Crunchy Granola
Yogurt with homemade granola is one of my favorite breakfasts in the morning. I’ve tried all sorts of granola recipes over the course of this blog, but this is the recipe I keep coming back to. My mom discovered this recipe for crunchy granola years ago and I’m pretty sure its one of the best basic granola recipes out there. It’s simple, tastes great, and has the perfect amount of crunch. The recipe itself is pretty basic, but feel free to add some dried fruit after it comes out of the oven. Mike loves this granola too, which is good, because it makes a lot! It’s great to eat as cereal, in a yogurt parfait, or even just by the handful out of the container. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Crunchy Granola
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
8 cups rolled oats
2 cups chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, or slivered almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 275 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the water and brown sugar in a small bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved, then stir in the salt and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, nuts, and brown sugar mixture. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed together. Spread the granola on the cookie sheets and baked for 45-60 minutes, or until golden. Let cool completely before breaking apart and storing in an airtight container.
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
I really like granola but I’ve never made it myself. This looks like an easy recipe with everything I like. Thanks.
i always love a good granola recipe to try out! love that this is so simple- perfect for yummy add-ins 🙂
I love yogurt with crunchy granola, have to try this!
I LOVE this recipe!!! I’ve made it twice now, varying the extras and plan to keep a batch of this always in my cupboard. One thing I will say is that people need to carefully watch the sugar/water mixture in the microwave very closely as mine overflowed. Maybe break the five minutes into minute or two minute sections. I wish I had remembered to do that the second time as it was a real mess!
Thank you so much for posting the recipe.
Hey Meg! I just realized last week that my mom has had this for years as her standard recipe. We actually just made a ton of it for favors for my sister’s bridal shower, got little mason jars at the dollar store and tied with a ribbon it looked beautiful! I love this granola… I like to add raisins and/or chopped dates, or chocolate chips. My mom also uses coconut (roasted in with the oats etc) and sunflower seeds too, both delicious additions. I made a batch today to take to family camping this weekend!
How fun is that?? My mom has made this recipe for years and we all love it. Great idea for favors too. 🙂 So good to hear from you – I think of you guys often and miss you!
I just made this today, and it was a hit with my boys (ages 2 & 4). The simplicity of it is wonderful because you can easily customize it with any add-ins. Thanks for a great recipe!
(I did make one small change and that was to heat the sugar and water on the stove. I let it boil for a little bit while stirring, and it worked out beautifully.)