About a year ago Mark and I started making yogurt in the Instant Pot as a way to save money. Just about everyone in our household eats yogurt every day, so it adds up pretty quickly. We now use a gallon of milk to make us the yogurt that will last through a week. Making our own yogurt also helped us work toward another of our goals- cutting down our sugar intact. As I started looking at the sugar contents of our food, I was shocked by how much added sugar is in most yogurts.
Once we (and by that I mean Mark, who is in charge of all things yogurt) had the yogurt making down, I decided it was a good time to attempt making my own granola, because while I love a little crunch in my yogurt in the morning, I hate the tons of sugar most granola contains, and we can’t afford the fancy all natural ones. It’s been about six months, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to store bought granola.
Here’s my base recipe, and for the record, this is written for those who are less precise with their measurements in the kitchen (like me!).
-Rolled Oats I make about 6 cups at once, enough to fill a large bowl and then spread onto a single baking sheet.
-Almond Butter You can get large quantities pretty inexpensively at Costco, which is my favorite place to purchase. I use about a cup per batch, and usually microwave it a little first to soften it up.
-Honey I don’t measure this, but rather just squeeze a reasonable amount over the top to sweeten the mixture. You can add however much sweet you like
-Pecans Again, I don’t measure these, but usually add a handful or two, crumbling them as I put them in.
Other additions I use depending on my mood- cocoa powder, espresso powder (for the weeks when the kids are in the middle of a sleep regression), and walnuts. All are delicious
To make the granola, I pour everything into a big mixing bowl, usually with some help from the kids, and stir it up. My goal is to get the oats and pecans to mix into clumps with the almond butter and honey. Then I spread it onto a baking pan and pop it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until it has turned golden brown.