Easy 5-Ingredient Vanilla Granola

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Have a granola craving but don’t have all the extra goodies in the pantry? Have no fear! You can still have great tasting granola with 5 simple ingredients that you should always find in your cupboards.

Easy and Simple Granola!

Christina here from FoodApparel. My family recently did a 3 month cross-country move, road-trip style. We are loving it here in Charlottesville, VA (c’ville) but my pantry was not the first couple of weeks. It’s hard to start out from scratch again when you’ve been building a supply of kitchen wares over the years. We were pretty bare bones.

And not being familiar with all the grocery stores in the area didn’t help either. I mean, maybe I’m the odd one, but I seriously had my often frequented grocery store layouts memorized. Even down to the price, and sometimes freakishly, to the bulk bin code. So entering a new store, 3 kids under 3 in tow, and trying to make it a quick AND productive trip….lets just say, it ain’t happenin’.

I had such a craving for my Sweet Honey Granola that I like to whip up for breakfasts and snacks, but that wasn’t happening either. I didn’t have the wheat germ, the powdered milk…..and to think about tracking them down seemed burdensome. But I remembered this other granola recipe that my friend gave me years ago that was simple and quick and figured it would do the trick.

Easy and Simple Granola!

And it did. Nothing too fancy here. Just a simple bit of oats touched with brown sugar and vanilla. But it’s great for a bowl of cereal, on yogurt, with fruit, or just for a quick handful when you need a power snack.

Easy and Simple Granola!

I like to add a little canola oil to the original 5-ingredient recipe. The biggest difference I notice is just in the way it browns up, and it does help hold the moisture in a little more, IMO. But if you are really trying to keep it low fat, the sans oil version works very wonderfully as well!

When you need something quick and with limited ingredients, this granola definitely fits the bill. Give it a try and come visit us over at FoodApparel.com for more great recipe inspiration at all levels.

Easy and Simple Granola!

5 from 1 vote
Sweet Honey Granola
Easy 5-Ingredient Vanilla Granola
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Servings: 4 cups
Author: Christina Lakey from FoodApparel.com
Ingredients
  • 4 cups rolled oats old fashioned or quick
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil such as canola or vegetable (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Measure oats and place in large mixing bowl.
  3. In a smaller microwave-safe bowl or sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients (oil optional).
  4. Heat for 30-60 seconds in microwave, or over medium heat on stove top until sugar has dissolved.
  5. Pour mixture over oats and toss to coat evenly.
  6. Spread mixture on lightly oiled cookie sheet.
  7. Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown, tossing once halfway through for even baking.
Recipe Notes

The purpose of the oil in this recipe is to help is golden up a little better. It may be omitted (the original recipe had no oil).

Here’s that Sweet Honey Granola I was telling you about!

Sweet Honey Granola

 

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