Crunchy Granola Recipe

A Quick Stovetop Granola Recipe

Eventually, I came to the point in my mission as a “cottage economist” that I could no longer justify paying $6 each week for a box of my favorite granola cereal. It’s possible that my little ones were old enough to start begging me to share the crunchy oats & honey goodness and I’m too indulgent a mother to deny them. But I didn’t want to pay that much when we could easily consume two boxes a day between all of us.

The natural solution was easy- make my own! I recipe tested my heart out and settled on a satisfactory substitute.

There was just one problem.

The missing ingredient was speed.

A perpetual failure at meal planning, I’ve given up all hope of mending my scatter-brained ways. Toasting granola in the oven for 90 minutes was a breakfast that was anything but quick. So, sadly, we didn’t often enjoy granola anymore.

After making various crunchy stovetop seed & nut toppings for soups & salads, it occurred to me to try the same technique on granola. It worked beautifully!

I settled on the perfect ratios, though you can eyeball the ingredients if you’d like. I do most times. It’s really the technique that counts. I simply wanted a base recipe for my children to work from if they wanted to make it one day.

Here is the secret to making quick & crunchy stovetop granola:

Pre-toast the moisture out of your base oat mix before adding the other ingredients.

This adds more flavor and the coveted crunch. Doing it on a stovetop makes quick work of the job, cutting the duration by 2/3rds. But you must keep stirring the whole time! Do not let your oats burn, even one flake. They smell horrid and the flavor of just a few burned rolled oats will infuse the whole batch.

If you bear those two tips in mind the rest is simply about building flavor which is done with butter, honey, & a pinch of salt. I add a small bit of sugar to the mix as well because it helps caramelize the granola and gives it a beautiful golden color.

The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. No off-the-wall ingredients (the buckwheat is optional but is naturally crunchy- it’s my children’s favorite part!) which makes it the perfect carrier for homemade yogurt, fresh fruit, canned peaches, a splash of raw milk, or a handful of dark chocolate chips!