living well one day at a time

Homemade granola was one of the first things I started making after moving into my first apartment many years ago. Whether it was this Hazelnut Cardamom Cranberry Granola, something more like this grain free granola, or this golden milk granola – I realized quickly that granola is the perfect medium for exploring flavors and textures.

It’s easy to customize based on what’s available, while making your home smell amazing.

Why you’ll love this Hazelnut Cardamom Cranberry Granola:

• Making homemade granola makes your entire house smell amazing while baking, is easily customizable, often more budget friendly than buying store-bought granola, and almost always tastes better.
• This recipe makes a large batch, which means you can either put extra in a pretty jar and give it as a gift, or freeze it for 3-6 months if you don’t feel you’ll use it all right away. This is the ultimate meal prep or make ahead item.
• It’s lightly sweetened, crispy, crunchy, and deeply flavored thanks to hazelnuts, warm cardamom, and the tartness of dried cranberries.

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Old Fashioned Rolled-Oats. I really enjoy all of the sprouted oats from this brand.
• Hazelnuts. Get raw hazelnuts if you can find them, but roasted will work just fine.
• Fine-grain sea salt. This isn’t the time for table salt, folks. If you don’t have fine grain sea salt, you can use kosher salt with similar results.
• Ground Cinnamon and Cardamom. Don’t leave these out – the warming spices in combination with the other ingredients are perfect.
• Oil. I like to use coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil.
• A liquid sweetener. This is important vs. something granulated because it will melt, crystalize, and assist with making a cluster-y and lovely granola. I think honey or maple syrup do really well in this recipe, but you can easily use agave or date syrup. If you go the Date Syrup route, I like this one from Just Date (you can use the code “LIVINGWELLS_” for 10% off)
• Vanilla and Almond extract.
• Dried Cranberries. Aim to get unsweetened, but know that sweetened will work fine too.

Equipment you’ll need:

• Large Mixing Bowl
• Baking Sheet, like this half sheet pan
• Parchment Paper or Silicon Baking Sheet Mat (optional)
• Silicone Spatula
• Cutting Board
• Knife. I always recommend something sharp and high quality, like this. When it comes to knives, sharper is actually safer.
• Tupperware or glass jars for storing granola.
• Small saucepan, bowl, or liquid measuring cup.

How to make Hazelnut Cardamom Cranberry Granola:

To put it simply: you’re going to preheat the oven, mix a bunch of ingredients together in one bowl, spread them out on a baking sheet, then hopefully clean up any mess while your house smells amazing.

A few words of wisdom before we get started:

• Start any recipe by thoroughly reading through the instructions and gathering all of the ingredients and equipment that you’ll need. This habit will help you to enjoy the process once you start cooking, and improve your confidence and creativity in the kitchen over time.
• Also, please always taste as you go and season to taste. Everyone’s palate is a little different, and doing this will take you from making okay food to great food.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 Fahrenheit, and (optionally) line your large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. It isn’t necessary to line your baking sheet, but this will significantly cut down on clean-up time and help the sweetener to stay on the granola vs. getting stuck to the pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and stir until the oats and nuts are coated in cinnamon and cardamom.

Place the oil and sweetener in a saucepan then heat and stir until well combined (this is especially important if you’re using coconut oil and/or honey). You can optionally use a liquid measuring cup or microwave safe bowl, then heat this briefly in the microwave. Once it’s combined, mix in the almond and vanilla extracts.

Mix it really well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon or spatula to spread it in an even single layer. Bake the granola for around 12 minutes, stir, then bake another 12 or so until golden. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.

It’s key that you don’t touch or stir the granola from this point until it’s completely cooled. If you do, you might not end up with crispy, cluster-y granola.

Recipe Notes:

• You can easily halve this recipe if you don’t think you’ll use it in time, but keep in mind that it keeps well in the refrigerator, freezer, and makes a great gift.
• If you plan on doubling this recipe, that should work well. Just know that you’ll need a massive mixing bowl and two baking sheets.
• I like serving my granola with on a yogurt bowl, on top of a smoothie bowl, or even as the perfect hiking snack. One of my favorite ways to eat granola in the summer is for breakfast with whatever fruit is in season, and milk. It’s simple, refreshing, and filling. You can also use it in a more complex breakfast bowl like my Golden Grilled Banana Breakfast Bowl.
• It’s worth reiterating that you must let granola cool completely if you want it to have clusters and be crispy.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions:

• This recipe can easily be made Vegan and Gluten Free if you use a sweetener other than honey, and ensure that the oats you choose are a gluten free variety.
• While this recipe is oat-centric, if you’re looking for a grain-free option, you can use my Apricot Cherry Grain Free Granola as a starting point and sub some nuts and fruits with cranberries and hazelnuts for a similar vibe.
• Unlike some nuts, hazelnuts have a pretty distinctive flavor. If you need to substitute something else and make granola – you totally can. Just be aware that it won’t be true to this recipe if you do.
• If you don’t have or can’t find dried cranberries, dried blueberries and cherries are also delicious.

Storage Tips:

• Store the granola in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks at room temp, or in a sealed freezer safe bag (I like these stasher bags) for up to a few months.
• If you decide to freeze granola, know that any dried fruit can freeze solid. I’d recommend letting it hang out at room temp for at least 5 to 10 minutes before eating.

How To Get Chunky Granola:

If you’re anything like me, you love a cluster-y and chonky granola. Here are a few extra tips you can lean on to achieve that, if it’s important to you.

• When spreading the oats out onto your baking sheet, make sure they’re touching a bit but in a single layer. Crowded, but not too crowded, ya know?
• Do not over bake or burn the granola. There’s something about it that makes granola fall apart vs. clump together. Even if it doesn’t seem quite done, I encourage you to take it out at the time in the recipe and let it cool.
• Speaking of letting it cool, you need to let it cool in the pan completely before breaking it up and storing it.
• Don’t skip the step of pulling the granola out halfway through (12 minutes in) and stirring it. Once you do, you can also gently pat it down with the back of your spatula to help it become more cohesive.

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