Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is eating homemade granola healthy? ›

On the downside, granola can be high in added sugars, hidden calories, and saturated fat, making some options less healthy. Choosing the right type of granola, controlling serving sizes, and homemade options can make granola a part of a healthy diet.

Muesli is generally a healthier Swiss cousin to the American-created granola. They both share many of the same ingredients, but muesli is not baked, so it tends to have fewer calories, sugar, and fat than granola. The first and second ingredients are whole grain rolled oats and whole grain wheat flakes.

Initially, you'll have to spend more money on homemade granola than store-bought. However, over the long run (depending on your recipe) you'll most likely spend less on making your own granola. Cuff's granola recipe makes 12 servings, ½ cup a serving.

For a healthy snack, Sass recommends pairing 1/3 cup or less of granola with almond milk, or eating it with fresh berries alongside a protein such as grass-fed organic Greek yogurt or eggs.

Yes. "Granola does contain important nutrients, and if you enjoy it, eating some every day is probably fine as part of a balanced diet," says Harris-Pincus.

Because granola contains carbohydrates, it can spike blood sugar levels in some people with diabetes. However, whether or not granola spikes your blood sugar levels, and how quickly it may cause a blood sugar spike, will vary depending on what type of granola you eat and what you pair it with.

Which One Is Better for Breakfast? Both oatmeal and granola make for a healthy, nutritious breakfast, but the winner for us is granola—the added nuts, seeds, and dried fruits give you a source of fiber and healthy fats that oatmeal can't quite compete with.

Any kind of nut will work for yogurt—cashews, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, are all great contenders. But one nut in particular that nutritionists love to use is almonds. Why almonds? First, almonds give your body a boost of vitamins and minerals, which help with warding off disease and improving your bone health.

Storing and Serving Homemade Granola

When stored in an airtight container, this granola will keep for up to a month. Eat it like cereal with milk or sprinkle over yogurt for a simple breakfast you can take anywhere.

Until I ran into a clever trick, courtesy of Julia Turshen's new cookbook Simply Julia for getting granola as crispy as you want it: add egg whites. Per Turshen, for every three cups of rolled oats you want to transform into granola, add a ¼ cup each maple syrup and olive oil.

Can too much granola be bad? ›

Granola contains dried fruit, which is high in sugar, and high-fat tree nuts like almonds or walnuts. If too much is eaten, you could develop health problems or take in too many calories. Read the label before you buy and check the overall calories, total sugar, and fat content.

Advantage homemade. Both granolas have whole oats as their main ingredient, but the Kellogg's is high in refined sugar and contains palm oil. The homemade version contains protein-rich pecans and uses only a small amount of honey, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. It took me an hour to make granola from scratch.

The healthiest breakfast foods include a protein, healthy fat and source of carbohydrates, according to Smolen. For a healthy breakfast, consider eating foods like oatmeal with nut butter, avocado toast with an egg, chia seed pudding or a greek yogurt parfait with nuts and berries.

Yogurt and granola are excellent sources of fiber. It contains a high fiber content that provides numerous benefits to the digestive system. Therefore, it is the ideal way to maintain fast digestion to avoid fat formation in the body.

High-fiber foods, like the oats and whole grains found in granola, fill you up and keep you feeling fuller longer. Dietary studies have found eating a high-fiber diet can help you lose weight. Dried fruit and nuts also contain antioxidants, like vitamin E, which can lower inflammation in the body.

Adding milk or natural yogurt and fresh fruit may help create a more balanced breakfast, and add protein as well as vitamins and minerals. Granola may form part of a varied and balanced diet, but it's best to keep to the recommended portion size because granola is high in calories, carbs and sugar.

Is granola processed? Technically, all granola is processed to some degree because it's a food made out of ingredients which you have combined and cooked. However, there are huge variations in the amount of processing used across different brands.

Advantage homemade. Both granolas have whole oats as their main ingredient, but the Kellogg's is high in refined sugar and contains palm oil. The homemade version contains protein-rich pecans and uses only a small amount of honey, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. It took me an hour to make granola from scratch.