I’m sad to report that ever since I posted about these fabulous granolas, I haven’t made granola since.
I blame it all on my dad.
You see, he’s kind of a granola, in an old-fashioned, outdoorsy kind of way. He’s into hiking, gorp, scaling the highest peak in every state, four-wheeling and that kind of stuff. And he loves him some granola.
He and my mom (who is not granola in any sense of the word) came to visit us recently since we made our cross-country move to the depths of Wisconsin. I knew in honor of their visit I needed to make my granola dad some granola.
Enter my Aunt Marilyn (who happens to be my dad’s sister but who is not a granola). She sent me a recipe for granola weeks ago and insisted I must try it. But of course I hadn’t because I only make granola when my dad comes to town.
I made it the day before my dad arrived. And there was barely enough left when his plane landed because…
…who knew that my non-granola husband loved granola? Not I.
Three devoured batches later, we are officially in love with this granola. (And so was my granola dad.)
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, oil and salt.
- Combine both mixtures by slowly pouring the liquid over the oatmeal mixture and stirring well. Divide in half and pour onto two 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets, spreading out into an even layer on each sheet.
- Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden.
- Remove from the oven and transfer into a large bowl, slightly breaking up the clumps. Add the raisins and gently mix until even distributed.
Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn
I love granola!! I always make it homemade and I have it for breakfast every morning.I am definitely going to try this one out!!Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
This is VERY similar to Alton Brown’s granola recipe. We love his, so I know exactly what you mean when you say even the non-granola lovers will love it! Tastes great with yogurt too.
This looks like a fabulous recipe ~ I’m going to try it soon!
coconut, maple, and almonds, for me at least, equals magic. the cashews are a nice bonus (but i’d pick out the raisins).
I love when I haven’t been on the computer for a few day and get three MKC posts at once! This granola looks fabulous and your post was hilarious! I made the corn chowder last night…BIG hit!! Fabulous. So are your bread bowls. Do you hate it when I comment about food that isn’t granola on your granola post? Sometimes (all the time) I’m just a little behind!
I LOVE love love your blog. I have made so many of your recipes – can’t wait to try this one! Keep them coming…I send so many friends and family members to your site because of your delish food! Thanks!!
Looks awesome!
This is exactly like Alton Brown’s granola recipe. WE LOVE IT. It’s seriously the best ever. My husband made it about a month ago and has made it twice since doubling the batch. We eat it with yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and with milk. We didn’t like the cashews in it though, and we both love cashews…something with the flavors not blending right. We doubled the almonds the next two times instead and we add crasins. So delicious!
Cammee – you are so nice! And no, I don’t care if you comment about non-granola things on the granola post.
I’m glad you liked the chowder and bread bowls!
Britney – thanks for your comment! I’m glad you’ve liked some of the recipes and thanks for sending people my way!
i bet the cashews were the nuggets of gold in this recipe. mmmm they are the BEST nuts out there.
Mmmmm-looks delicious!! Another must try from you!!
BTW-I made your chicken and corn chowder Monday night and it was such a huge success with my family. Absolutely divine! I’ll be posting it soon and will be giving you huge “shout outs” for the amazing recipe.
Granola is an all time favorite, but I have never found a recipe that didn’t taste . . .well . . homemade. I can’t wait to give this one a try!
I am NOT a granola, but think I might become one if I made your recipe!
Looks great!
I love it.
Yum!! I too am not a garanola–but LOVE granola! I forget to make it–but I will now! Thanks for the reminder! And Happy Halloween Mel!
Oh, I love cashews and coconut! Yummy!
This was so yummy! My parents were in town visiting and really liked it as well.
Thanks!
Katy – thanks for letting me know!
This is Alton Brown’s recipe from Good Eats. His stuff is always great! I like to use pecans instead of cashews.
Super yummy! I had two bowls with yogurt, before i even got the raisins into the mix. This will be a staple in my house. Thanks!
mini-mcgoo – I’m really glad you liked this! It is a staple around our house, too. Thanks for letting me know.
Mmmm…I love granola!
You’ll have to try this Nutty Craisin Chew on my blog…it’s so addicting!
http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2009/12/nutty-craisin-chew-perfect-for-holidays.html
Mariel
http://www.oneshetwoshe.com
I came across your blog recently and love it! I made your chocolate truffles and this granola for some family members who were going out of town. They loved them! My mom and sister kept saying how divine the truffles were, and I agree!
