Easy Homemade Granola Recipe

by Kristen Jeffrey on October 8th, 2013 | No Comments »

Our family recently began a new mission. Our objective? Eliminate GMO (genetically modified organism) foods from our diet. I am a mom to four kids and we home-school. Knowing that my time is limited I did not launch an all or nothing campaign. Instead, we are striving to make appropriate choices and eliminate as many GMO foods as possible. Our end goal is to be a 100% non-GMO eating family. The first roadblock we encountered was breakfast. Do you realize how hard it is to eliminate breakfast bars and cereal from your breakfast? Wow. We needed a solution and fast. I came up with an easy homemade granola recipe.

This granola is simple to make, pleases our entire family and is mostly GMO-free. I have not experimented but I believe there are some substitutions that could be made quite easily to make this a 100% non-GMO recipe. The entire prep/cook time is 45 minutes.

Easy Homemade Granola

Ingredients

12 cups of oats
1 cup sunflower seeds (shelled)
1 cup flax seed
3 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 heaping tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

Combine the butter, sugars, and vanilla into a pot and heat over medium heat until all the butter is melted and the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Meanwhile combine all the dry ingredients into your stand mixer or a very large bowl. Stir the dry ingredients until the cinnamon seems well distributed. Add the butter mixture and stir very well. Divide the mixture in half and spread it over two cookie sheets. Press it gently to form an even layer. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Switch the sheets to the different racks and bake another 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

If you are like us, we all eat a bowl as soon as it's out of the oven! It so good warm from the oven. After it is done cooking, let it cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to an airtight container. Then eat as desired! Here are some easy ways to eat it:

In a bowl with milk
Straight from a bowl and adding in dried fruits and coconut!
Served over yogurt

We also use our homemade granola to make homemade parfaits.

I place a layer of Stonyfield yogurt, a big layer of homemade granola, more Stonyfield yogurt, and then top it with organic blueberries! So good and very filling too.

I hope you enjoyed this easy homemade granola recipe!

What are your favorite granola toppings?

Kristen is a wife, mom, blogger at Mudpies and Tiaras, brand ambassador, and the Social Media Manager for Wilton Armetale. She has four children: two boys and two girls. Her oldest children are home schooled, and Kristen enjoys her role as a stay-at-home mother. Her interests include gardening, coffee, reading, cooking, and finding new ways to be eco-friendly.