Healthy Honey Granola Recipe with Variations

This honey granola recipe is both healthy and inexpensive. My family loves the rich and flavorful taste that the wheat bran and wheat germ gives, and it also is full of fiber! I have enjoyed experimenting with the different flavor combos below. If you have tried something new that worked, leave a comment so I can try it and add it to my list!

Basic Recipe = Makes approx. 1 1/2 gal.
8 cups rolled oats
2 cups raw wheat germ and/or wheat bran
1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1/4 brown sugar
2 to 3 tsp spice(s)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey (molasses or maple syrup or a combination of all three is also good, especially if you want richer, darker granola)
1/4 cup water
2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix together all dry ingredients in a big bowl. In a saucepan, bring oil, liquid sweetener, and water to a gentle boil. Take off heat and slowly add extract, then stir. Then drizzle it over the dry ingredients mixture in bowl, and stir thoroughly until there are no dry pockets. Bake in a greased flat pan or on two cookie sheets (with rims) at 275 degrees fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Stir, then bake for 15 minutes. Stir again and bake for 5 to 15 minutes longer, until granola is no longer very damp to the touch. Let granola cool, then add dried fruit or nuts. If you want more granola clumps or clusters, then don't stir the granola as it cools.

For crunchier granola, use 1/2 c. corn syrup and 1/2 c. honey for your liquid sweetener. 

Cherry Almond Granola-- use no spices, mix almond extract in the liquid sweetener, and 2 to 3 cups dried cherries and/or toasted almonds mixed in after it cools.

Cranberry Orange Granola-- stir 2 tablespoons coriander in the dry ingredients, mix orange zest or orange extract in the liquid sweetener (use vanilla extract as well), and add 2 to 3 cups Craisins to the granola after it cools.

Cinnamon Raisin Granola-- stir 3 teaspoons cinnamon in with the dry ingredients, use vanilla extract, and stir in 2 to 3 cups raisins when granola cools.

Gingerbread Granola-- follow the recipe for the cinnamon raisin flavor above, only add 2 to 3 teaspoons ginger to the dry ingredients, and use equal parts molasses and honey as your sweetener.

Blueberries 'n Cream Granola-- Mix 1/3 c. dry milk powder and 1.5 tsp. allspice with dry ingredients, and use vanilla for your liquid sweetener. After granola is baked, stir in 2 to 3 cups dried blueberries.

Peanut Butter Granola-- Stir in 1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth) with liquid ingredients, and use only 1/3 cup oil (because peanut butter is oily). Peanuts can be mixed in after granola cools.

Mocha Granola-- Stir in 1/2 cup cocoa powder with the dry ingredients and dissolve 3 tsp. coffee crystals in the liquid mixture. 2 Tb. coffee extract can also be used. Before granola cools, layer finely chopped bittersweet chocolate chips in the warm granola so it melts onto granola clusters.