Needless to say, ALL your recipes look divine and I can’t wait to try them out on my guy who is quite the food snob.
Thank you!
Krista – thanks for your comment! I’m so glad you were able to wow your family with the truffles and granola. I hope your significant other is wowed over, too!
Hi Melanie,
How long does this keep (assuming room temp)?
Lori – my best guess (since we eat it pretty quickly) is that it will easily last at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.
WOW! Just made this and it’s a HUGE hit! My husband is as non-granola as they come and he is eating it up! He loves it
Thanks again for a seriously awesome recipe!!
Melissa – wow, that’s huge praise if your non-granola husband loved the granola. Yay!
So as I made this for the umpteenth time today I thought, “I should probably tell Mel how much we love this!” So I’m telling you….we LOVE this! I usually make quadruple batches and always give some away (when I take dinner in to a family I usually add this so they can have something for breakfast too), the hubby takes it to work for snacks and I throw it on top of yogurt, ice cream or just straight in my mouth. Like so many of your recipes, it provides such a great framework to change it up. I do almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, craisins, pepitas–or whatever I have on hand. It’s fantastic every time. I see a lot of granola recipes out there, but I can’t possibly believe they’d be any more delicious than this.
Reyna – love your reviews. Have I mentioned that? I agree with you…I can’t bring myself to try any other granola recipes now that I have this one. Love all the additions you’ve tried.
Thank you to Melanie who is my fabulous neighbor that brought us some of this great granola and we are not granola people but we are now. I plan on making a batch x four for an upcoming road trip. With a little fresh milk this is better than chocolate cake.
THANK YOU so much for this recipe, it is truly the BEST granola recipe I have ever had…to any who haven’t tried it, I guarantee you will LOVE it! It is also delightful with honey roasted cashews. Also, the second time I tried it I used regular maple syrup with excellent results. Thank you thank you!!!!
Kristen – what a nice comment. Thank you!
Melanie — first of all, I just have to say that I LOVE your blog. My mom and I live across the country from each other and we always talk recipes. We talk about you like you’re our friend! It’s always: “Where did you get that recipe?” “From Mel’s blog of course!” he he
Second — I am throwing a baby shower this weekend and we’re having a yogurt parfait bar as part of the brunch (so fun, right?). I made this granola to go on the “tropical parfait”, which will have chopped fresh pineapple, kiwi, mandarin oranges and bananas, along with vanilla yogurt. This will go perfectly…if I can stop eating it! Thanks so much for all of the wonderful recipes!
Hey Mel – Just wanted to let you know that the Yogurt Parfait Bar was a big hit…thanks to this yummy recipe! If you ever do a parfait bar for a shower, check out my post for more ideas! http://triedandtriedagain.blogspot.com/2011/01/yogurt-parfait-bar.html
Thanks again for the fabulous recipes!
My husband tasted the granola when he walked in from work. These were his comments: “Can I just eat this by the handful?!” and “I know why I married YOU!” Thanks for another great recipe!
I just wanted to say a friend recommended your blog about a month ago and it has QUICKLY become my most favorite of my list of favorites! Thank you for your efforts. I am the busy mom of three little boys who love home-cooked meals and treats and your blog is always a go-to when I need a new idea! This granola is our new favorite snack!
Melanie,
It was great to see you last week, you looked great! I’m trying to get ready for school mornings and made your granola today. It is FABULOUS! It made my house smell amazing too.
I used pumpkin seeds instead of cashews, because I love them in granola, but I loved your recipe and will use it again often! Thank you, thank you! Oh, and I love your oatmeal pancake mix too…..use it all the time! 
You are an amazing woman!
I just made this yesterday and will have to make another batch tomorrow. This is the best granola I’ve made. The only change was to put dried tart cherries instead of the raisins. Thank you for the deliciousness!
OK, so we are on batch #2 of this wonderful, awesome, granola in less than a week
My son doesn’t want any more “store bought granola” for now on. We have been making fruit/yogurt/granola parfaits all week and I even baked peaches with the granola on time for a tasty dessert. Thanks, again, Mel for all of the wonderful recipes!
