This honey almond granola is perfect on parfaits, smoothie bowls, and baked fruit and requires less than 10 minutes of prep work.
It’s hard to not to love granola. Who can resist the sweet goodness of toasted oats and honey? It’s nice to purchase (especially from local sources), but lately Alex and I have had some fun trying to hone our own recipe. (And when I say hone, I mean remake every couple nights to vary each and every parameter. I feel like some kind of granola scientist!). Luckily, the granola research project came to a culmination with this honey almond granola recipe.
Notes on making this honey almond granola
Our goal for this honey almond granola was a recipe that was basic, easy, and healthy. We also only wanted to use natural sweetener – in this case, honey! When purchasing the honey for this recipe, try and find a local source for your honey if you can. Not only will the quality of the honey be better, but you’ll also be supporting local businesses, which we’re all about!
Granola is something you can easily personalize to your own taste with whatever types of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, or sweeteners you’d like. The Kitchn shared a granola formula that we found particularly handy: combine about 8 cups dry ingredients (oats, nuts, and seeds) with 1 cup wet ingredients (1 part oil to 3 parts sweetener), then add 1 to 2 cups dried fruit after baking. You can use any type of dried fruit you like here: we used raisins, but substitute in dried cherries, apricots, or blueberries.
Want more with almonds? We’ve got 15 great almond recipes for you to try.
How to store granola
If you go through granola as quickly as we do, make a double batch of this honey almond granola and freeze it for later. You can freeze granola in a zip-top bag or an airtight container for a few months. Just set it out on your counter and wait for about 10 minutes for it to come to room temperature before digging in!
There are so many ways you can enjoy granola besides in a breakfast parfait. A few of our favorite ways to munch on this honey almond granola are:
With milk—plain granola and milk is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Top with sliced fruit if you’re feeling extra hungry.
On a smoothie bowl—smoothie bowls are easy to make and are surprisingly filling. This tart cherry smoothie bowl is a good recipe to start with.
As a topping for baked or poached fruit—baked fruit is an underrated dessert. It’s the perfect treat during the winter and takes little effort to make. These poached pears with granola are incredible and look so much fancier than they actually are.
Mixed into popsicles—these açaí bowl popsicles are a simple summer treat everyone will enjoy. The granola at the bottom of the popsicle adds a unique texture to the popsicles.
In dessert parfaits—any creamy, layered treat is the perfect vehicle for crunchy granola. These healthy-ish pumpkin parfaits feature granola as a simple, yet elegant topping.
With peanut butter and sliced fruit—sliced fruit can be made more filling by dipping it in peanut butter and granola. The mix of textures and flavors hit the spot every time.
Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.
Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.
Yum! I love granola and have it for breakfast on most days (my favorite is yoghurt) and keeps me full until lunch and I don’t have the urge to snack. I have been too lazy to actually make my own, even though it’s better for me. This recipe has inspired me to try it out. Thank you!
Yogurt with granola has been one of my fave snacks recently. I’ve been getting some organic granola from the store with some yummy nuts and honey in it. But I’ve never thought of making my own! Neat idea!
This is BEAUTIFUL. Your pictures are so gorgeous, I’m very jealous. I love granola in my yogurt, I’ve been wanting to make it for a while. I’ll have to try your recipe!
I use fruit puree in mine . . . unsweetened applesauce, pureed peaches (Trader Joe’s), but still add 1 to 2 TBL of oil . . . although I made granola this past weekend and completely forgot to add the oil (I was going by memory instead of pulling out my recipe), and I do not notice any difference except that it seemed to take a little longer in the oven to toast.
I’m making an adapted version of this recipe as we speak! I never thought to add the raisins in after baking (I always just stir mine in before). What’s the difference?
Thank you for a perfect recipe! Your criteria for a great granola matched mine, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s not too sweet, not too cinnamon, not too honey, not to anything. Like you said, a great standard, go-to granola. Thanks for perfecting it so I don’t have to! ;)
12 Comments
Tatjana LaPointe
March 4, 2011 at 10:35 amYum! I love granola and have it for breakfast on most days (my favorite is yoghurt) and keeps me full until lunch and I don’t have the urge to snack. I have been too lazy to actually make my own, even though it’s better for me. This recipe has inspired me to try it out. Thank you!
sonia
March 4, 2011 at 11:19 pmFantastic granola bar. Will surely try it for my little one !
amish baby cribs
March 5, 2011 at 2:27 amWhat a very nice granola bar this is. I would love to try this one. Love the honey in it.
Donna from Yumma Yumma
March 6, 2011 at 12:35 amYogurt with granola has been one of my fave snacks recently. I’ve been getting some organic granola from the store with some yummy nuts and honey in it. But I’ve never thought of making my own! Neat idea!
Chelsea
March 6, 2011 at 12:41 amThis is BEAUTIFUL. Your pictures are so gorgeous, I’m very jealous. I love granola in my yogurt, I’ve been wanting to make it for a while. I’ll have to try your recipe!
simone
March 6, 2011 at 7:01 pmI should really give it a try to make my own granola as I love it too and it would be so good to add the things I like in there. Looks awesome!
Tiffany
March 14, 2011 at 6:29 pmI LOVE granola… honey almond sounds right up my alley!
[email protected]
March 14, 2011 at 8:11 pmThis is just what I was looking for. I love how you broke it down into a formula. Question- would fruit butters count as the oil? Thanks!
penandra
March 16, 2011 at 11:28 amI use fruit puree in mine . . . unsweetened applesauce, pureed peaches (Trader Joe’s), but still add 1 to 2 TBL of oil . . . although I made granola this past weekend and completely forgot to add the oil (I was going by memory instead of pulling out my recipe), and I do not notice any difference except that it seemed to take a little longer in the oven to toast.
Katie @ OhShineOn
April 28, 2012 at 11:44 amI’m making an adapted version of this recipe as we speak! I never thought to add the raisins in after baking (I always just stir mine in before). What’s the difference?
Alex
April 28, 2012 at 1:04 pmI’m not sure! We’ve never baked the raisins — they probably get a little more dried out if you do?
Stacy
February 3, 2016 at 11:01 amThank you for a perfect recipe! Your criteria for a great granola matched mine, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s not too sweet, not too cinnamon, not too honey, not to anything. Like you said, a great standard, go-to granola. Thanks for perfecting it so I don’t have to! ;)