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Homemade Vermont Maple Granola. The crunchy, sweet, yumminess that is too good to be healthy for you. Well, not in this case – okay, so maybe a little unhealthy – but this maple granola recipe uses an unrefined all-natural sweetener, pure Vermont maple syrup. This recipe is packed full of oats and healthy seeds, which will have you looking forward to starting your day each morning with a healthy breakfast.
During college and my first career, I worked at The Wildflower Inn here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. They served a delicious breakfast, including a cold buffet featuring their maple granola. When I worked there, granola was always my go-to for breakfast with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit. Although this is not the inn’s recipe, it certainly brings back great memories of working there. My daughter worked there too, and gets to enjoy the same experience!
Pantry Toss-Ins
By making your homemade granola, you can add the ingredients you like or have on hand. Just follow the basics of this recipe, the syrup mixture and amount of oats, then add what you’d like for seeds, nuts, or dried fruit, including coconut. I don’t use nuts in my granola because my husband won’t eat them, so I use seeds instead. If you have a picky eater, mix up some granola just for them and split the batch to make two different kinds of granola.
Recipe Tips
This recipe comes together rather quickly:
how you can eat and use granola
- By the handfuls! Just snacking on this without anything is undoubtedly acceptable and encouraged!
- Top your yogurt with a scoopful of this homemade Vermont maple granola.
- Sprinkle on vanilla ice cream. Perfect sweetness, perfect crunch.
- Sautee a sliced apple until soft with a tablespoon of butter and a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle with homemade granola. Spoon onto vanilla ice cream.
- Just granola and whole milk. Need I say more?
- Use in fruit fondue – roll your dipped fruit in this granola recipe
- Make a fruit and yogurt parfait, layering fruit, yogurt, and granola
- Add it to a gift basket in a canning jar
- Treat a neighbor (good food makes good neighbors, am I right?)
- Share it at work (we all need a reason to go to the break room!)
- Put it on top of any dessert crisp
recipe Health Benefits
- Oatmeal
- Low sugar, high fiber, diabetic-friendly
- Appetite suppression; decreased risk of obesity and diabetes
- Lowers cholesterol
- Good source of protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals
- See complete health benefits of oats
- Flaxseeds
- High in Omega-3 fats essential for heart health
- Decreased risk of stroke
- May reduce the risk of cancer
- See complete health benefits of flaxseeds
- Chia Seeds
- High in antioxidants and minerals
- Known as one of the world’s most nutrient-dense foods
- High in protein, fiber, and Omega-3 acids
- May reduce the risk of heart disease and inflammation
- See complete health benefits of chia seeds
- Wheat germ
- Good source of protein, fats, and fiber
- High in Vitamin E, an antioxidant that fights free radicals for preventing disease
- See complete health benefits of wheat germ
Homemade Vermont Maple Granola
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- ½ cup maple syrup, Vermont made dark robust a darker syrup will give more flavor
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup wheat germ (can omit if you don't have it) optional
- ¼ cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas) optional
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed optional
- 1 tbsp chia seeds optional
- ½ cup chopped pecans or sliced almonds optional
- ½ cup shredded coconut optional
- ½ cup dried cranberries (optional) add after baking or when you use your granola – they will dry out and become hard over time
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine butter and maple syrup in a 2-quart saucepan. Turn heat on medium. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off and add vanilla, stir.
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients except the craisins in a medium mixing bowl stirring well.
- Next, pour the warm maple syrup mixture into the oatmeal and seed mixture, stir until well combined.
- Pour the granola onto the sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir the granola up on the pan, making sure to get the edges stirred in. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the granola starts to brown and is crispy.
- Cool completely on the pan. Add craisins or add them when you use your granola, as they will become hard over time. Use the parchment paper to help transfer the granola to the container by pulling up three sides to make a funnel. Store at room temperature for up to two weeks. Sprinkle on yogurt, ice cream, or eat plain by the handfuls.