hospital.
This recipe is adapted from one she found in a German cookbook. After tinkering, her crunchy granola recipe is absolutely nothing like the original. It has a lot more rolled oats, honey instead of another sweetener, and a heck of a lot more nuts. It’s amazing. Although the ingredients are precise in the recipe below, feel free to customize. Mara sometimes puts sesame seeds in hers or other ingredients. It’s really just up to what you like or can eat.
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Simple Crunchy Granola Recipe
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Sealed container for storing the finished granola
Ingredients
- 250 g Rolled oats 2¾ cups
- 55 g Sunflower oil (cold-pressed if possible) 4 Tbsp
- 80 g Honey 4 Tbsp
- 18 g desiccated Coconut 3 Tbsp
- 1½ tsp Cinnamon
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 150 g Cashews, chopped 1 cup
- 65 g Pecans, chopped ½ cup
- 67 g Sunflower seeds ½ cup
- handful dried fruit Optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/340°F or 150°C fan assisted.
- You have the choice of making granola with whole nuts or to roughly chop them. This recipe shows the cashews and pecans chopped. Use a kitchen knife or a mortar and pestle, or both, to reduce them to small but chunky pieces. Set aside.
- Place the rolled oats and the honey in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Next add the oil, coconut, cinnamon, and salt and stir until all the ingredients are well mixed.
- Spread the oat mixture in a thin layer over a baking tray. It helps to use baking paper for this recipe, not only for clean-up but for the mixing you'll need to do in a bit. It helps stop the granola from sticking to the pan. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Take the tray out and gently stir the granola. An easy way to do this is to pull it into a small hill in the center and gently toss with two spoons. Spread the oats out in a thin layer again and put the tray back in the oven for another ten minutes.
- After the time is up, take the tray out, mix and re-spread again, then sprinkle the nuts over the top. Bake in the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
- Take the granola out when the nuts and oats are golden. There's a fine line between golden and starting to darken so it might help to sit and watch them for the last few minutes.
- Cool on the side for 1-2 hours before adding the optional dried fruit. You can easily make dried fruit yourself using a food dehydrator. You can also use dried fruit from the supermarket but be aware that it will likely contain sulphites and other ingredients.
- Keep stored in a sealed container and use within three months. It can easily slide off the baking paper and into a large jar. Serve as a snack or as breakfast. The typical serving size is about ¼ to ½ a cup.
Nutrition
This granola is lovely. So nice and crunchy with that little touch of sweetness. Marsha from Canada
Hmm, mine recipe is going to be ‘interesting’ …. I thought I was adding dried bananas – but they were dried bread beans!!!!!! It looks good though ….
Great article. Is there a dehydrator that you would recommend? It looked like Mara had a dehydrator in the background of some of her pictures but I couldn’t see what brand it was. Thanks!
Yes, she was dehydrating banana slices and raspberries in it. As for models, I think mine is so old now (10 years) that it’s no longer available. Mara’s is available in Europe though and is an Ambiano model. I’d advise just heading to Amazon here https://amzn.to/30dJILX and looking for one that suits your price point and has good ratings.