Plain granola -- no, really plain

October 29, 2011 3:03 PM

Looking for a plain granola recipe.

Really plain -- oats, honey, and oil. Hopefully nothing else. I don't like nuts, raisins, coconut -- all the other crap in the granola at the store and the recipes I've found. Google searches and my go-to cookbooks have been surprisingly unhelpful.

I see a lot of variations on sweetener ratio, oven temperature, cooking time, toasting -- and I don't know what to try first, especially since I'm leaving out most of the ingredients. Help me, hive mind!

posted by liet to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

I haven't tried it, but this is close to what you were asking for:

http://daisyjanie.typepad.com/daisyjanie/2010/04/recipe-basic-granola.html
posted by royalsong at 3:10 PM on October 29, 2011

Here's the basic recipe I improvise off of, straight from an Oberlin co-op, though I've also had success with this one from smitten kitchen (I hate coconut too, so just omit):

oven at 350

1/4 cup oil (or butter or margarine)
1/4 cup honey (or syrup or molasses)
3 cups oats (not instant)


things to add:
-a little flour will make it chewy/clumpy
-vanilla or fruit juice for flavor
-ground flax seed for nutrition or nutty flavor
-oat bran or wheat germ
Spices/dried fruit:
-"cinnamon and nice" with cranberries or raisins
-"fred and ginger" goes well with peaches

add any spices or grainy things before cooking, any fruit after.
bake on a cookie sheet or dish- it helps if it has sides.
stir every five minutes or so-- it's done when your house smells
good and it's looking a little toasty. you can decide how crispy you
want it. let it cool before you close it in a container, but it's easier
to get if off the sheet while it's hot.
posted by kickingthecrap at 3:13 PM on October 29, 2011

You can even skip the oil, if you want. Try a ratio of 1/2 to 1 cup honey to 6 cups rolled oats, depending on how sweet you like it. If you want oil, use canola - maybe two tablespoons per cup of honey. First heat and blend the honey and oil, pour that over the oats and mix so everything is moistened. Spread on a baking sheet no deeper than 3/8 inch, put in a 350 oven. Keep a close eye on it, toss with a spatula every 10 minutes. Remove when you like the golden brown color - usually 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Serve. Adjust sweetness to taste next time.
posted by beagle at 3:16 PM on October 29, 2011

This is the recipe that I make. You can substitute all the non-oat things with oats and all the liquid things with oil/honey and you will be mostly fine. Try it in small batches and see what you think.
posted by jessamyn at 3:19 PM on October 29, 2011

Alton Brown's granola recipe is really great. I've made it many times, and you can definitely omit the nuts and stuff.
posted by catwash at 4:47 PM on October 29, 2011

Okay, I headed to the kitchen after reviewing these recipes. Thank you! I now have a fresh batch of granola cooling on top of the stove. 30 minutes at 350, about 4 cups oats to ~.75 cups honey and a little peanut oil (because I was unprepared and didn't have anything plainer). I'll let you know how it goes.
posted by liet at 7:10 PM on October 29, 2011