Making Granola from Scratch

By Jen -
Homemade granola is pretty straightforward. The first time around will feel more labor intensive because you will be tracking the baking to make sure your granola comes out just right. Also, the ingredient list seems long - but do yourself a favor and buy double on the amounts to either freeze or store for your next batch.
The ingredients aren't set in stone. Obviously if you don't like pumpkin seeds - don't add them. However, I would highly suggest making sure you add the quinoa flakes due to the protein content of quinoa. With the nuts and seeds, this granola packs a nice solid punch on the appetite.

Homemade Granola recipe:



  • 5 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups quinoa flakes (I get this at whole foods. It comes in a box and is intended as a hot cereal, so the flakes are soft, not crunchy like corn flakes. Other natural foods stores may sell it in the bulk section, but it can be hard to find. If not available, I would just use additional rolled oats, or some other hot cereal grain)
  • 1 cup almonds coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup flax seeds
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup grade B maple syrup
  • 1-1/2 cups dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, cherries, or chopped apricots.



Set oven to 300 degrees (a little less for convection)

Mix dry ingredients together (except dried fruit). 
Add coconut oil (if it has solidified, heat it up until it is liquid) and maple syrup and mix well with your hands.
Recipe makes exactly enough to fill two "half sheet" jelly roll pans. If you have two pans, you can bake them both at the same time on two shelves of the oven. If you only have one pan, you will need to bake it in two batches. 
Bake for 40 minutes. During baking, set the timer for 10 minute intervals. After each 10 minutes, remove trays from oven, stir, and rotate top pan to bottom shelf and bottom pan to top shelf. If you use the convection setting on your oven, lower the temperature a bit and check to make sure your granola doesn't get too toasty. Keep an eye on the last 10 minutes - you want it to be crispy and golden, not too brown. When done, pour all into a big mixing bowl and add the dried fruit. 

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