8 Delicious Granola Recipes That Are Surprisingly Easy To Make (2024)

FAQs

What was the downside to granola as a food? ›

Granola may prompt weight gain if eaten in excess, as it can be high in calories from added fats and sugars. What's more, sugar is linked to chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Clumpy Granola Method: Add Egg White

About this method: According to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, “Nothing glues like protein.” While there are many granola recipes that include an egg white, I got this tip from the Big Cluster Maple Granola recipe in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

Both oatmeal and granola make for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, but the winner for us is granola—the added nuts, seeds, and dried fruits give you a source of fiber and healthy fats that oatmeal can't quite compete with.

"Granolas and granola bars that are high in added sugar from sources such as corn syrup, chocolate chips, and cane sugar can contribute to inflammation. In addition to sugar, processed oils such as soybean and canola oil are commonly found in granola and granola bars, and can contribute to inflammation."

Yes, granola can be eaten daily. As part of a balanced diet and if the portions are checked. Go for healthier options with less added sugars and saturated fats to get the most out of it.

Storing and Serving Homemade Granola

When stored in an airtight container, this granola will keep for up to a month. Eat it like cereal with milk or sprinkle over yogurt for a simple breakfast you can take anywhere.

Granola with milk or yogurt is a great option for a healthier sweet treat at the end of the day, but you can also use it to top ice cream, milkshakes or homemade sweets.

Trail Mix. Simply add dried fruit, like raisins, craisins, or banana chips and nuts or seeds to granola. You'll have a homemade trail mix in an instant!

You can use any kind that you like, but my favorite low sugar vanilla yogurts are Two Good, Chobani Less Sugar, or Siggi's. If you prefer to sweeten your own, you can use plain Greek yogurt and use either honey or maple syrup.

What is better than granola? ›

Without anything added to it, muesli is healthier than granola in the sense that it has less fat and sugar. However, if it's prepared with juice or contains a lot of dried fruit, muesli gains the sugar, calories, and carbohydrates that already exist in granola.

Higher temperatures can cause ingredients like nuts, seeds, and coconut to burn before the batch has a chance to properly dry out and crisp up, Perry says. Stick with a low temperature, keep an eye on your mixture, and stir it from time to time to help it brown evenly.

You need fat. If you're not using some type of fat to make granola, you're going to have a pile of dry oats. We use olive oil at Marge, and it gives the granola a toasty quality I really love.

It mainly depends on what kind of granola you buy. While oats are naturally free of gluten, they may be processed in an area that has been exposed to gluten which will then cause the oats to be contaminated with this protein. Some brands of granola also use wheat flour that contains gluten.

There are several reasons why granola can cause gas and bloating. Firstly, many brands contain high amounts of fiber, which can be difficult to digest for some people. The nuts and seeds in granola can also be difficult to digest and may produce gas as they break down in the digestive tract.

In excess, saturated fat (which sometimes creeps into granola through coconut and certain oils) can raise levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and have been linked to heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Granola was invented by an upstate New York doctor as a health food. Then called Granula, it was the first manufactured cold breakfast cereal in the world. The idea and name were purloined by Dr. John Kellogg, who, under threat of lawsuit, changed the name of his product to Granola.

Items made from whole foods — such as granola made with oats, dried fruit, and no added sugar, or polenta made with whole cornmeal — are also considered minimally processed and therefore “healthy.”