Granola costs a small fortune at the grocery store, yet it’s incredibly easy and cost-efficient to make it yourself at home. This way, you can also customize the recipe to your own tastes and perhaps dietary restrictions. There’s one truly unique part to this recipe though, and that’s the fact that is done with only one tool – a crock pot (or slow-cooker, whatever you call it. Tomato, tomatoh). From mixing to cooking – it’s all done in one place, and when it’s finished, you can easily store it away for weeks of use (it makes a LOT of granola), or freeze in an airtight container for months of use. Granola is a easy snack to have as a cereal or a yogurt topper. Rich with natural sugars, and high fibre oats – this is a perfect addition to your daily intake.
Servings: 12 x 1/2 cup servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats (we used large flake oats, use gluten-free if needed)
1 1/4 cup of chopped almonds, pecans, whole pepitas (or your nuts/seeds of choice)
1/4 cup flax, ground
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup - 1 cup dried fruit, chopped (cranberries, pears, plums, apples, apricot were all used here)
Non-stick cooking spray
Equipment
Crock pot
Method
Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
Place all your oats, flax, salt, nuts/seeds and cinnamon in the crock pot and mix to combine.
Pour in your coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix until all the dry mixture is coated with the wet mixture.
Turn the crock pot onto high, and let cook for 3 hours. Leave the lid slightly off, if your crock pot does not have a steam-escape vent.
Every 30 minutes, give the granola a good mix. This will prevent the oats and nuts from burning.
When the nuts are roasted, and the oats are crisp, turn off the crock pot and let cool. Stir in your chopped dried fruit.
Store in air tight containers (we used mason jars).
Sarah Nicole
Since successfully losing 100lbs by changing her relationship with food and her body, Sarah has taken her passion for food and balanced it between cucumbers and cupcakes. When she's not bustling her way around a kitchen, you can find her working out or winding down at home with her 3 kids and pug. Follow Sarah's journey on Instagram @TheBirdsPapaya.
