Question: What is a great breakfast food that also doubles as a snack?
Answer: Granola
(at least its true in our household)
Yes. granola is a family favorite at our home. If I ever buy it from the store, no matter how big a size I buy, it would disappear within 24 hours. Sometimes we eat it with milk, sometimes with yogurt and berries, or sometimes just as a dry sweet snack.
But it can get pretty expensive buying the store bought kind. So I figured I had to make our own granola rather than buying it from the store and paying a ridiculous amount of money for it.
So, I usually make a big batch of granola once a week using 8 whole cups of whole oats and it lasts for at least half a week. It is nothing fancy. It’s a very basic recipe for simple granola adapted from few recipes I referenced online. By “adapted” read “make it with much less sugar” 😉
So, here is my recipe for it in my easy look up format and 2 different methods to make it. You may also scroll down or jump to the more detailed recipe.
Method 1: Using the Ninja Foodi Multi-Purpose Cooker
Turn on the Ninja and set it to the Sear/Saute setting on high. Then add in the oil, honey and sugar.
Tip: Use the half cup measuring cup to first measure the oil and then use the same cup to measure the honey and watch the honey just slide off into the pot without leaving any sticky residue!
Give it a few minutes to heat. Then stir so the brown sugar is well incorporated and liquifies.
Once you make sure all the sugar has completely dissolved, add the oats directly into the pot along with the salt and cinnamon powder.
Give it a good mix until the oats are well coated with the sticky liquid mixture. You may not see much of a coating to the oats. But trust me, that is good enough to make your simple granola.
Next go ahead and close the lid. Set the cooker to Bake mode with the right temperature and time. Press start. Because of the air-fry nature of the Ninja Foodi and because I have a stainless steel insert, it will cook very fast. Until you have figured out how your cooker works, open the lid every few 3-4 minutes and give it a good stir. You will see it starting to brown. The below picture shows I waited a bit too long…but still no damage. I kept stirring it. To distribute the heat.
And soon I had my final product.
Do keep in mind that fresh made granola won’t be crispy at first…that comes later as it cools. I usually just let it cool in the same pot but stirring it every so often so the oats don’t form clumps and can retain the “cereal-like” texture.
Method 2: Using Stovetop/Microwave and the Conventional Oven
Preheat your oven to 250F.
The next step is always to heat up the oil along with the sugars and honey.
You could add these ingredients to a thick bottomed pot and heat them on your stovetop, stirring until the sugars are fully dissolved and the liquid mixture is less viscous.
~or ~
Add them all to a large microwave-safe glass bowl and warm them up in 30 second intervals in the microwave making sure to stir each time you check. Again you want to heat them up until everything is well dissolved and desired consistency is reached.
Next in a separate bowl, mix all the remaining dry ingredients. Then combine with the liquid mixture and stir well until the oats are well coated with the oil-sugar mixture.
Transfer the oats into a lined baking sheet pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for close to 1 hour checking in every 20 minutes and giving the mixture a stir to make sure it cooks evenly.
Remove. Let cool completely. Enjoy!
(Sorry, I do not have pictures of this method since I haven’t made granola using this method lately)
Full Recipe
Quick and Simple Granola using Ninja Foodi/Multi-Purpose Cooker
A family favorite granola that is great for breakfast and snacking.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Oil (any kind)
- 1/2 cup Honey (any kind)
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (light or dark)
- 8 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Turn on the cooker to Sear/Saute mode on high
- Add in Oil, Honey and Brown sugar. Stir until the sugar has completed dissolved in the liquid mixture.
- Add in Oats, Cinnamon Powder and Salt. Stir well until the oats have been fully coated
- Close the lid. Set the cooker to Bake mode with temperature set to 350F and timer set to 15 minutes (reduce to 12 minutes if using a stainless steel insert)
- Open the lid every 3-4 minutes to check progress and give it a stir.
- Once the timer is up and it looks fully done, turn off the heat and let cool, stirring every so often so the granola doesn’t all stick together.
- Enjoy immediately or store in a canister for enjoyment later.
Quick and Simple Granola using Conventional Oven
A family favorite granola that is great for breakfast and snacking.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Oil (any kind)
- 1/2 cup Honey (any kind)
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (light or dark)
- 8 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250F
- Heat in Oil, Honey and Brown sugar on stovetop or a glass bowl in microwave. Stir until the sugar has completed dissolved in the liquid mixture.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add Oats, Cinnamon Powder and Salt. Add in the liquid mixture and stir well until the oats have been fully coated
- Spread the mixture in a couple of baking sheets and place in preheated over.
- Check the pans every 20 minutes and give it a stir to make sure the oats are cooking evenly.
- Once an hour is up and it looks fully done, remove pans from heat and let cool, stirring every so often so the granola doesn’t all stick together.
- Enjoy immediately or store in a canister for enjoyment later.
Jubila 365 
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