Life is but a Dish

Easy, approachable recipes for the everyday home cook

Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola

by 35 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola is the perfect addition to your yogurt or simply as a snack. It also makes a great gift!

I’ve got this friend, and I’m pretty sure she’s superwoman.

DSC_0059

So let me tell you a little bit about this Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola recipe. I stole borrowed this recipe from my friend Kim, and tweaked it to my perfection.  It’s quick and easy, and makes you look like a gourmet chef.  It’s that good.

My friend’s name is Kimberly (Hi Kim!).  Kim has four (four!) amazing children, a husband, a dog, and an entire household to take care of.  She cooks (everyday), she cleans, she bakes, she works out, she drives carpool, and she returns every phone call, text, and email in a timely manner.

Kim does it all.  I don’t understand how she does it (and does it so well),  but I love her for it.

Kimberly has been my mommy mentor, lunch date partner, and recipe bouncer offer for the last 5 years.  In between the toddler tantrums, crying babies, and busy schedules, Kim and I gab about food every chance we get. And that’s how I got this Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola recipe!

The best thing about this recipe is that you can make it your way (to an extent).  I like my granola sweet, sticky, suuuuuper crunchy, and without any bells and whistles.  But please, feel free to add chocolate chips, dried fruit, or whatever else tickles your granola fancy.

DSC_0051

I recently got an email from someone I worked with years ago, asking for this Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola recipe.  (I was totally that person who used to bring homemade snacks to staff meetings.  How else do you get through those?)  I had not spoken to this person for over a year, but she said, and I quote, “I have someone who’s excited about granola, and you make the best granola I’ve ever tasted. Any chance I could steal the recipe?”

DSC_0053

Well, DAAAAAAAMN!  Best granola she’s ever tasted?  

Also, there’s a secret ingredient.  Coconut.  Typically I am NOT a coconut fan.  But I promise, you don’t taste it.

It just makes the whole thing better.

So, do it!

DSC_0063

Alright my friends, dive in!  Take the granola plunge.  Play around with the ingredients and make it your own. Maybe put it on an Acai Bowl!

You can thank me later.

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon

Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola

★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews
  • Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe

Description

This Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola is the perfect addition to your yogurt or simply as a snack. It also makes a great gift!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey, (plus a little extra for love and stickiness)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, (or coconut oil)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats, (not instant or quick cooking)
  • 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3/4 cup almonds, (chopped)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, honey, vanilla, oil, and salt.
  2. Add the old fashioned oats and stir.  Add the coconut and chopped almonds.  At this point if the mixture looks a little loose, like its falling apart, then add a tablespoon at a time of honey until the mixture starts to look sticky.
  3. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the granola on the sheet.  You can also use parchment paper.
  4. 4) Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.  Stir it around every 7-10 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!

Notes

If you choose to add chocolate chips or dried fruit, do so once the granola has cooled.

DSC_0060

mmmm…

When you try a recipe, use the hashtag #lifeisbutadish on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured in my stories! Follow Life is but a Dish on PINTEREST | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM for all the latest content and behind the scenes!Remember to subscribe to my free  Life is but a Dish Weekly Newsletter and receive easy recipes delivered to your inbox every week!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Love the pictures and the copy is amazing your way with words makes food look and I bet taste better. Thanks for the amazing recipes. Keep it up I love reading your blog.

    Reply

  3. Hi there I just wanted to say hi. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d say this to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Cheers!

    Reply

  5. Planning to make this for an end of school year teacher gift. If I make over Memorial Day can we gift the jar on June 12th?

    Reply

    • I don’t think it will be nearly as fresh as making it just a day or two in advance…

  6. This is so super good and I don’t even like coconut! You can just eat this plain. I made berry yogurt parfait and almost wept with joy. It’s seriously the most perfectly crunchy granola recipe ever! THANK YOU

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. A great simple recipe. Played just a little and added some pure maple syrup and a touch of cinnamon. Your recipe is so good and simple and you can easily add to make your own. Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  9. I there! I’m gonna make this soon, but all I have are quick cook oats — what will the difference be? Should I go and purchase regular oats instead?

    Reply

  10. Hi Laney, I see that this recipe makes 6 servings. I want to possibly make this as a gift for Christmas and package in a cute jar like you recently did. How many jars does one portion make? I’m assuming you used half pint jars?

    Reply

  11. I love this recipe – Its a great base and I throw in whatever I have on hand. I like to add the raisins in about four minutes before it is done to make them plump and juicy. It’s a great gift also!

    Many thanks!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  12. I freaking love this granola. It’s like crack. Whenever I make it, I tend to eat the entire batch myself in the span of 2 days. This is dangerous stuff! I swapped brown sugar for coconut sugar and it was delicious.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. I loved this recipe, so simple! But next time I will leave the coconut out as I could definitely taste it and I found it detracted from my overall enjoyment.

    Reply

  15. AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s much better than King Author and they’re usually pretty good. I’m not a coconut fan at all, but I tried it and can’t taste it. Ran out of honey so used half honey and half maple syrup. I like chunks of granola, so pressed firmly onto the parchment before baking, then every 7-10 minutes chopped it and gently stirred around until all were deep brown and crunch. Best EVAH!!! thank you SO MUCH!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  16. I love this recipe but have tried to make different granola recipes and mine always turn out soft. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. I stir it constantly so it doesn’t burn. I cook it on 300-350….I’ve tried both ways….and still ,……soft. Please HELP!!!!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