Vanilla Almond Granola – Simple, Healthy and Delicious

This homemade vanilla almond granola recipe will please the pickiest eaters at the breakfast table.

I love making things from scratch for my family. Any time I can find a way to recreate something we love I’m all for it. I like knowing that I’m eliminating unneeded ingredients & additives where I can. Because of this, I have been making homemade breakfast items for my family for a couple of years now. This homemade vanilla almond granola is one that’s become a staple in our household.

It’s actually easier to do than it sounds and I feel so much better about the things they are eating. I find that for most things, making it homemade isn’t difficult and I usually pay much less for the finished product than I would if I bought it in the store. Things like this homemade granola can be expensive in the store!

But making it at home takes about an hour & gives me enough cereal for several days.

I love the versatility of this recipe too. The kids love to eat it with milk and maybe a sprinkle of fresh berries on top. I personally like to add it to a yogurt parfait in the morning or on my ice cream in the evening.

You can also adjust the ingredients to your liking by adding in ¼ cup of milled flax seed before baking, or maybe some dried fruit once it’s cooled. It’s really easy to get creative with. But for today, I thought I would share the basic recipe I start with.

It’s absolutely delicious.

Here is what you need:

Step 1: Start by preheating the oven & combining all your ingredients in a large bowl. Toss well to evenly distribute ingredients.

Step 2: Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet & spread in an even layer. This is a ¾ sheet pan- if you don’t have this extra-large size you will want to distribute between a couple baking trays. Bake for about 50-55 minutes stirring every 15 minutes or so to keep from overcooking in spots.

I just love that great vanilla & almond combination. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste you can substitute with 1 tsp of vanilla extract. I prefer the paste as I think it gives a deeper flavor, but it’s still delicious with the extract too.

Once cooled you can add in other mix-ins like dried fruit or mini chocolate chips.

The kids love this with some cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top in the morning.

Oh, it’s so yummy! It’s a perfect way to start or end your day.