I love a good crunchy granola for breakfast, balanced with some tangy yogurt and topped with sweet fruit like strawberries – yum! Making it yourself is not only easy, but means you can tailor it to perfectly match your taste buds (or adapt it to fit what you have in your cupboard).
There are many recipes out there for olive oil granola and mine is very similar – start with your oats, add a selection of yummy nuts and seeds plus some spice of your choice then top with olive oil and sweetener.
What is different is how I prepare it, in a very lazy way, avoiding extra bowls and jugs to wash as well as keeping my hands clean! I think it’s also a quicker way to get all the granola goodies together and who doesn’t want to save time?
Of course measuring out ingredients uses bowls, but once you’ve made this once or twice you can be brave and do it by sight without measuring. And this is a recipe where you don’t have to be exact in the quantities.
You can use whatever nuts and seeds you like; stay simple with just a few or add lots of different ones. I prefer almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, but also add cashews and golden linseed sometimes. Walnuts and pecans, broken up a little, work well, as do flaked almonds.
You can also easily add some dried fruit, like raisins, sour cherries or goji berries, at the end to the toasted mixture.
Olive oil granola – the lazy way
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 40-45 mins
300g rolled oats, preferably jumbo
75g skin-on almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
25g sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
100ml extra-virgin olive oil (or melted coconut oil)
100ml sweetener of your choice (I use 50ml each of maple syrup and honey)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Heat oven to 150C.
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Spread the oats evenly on the prepared tray. Add the almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and cinnamon, and mix with a large spoon or spatula.
Pour over the olive oil, sweetener and vanilla and mix well.
Spread the mixture evenly over the tray and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
Take the tray out of the oven and mix the granola to keep it toasting evenly.
Put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or until it’s golden to your liking.
Leave to cool. Break up any large chunks if necessary and store in an airtight container.
Eat with milk or a dollop of yogurt and top with your favourite fruit, or simply devour it as is!
Variations:
- try different spices like ginger or cardamon
- add dried fruit such as dried sour cherries, goji berries, raisins, etc after the toasted granola has cooled
- add a pinch of salt when adding the spices
What’s your favourite way to eat granola?
thegingerbreadmum 