Healthy Diet: My Favorite Granola Recipe

Posted on Jun 17, 2015

If you want to cut back on your daily sugar intake, breakfast foods are a good place to start. Cereals are fast and easy but they easily contain 10+ grams of sugar per serving. Plus, cereals leave you feeling hungry an hour later because they contain very little protein. Nowadays I eat plain, whole fat yogurt with homemade granola almost every day. I make a big batch every couple of weeks so I have some on hand when time is tight in the morning. It is still fast and easy but also satisfying because of the whole grains and nuts. My favorite granola recipe is the Double Almond Cherry Granola that I found in the Wall Street Journal. I tweaked it a little – reducing the brown sugar and upping the almond butter, nuts and dried fruit. It is a yummy way to start the day and I know exactly what’s in it.

Double Almond Cherry Granola

½ cup almond butter
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cup slivered almonds (or your other favorite nut)
2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
¾ cup dried cherries (or your other favorite dried fruit like raisins or currants)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan over low heat, mix almond butter, honey and brown sugar until mixture is soft and combined, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in cinnamon and vanilla.

2. In a large bowl, toss together oats, almonds, chia seeds and salt. Pour almond butter mixture over oat mixture and toss well. It will be sticky. Make sure oats, almonds and chia seeds are well coated.

3. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil or nonstick spray. Spread oat mixture onto baking sheet in a single layer. Place in oven and bake, stirring once halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. (Granola will be soft when removed from oven but will become crunchier as it cools.) Let cool on baking sheet, then stir in cherries. (Cooled granola will keep for 3-4 weeks in an airtight container.)

Note: The almond butter can easily be substituted for peanut butter. Do not use natural peanut butter, however, or it will separate when heated.