Just made it and it’s so delicious. Why did I ever buy store bought granola at a premium price?! Never again. It’s too easy to just make your own and by shopping at Aldi we were able to make it fairly inexpensively – they usually have good deals on nuts and oatmeal. Thanks Mel for another great recipe!
Love this recipe! I’ve made it countless times (especially for road trips) and it NEVER lasts long! I’m throwing it up on my blog tomorrow (with a few changes to adhere to my calorie-watching friends). Thanks a ton!
[...] Fit Granola Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Café [...]
I made this today and everyone loved it! I used pecans instead of cashews since I made it for breakfast and it was fab.
Hi! I love all of the recipes I have tried of yours! One question, do you think I could substitute honey for the maple syrup? All I have on hand is honey
Thanks again!
Kandel – I’ve never tried it with honey. It will definitely alter the flavor but having not tried it, I can’t say how it will turn out. If you try it, let me know!
OK thanks
This granola is sooooo delicious! I’m really not a granola person myself but I had to try it when I read all the reviews. It’s so good eating it plain as a snack or as a cereal with milk on it. Reminds me a little of Kashi cereal but doesn’t have the bad gassy side effects and tastes so much better. (I use almond or coconut milk because I’m staying away from dairy products.) My husband loves it too, which is very surprising because he isn’t a granola either. The revision I made was to use whole raw almonds because I didn’t have any slivered almonds, and I used coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil. I melted it before measuring and then added it to the sugar and syrup mixture, and then heated that up in the microwave for a few seconds before adding it to the dry ingredients. The cashews were okay but next time I’m going to use pecans instead.
For those of you who have never used coconut oil, there is a difference in the quality from one brand to another. The kind I prefer is from Vitacost and has a light coconut aroma and sweet taste to it. I use it instead of butter on toast, for frying eggs and anything you would need butter or oil for. I even use it as a moisturizer on my skin. If you don’t like the coconut taste or smell, you can get it without it. The best kind of coconut oil is made from certified organic coconuts, and is cold pressed without heat or chemicals. If you’re interested in getting a $10 coupon off a Vitacost purchase, please contact me and I’ll send you a link.
I just had to give an update on the new variations I tried because I made 3 batches this week. It was such a big hit with everyone in the house, especially my husband. But with my last batch today I tried something different.
Someone asked about using honey, so I tried honey with a little maple flavoring instead of the maple syrup. Don’t even waste your time doing that. It tasted completely different. The real maple syrup is the key ingredient.
Then I substituted pecans for the cashews. We definitely liked the cashews better. Also tried craisins instead of the raisins, but we liked the raisins better too.
The only change from the original recipe that I’ll keep using is the coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Otherwise, the original recipe is the best!!!
This is great!! I can’t believe it, but I actually like the raisins in it!
Thanks so much for sharing this!
We have not forgotten this one! I made it yesterday! This one is our favorite and usually has my hubby and I sneaking around the house with a handful of granola
Can this be make into Granola Bars? One tray and all mushed together? Is it gooey enough to stick together?
Auntiepatch – nope, this isn’t a good recipe for granola bars (although there is a great one here).
Thanks – I’ll try those -
I just made this this morning and it is wonderful! I used coconut oil instead of vegetable and used honey instead of brown sugar. Oh, and the coconut I used was unsweetened. It turned out great! Even my extremely picky 7 year old is sitting down with a bowl of it right now.
Thanks!
If i could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be this!! i <3 it!!!
This is amazing! I will never even try another recipe. I used coconut oil instead of canola since I like the flavor of coconut but not the texture and it’s delicious!
Mel, I’m really loving this granola. It’s been on my “recipes to try” list for quite a while. Since I live overseas in the tropics, the price of maple syrup (imported from Vermont) is through the roof. What we have found that’s the next best thing here is maple-flavored honey, so that’s what I used in place of the maple syrup. It tastes great, but I wonder if using honey made the granola more likely to burn. I was having to stir it around to avoid burning from about 10 minutes into the baking, and I left it in only 40 minutes total because I was risking ruining the whole batch. What do you think? Perhaps other environmental factors played into the burning issue (90 degree heat, 100% humidity, small quirky Asian oven, etc.)
Hi Julia – yes, I think the honey could definitely make the baking a bit more finicky. If it’s done after 40 minutes, though, then you should be ok. The other thing you might try is decreasing the oven temp by 25 degrees and see how that goes.