Apple Pecan Granola

Once you make homemade granola, you may never go back!  Apple Pecan Granola is the perfect breakfast, loaded with oats, pecans, walnuts, maple syrup and that delicious combination of cinnamon and applesauce!  Use it to top yogurt, oatmeal, plain cheerios or chex, or just eat it by the handful!

Why We Love It!

• Homemade Granola is so delicious! - If you haven't tried it, try it!  This apple granola is especially great because it uses applesauce and cinnamon to give you that classic flavor.  It's a staple in our house and we alternate between our 2 favorite kinds, Apple Pecan Granola and Almond Spiced Granola.  

• It's better for you! - Fresh from the oven, that apple pie smell, homemade applesauce granola is made with REAL, better for you ingredients.  It's far superior to its store-bought counterpart, no refined sugar or preservatives here!  Just lots of protein from good quality ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds and apple sauce.  The applesauce takes the place of some of the oil needed in granola.  

• Customize it to make it your own! - You need to keep the wet to dry ingredients proportioned the same.  But, from there you can try different nut and seed combinations, honey instead of maple syrup, different dried fruits (adding dried apple chips would be amazing!), make it your own!  If you want to use less nuts to make it more affordable, just sub extra oats.  Or, if you want to use more nuts to make it healthier, again, just sub less oats.  

• Let the kids help! - Homemade granola is one of my kid's favorite things to help with in the kitchen.  They've been making granola since they were two, they love to measure, stir, smell, mix, and sample!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Regular Rolled Oats - Not steel cut or quick oats.  I like to get these out of the bulk bin at the store.
• Pecans & Walnuts - You can leave the nuts whole or chop them, and sub any nuts you like.
• Seeds - I like to use any combination of pumpkin, sunflower, flax, or chia seeds.
• Shredded Coconut - Adds a hint of sweetness.
• Cinnamon & Salt - Don't leave out the salt!  It gives you that salty sweet combo and gives lots of flavor to the granola!
• Applesauce - Applesauce gives you that autumn harvest apple flavor, which marries perfectly with the cinnamon and maple syrup.
• Coconut Oil - Can be melted in the microwave.
• Maple Syrup - Be sure to use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.  This is the sweetener for the granola, you could also use honey.  The maple pecan granola flavor is truly my favorite!  It has such a rich depth to it that store-bought granola, sweetened with sugar, just doesn't have.
• Raisins - Don't bake the raisins!  Add them after the granola is baked and cooled.  Any dried fruit will work here such as cranberry, cherries, sliced apricots, golden or regular raisins.  Or try apple chips or any form of dehydrated apples, added when the granola is cooled.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 250°. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (not raisins).  Mix wet ingredients in a small glass measuring cup (coconut oil can be microwaved and then measured).

Step 2 - Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Spread granola on two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper (parchment paper can be reused again and again for granola!).

Step 3 - Bake for 75 minutes. When the time is up, turn oven off and leave granola in the oven a few hours or overnight, do not open oven or stir it (this gives you nice big clusters).

Step 4 - When cooled, add dried fruit and store in a jar.

Tips for the Best Granola

• Use two large sheet pans to spread the granola out.  Bake it on parchment paper, which really helps your nice big clusters stay intact and keeps your apple granola from sticking to the pan.  You can reuse your parchment paper several times for making granola (go green!).
• While the granola slowly bakes for 75 minutes, don't open the oven or stir it!  That ruins your clusters.  And when the timer is up, just turn the oven off and leave the granola in for a few hours to cool.  Again, the clusters are forming!!

How to Use Apple Pecan Granola

We use our cinnamon apple granola to top yogurt, Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal or my Homemade Instant Oatmeal, or cold cereal (add some excitement and protein to cheerios or chex).  We add it to trail mix, put it on ice cream, or sprinkle it over sliced bananas or apples and peanut butter for a healthy kid's snack.  I steal a handful when mom needs a sweet and healthy quick afternoon bite!  When you make your own granola, it's a healthy addition to breakfast or snack time!   

More Breakfast Favorites!

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