Honey Pecan Granola

Granola can be enjoyed by itself or as a topping and there are countless ways to make it – adding nuts, dried fruits, spices, and more to the traditional rolled oats base. Make yogurt bowls at home. Pair the granola with fresh fruit, jams, cookie butter, and other spreads for a healthy homemade snack.

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Your grocery list

Produce

• Lemon

Baking & Pantry Items

• Pecan halves or pieces
• Rolled oats
• Ground cinnamon
• Sea salt
• Extra virgin olive oil (canola or coconut oil would also work)
• Honey (or maple syrup)
• Vanilla extract

Equipment/tools you’ll need

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowls
• Ziplock bag or tupperware, for storage

How to make honey pecan granola (and pretty much every other kind of granola too)

1. Toast nuts – to boost that nutty flavor
2. Combine dry ingredients – it’s easier to make sure everything is evenly distributed when dry ingredients are mixed first before adding any wet ingredients
3. Add oil and sweetener – oil and whatever sweetener(s) you choose (honey, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla extract) are all mixed in during this step
4. Bake – keep an eye on the granola – you want it to brown, but not burn. For larger chunks of granola, mid-way through baking use a spatula to turn the granola then use the spatula to press the granola back into a single even layer. If you leave the turned granola as-is, it will result in mostly smaller bits of granola instead of a large sheet that you can break apart as you see fit.
5. Let it cool – it’s important to let the granola cool and become brittle before attempting to break it into pieces. While you wait, add the zest of a lemon to your granola to add a fresh pop of citrus flavor.
6. Enjoy!

Ways to adjust your honey pecan granola

• Instead of pecans use toasted pumpkin seeds, pistachios, walnuts, or whatever your favorite nuts are. You can even toss in some nuts and seeds untoasted like sunflower or sesame seeds.
• I love using olive oil because it gives the granola a slightly savory flavor and helps it not become overwhelmingly sweet. Use canola oil for a neutral flavor and coconut oil for a sweeter granola.
• You can use agave or maple syrup instead of honey.
• Add dried fruit or ginger to add a tart, chewy factor to your granola.

How to make substitutions:

• ​​The recipe contains 4 cups of oatmeal and 2 cups of pecans.  That means you can easily substitute other ingredients so long as you keep the total volume around 6 cups. For example, you could swap out a cup of oatmeal for a cup of seeds. Or switch the 1 cup of pecans to 1 cup of walnuts, or even reduce the amount of nuts to just 1 cup and add an extra cup of oats, dried coconut, or dried fruit.
• For sweeteners, use a 1:1 ratio. ½ cup of honey for ½ cup of any other sweetener combination of your choice.

10 ways to enjoy granola

1. In a yogurt or smoothie bowl
2. Add some texture to your oatmeal
3. As a french toast coating
4. On top of or mixed into ice cream
5. Plain with a side of sliced cheese and vegetables (carrots, celery, cucumber)
6. With a fruit spread or cookie butter
7. As a crumble topping for baked apples, pies, peach cobbler, banana bread, etc.
8. Made into granola bars
9. Crumbled on top of cheesecakes
10. Paired with baked sweet potatoes and marshmallows

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