Other than being delicious, the best thing about this recipe is that it is versatile. You can adjust the ingredients based on what you have on hand. I made a huge batch of this at Christmas for my children’s teachers. Now I am getting all the jars back with requests for the recipe. Since I was planning to type it out for the blog anyway, it works out well.
To enable myself to finish this post before the end of Dora the Explorer, I will give you the recipe and then the step by step pictures. Enjoy. (Click here to print the recipe!)
Poorganic Granola
Ingredients
8-10 cups rolled oats
4-5 cups mixed grains (wheat germ, oat bran, whole wheat flour, rice krispies, unsweetened coconut flake)
4-5 cups mixed nuts and seeds (almonds, pecans, walnuts, untoasted sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews)
1-1.5 cups sweeteners (raw brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses)
1-1.5 cup fat (butter & coconut oil. Use less if flaxseed and coconut are included above)
1 Tbs spice (Cinnamon mostly. Also can include nutmeg and cloves.)
1.5 tsp salt
1 Tbs. vanilla (You could also use maple or almond, though probably use less)
2-3 cups dried fruit (raisins, Cranberries, pineapple, apricots, mangoes, apples)
- Preheat oven to 325. Line baking sheets with parchment or foil.
- Combine oats, grains, and nuts in giant sized bowl.
- Stir sweeteners, fats, spices, salt, and vanilla together in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.
- Pour syrup over dry ingredients, stirring to moisten all the dry ingredients.
- Spread mixture evenly onto baking sheets, approximately 1 inch thick.
- Bake 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through
- Remove from tray by sliding parchment off the sheet onto the counter. Mixture will not be crispy until it cools.
- Stir in dried fruit after cooling. Store in airtight containers.
Don’t forget to print out the recipe and share with your friends! Being Poorganic isn’t about saving for yourself; it’s about saving to GIVE!
I’m linking up with Comfy in the Kitchen today! There are some VERY yummy recipes at that blog.
Click over on the button and check it out!
Yes this is delicious even for a guy born and raised on Fruit Loops. Awesome photos too I might add (for an English major 🙂
Thanks Dad! 🙂
yum, this looks delish and i want to try it soon… just so expensive to get all the ingredients here.
i have everything in smaller quantities, so i might do a small batch.
Well, that’s the nice thing about this recipe. It is more about proportions than having all the ingredients. Even if you only have oats, coconut flake, and one or two kinds of nuts and seeds, it works. I usually don’t have ALL the ingredients either. Enjoy!
How ironic, I made some yesterday with just oats and steel cut oats, I didn’t have a single other dry ingredient, but I put in in the oven for about 8 minutes before pouring the wet stuff, mixing, and baking more. I thought it might have added to the crunch to “prebake” the dry stuff, but maybe not. I can’t wait to have more ingredients to add and try it the way you’ve described! I would love if you adapted this recipe for a more “snack bar” like item… that is something we need in this house for breakfast and snacking purposes. I wonder if you made the granola and then just put some of it in a deeper man, mixed with batch of flour/egg/milk/baking soda mix…
I have a recipe for bars that calls for JUST steel cut oats and requires longer slower baking with no stirring. But it is definitely a crunchy (somewhat crumbly) bar–not a cereal bar. For a cereal bar, I would go with more coconut oil and sweetener (or PB or another binder). I wouldn’t recommend milk or it would be too wet, I think. Anyone have a cereal bar recipe to share?
How long does it stay fresh enough to eat? I have a granola recipe that is low on sweet and uses applesauce instead of the oil… I like to use it to make some chewy granola bars, but would like to make more of it at once. Just wonder how long it would keep.
I keep it in a tupperware in the cupboard for about a month. (The amount of time it take us to eat it.) I’m sure it would keep longer in the fridge or freezer. I’d love to know your chewy granola bar recipe. I haven’t had much luck with bars.
Katrina, how long does this stay good for, do you know?
Can’t wait to try it!
Britney recently posted…Hallelujah.
I’m thinking three weeks or so. It would probably keep longer if you refrigerated it.
Ok, I’m kind of slow replying to this one, but I have a soft, chewy granola bar recipe that we really like. My 6 year old would rather I make them for his lunch than give him store-bought. I don’t think the recipe is very poorganic at this point, but maybe you could tweak it? Let me know if you want me to send it to you.