There are a lot of things that I just prefer to make at home versus buy at the grocery store – seasoning mixes, salad dressings, dips, and granola.

Now, don’t get me wrong – sometimes grabbing a couple of those things from the store to save time is just what I need.  However, granola is a completely different story.  I love making homemade granola for many reasons – I can control the ingredients, the flavors, the amount of sugar and fat, oh, and it just tastes better!

Have you ever started making something at home, only to go back to your previous store-bought favorite and realize that it’s not so much your favorite anymore?  That happened to me recently with granola.  I bought an over-priced bag of granola, got it home, grabbed a handful, only to be disappointed in the flavor.  It was just too sweet and they didn’t put any pepitas in!!  They are my favorite granola ingredient but they don’t show up in any store-bought varieties.

At that point, I resolved to just continue making it at home, with the flavors and ingredients I prefer, and at a much lower price, too!  And then STAR Fine Foods asked me to create a recipe using their California Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  I use olive oil every single day but I wanted to come up with something a little different than an everyday dish so I created a simple, classic granola that really allows the smooth flavor of the California Extra Virgin Olive Oil to shine through.  And you better believe I added pepitas!

Find the recipe for this Olive Oil Granola and many other recipes at Star Fine Foods’ website!

And enter to win one of five sets of their Balsamic Glazes. I have tried them all and you will love them – they are so versatile!

Print Recipe

Olive Oil Granola

Yield: 5 cups

Cook Time: 30 min 2

Simple homemade granola with olive oil, walnuts, pepitas, coconut and brown sugar.

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup walnuts, toasted (see note)
1 cup pepitas
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. ground golden flax seed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup STAR Fine Foods California Olive Oil
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 10x15 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, pepitas, coconut, brown sugar, flax seed and salt and mix well.

Over medium heat, combine the olive oil, honey and vanilla extract in a small saucepan. Stir well until warm.

Gently pour the olive oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir well until combined.

Spread the mixture out into an even layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, the granola should be slightly browned and very fragrant.

Remove from the oven and let the granola cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes. Small clusters will form as the granola cools.

I have an ongoing relationship with STAR Fine Foods in which I develop recipes using their products.  All opinions expressed are my own.