I love finding ways to save time and this is a great way to always have breakfast food on hand. The Husband really enjoys having granola for breakfast and this is a great way for me to have it ready for him. It is also perfect for the kids to sprinkle on top of yogourt or eat as a snack.
I make a big batch of this granola and then freeze it in medium sized resealable freezer bags. I like using the medium sized bags because then I can cook them up one or two at a time depending on how much we will be needing that week. I love that I can bake it up freshly every week. It makes enough for 8-10 of the bags. They are also lovely to give away when friends have a new baby or are going through a hard time. Here is the granola recipe I use.
In a very large bowl, mix together:
12 cups of rolled oats
2 cups of slivered almonds
2 cups of untoasted sesame seeds
2 cups of raw hulled sunflower seeds
2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, stir together:
2 cups of vegetable oil
2 cups of honey
2/3 cup water
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
Stir over medium heat until the sauce starts to boil. Pour the sauce over the mixture of oats and stir everything together. Put the granola into freezer bags, remove the air, seal, and freeze.
To bake the granola, preheat the oven to 275°. Lay the granola, still frozen out flat on a baking sheet. If you like chunks in your granola, then leave it a bit chunkier. Bake, stirring once in awhile for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the level of crunchiness you want. Cool the granola and store it in an airtight container.
The Husband likes his granola very crispy so the picture shows a darker granola than you will probably want to make when you bake yours.
To the oats mixture, you can also add raisins, wheat germ, dried fruit, flax seeds, or whatever your favourite granola mix ins are.
If you are looking for other easy family recipes, you may be interested in following my Family Friendly Recipes or my Breakfast board on Pinterest.
Hmm…that’s a great looking recipe and a great idea to freeze it pre-baking. We love fresh granola around here, too. I have a few recipes that I love but an always keeping my eyes open for others. I think I’ll use coconut oil in this recipe instead of veg oil, just to make it a wee bit more healthy, but I think the flavours will blend together really well.
Thanks! I’ll be trying it!
Ruth
This is a great idea! I have not ever tried to freeze the unbaked granola – I have baked it and froze it and I know that works. I am going to try this soon but I need to get more oats – I don’t think I have 12 cups. Thanks for sharing – pinning.
Quick question – the recipe says to bake 45min, but the picture shows 30min written on the baggies. Which should it be? Thanks!
I find that 30 minutes isn’t enough time to get it crunchy so we do at least 45 minutes. Good question though since I contradicted myself with the picture!!!
We have nine children at home, so I make huge batches of granola. I find it too tedious to make in the oven–no pan is big enough and it’s hard to continually stir on the pan. So, I make ours on the stove top in our giant cast-iron. I do the bigger stuff first–oats, then toward the end, I add the smaller stuff like sesame seeds and coconut.