Granola is the grown up’s version of cereal. This pecan maple granola is perfect over yogurt. It also add a nice crunch to your morning oatmeal.
It’s difficult to go back to store-bought granola once you’ve tried homemade granola.
First of all, have you ever looked at the nutritional labels and ingredient list of granola sold in super markets?
They taste great…because they are jam packed with sugar and sweeteners. Homemade granola allows you to customize the flavors and sweetness to your liking.
Homemade Granola
This is a relatively healthy granola recipe. It uses little sugar. Rather, it relies on maple syrup for complex sweetness,
Very little is needed to make a batch of this maple pecan granola. Best of all, this large batch can be stored at room temperature for up to a month!
Old fashioned oats, also known as rolled oats, are the key ingredient to this recipe. It’s the same oats you’d use to make oatmeal or cookies such as strawberry oatmeal cookies or chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies.
Customize To Your Liking
The main ingredients for this granola recipe are: maple syrup, oil, brown sugar, rolled oats, and pecans.
Swap in your choice of sweeteners and nuts to your liking.
Don’t like maple syrup? Use honey, agave syrup, coconut sugar, or simply use more brown sugar.
There are a variety of neutral flavored oils to choose from such as avocado oil, grape seed oil, or rice bran oil.
If pecans aren’t for you, try walnuts, sliced almonds, pistachios, or macadamia nuts.
Mix and match different sweeteners and nuts to find your perfect combination.
And, if you’re craving a rich decadent granola, go ahead and add some chocolate chips or chocolate chunks into the mix after baking!
Dried fruits such as raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped dried mango are another great addition.
Ways to enjoy this topping
Enjoy your granola with milk or yogurt, eat them plain by the handful, or sprinkle them over ice cream!
It’s also a great crunchy topping for overnight steel cut oatmeal, chia breakfast bowl, or protein pancakes.
Maple pecan granola allows you to have the benefits of oatmeal at a moment’s notice.
You get protein from the pecans, fiber from the oats, and it keeps you fuller longer than most cereals.
Maple Pecan Granola
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup vegetable oil or other neutral oil of choice
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 18×13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and salt. Fold in rolled oats and pecans. Mix until the dry mixture is thoroughly coated.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly across baking sheet. Lay parchment paper over mixture and press with the bottom of another baking sheet to make the oat mixture compact.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until mixture is firm and lightly golden brown in color. Rotate baking sheet midway through baking. Let granola cool to room temperature on wire rack. Break room temperature granola into bite size pieces (or into your desired size). At this point, you can add dried fruits or chocolate chips.
Notes
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one month.
I don’t know if I ever actually thought about granola being a grown-up version of cereal, but it’s true, it really is! Unfortunately, you’re so right about a lot of granola being loaded with sugar and fat – not exactly healthy. Ever since I started making my own I’ve noticed how sweet and fake the typical store-bought versions taste. Homemade is way better! One of my favorite variations is with maple syrup and pecans too. :)
By the way, I’m the same way about saying I’ll have granola for breakfast but waking up with the craving for a pastry or something similar instead. Never fails!
Great to know I’m not alone! Its so hard to say no pastries.
I found this recipe through pinterest and tried it out at the weekend, sooooo good! Thanks for sharing :-) I’m doing a little feature on it over on my blog this week with some snaps. I’ve linked back to your original recipe for my followers to try it out themselves too.
I’m really glad I came across your blog, some really nice recipes, lots to try, thanks again!
Thanks for trying it out Louise! I’m so happy you found me! By the way, your blog is so cute!
I am a granola (from scratch) fiend. I have a go-to recipe that’s quite similar to yours. I love using virgin coconut oil which gives it an additional nutty flavor. I’m going to try your recipe and I just know that it might be my new favorite!