When I first began writing this blog, we had still just begun our food journey. And even though it's only been a year and a few months, we've still made wonderful progress. We've been able to eliminate white flour, white sugar, prepackaged cereals, breads, tortillas, chips, crackers, blah blah blah.
Well, in this process, we've also eliminated our beloved granola. Not because it was unhealthy or prepared with bad ingredients, but rather, we had eliminated it because the grains were completely unsoaked and therefore, very difficult for our bodies to digest. And now that we've changed our food philosophy, this makes perfect sense, as all our grains and flours are pretreated to break down the phytates that block mineral absorption in our guts.
All that to say, this past week, I made a deliciously wonderful batch of soaked granola. It has the same consistency as your favorite ‘ol granola, it just takes a little bit longer to prepare!
Don't let the timeline of this recipe scare you. Even though it's a process, it's extremely passive and hardly takes any more effort than our old recipe. On top of that, it's healthy, easy for your body to breakdown, and much less expensive than store-bought varieties.
Next time I make it, I think I'll do a double batch. That will be enough to last us two or three weeks, making the process all the more worth it. And thanks to Whole Intentions for sharing the recipe!
Soaked Homemade Granola
You will need:
– 8 cups organic rolled oats, or rolled grains of your choice
– 1 cup butter/coconut oil or any combination of the both, melted
– 2 cups plain yogurt (homemade works great!)
– 2 cups water
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 teaspoon almond extract
– 3/4 cup raw honey
– 1 teaspoon sea salt
– 3 teaspoons cinnamon (or spice of your choice)
– 2/3 cup coconut flakes
– 1 cup dried fruit of choice
– 1 cup toasted nuts of choice (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.)
Step One: Combine the oats, water, coconut oil and/or butter, and yogurt together in a bowl. Stir, pat down & cover. Let sit for 24 hours. *Note: If you haven't already soaked & dehydrated your nuts, go ahead and throw them in at this step so that they can benefit from the soaking as well!
Step Two: The next day, combine the honey, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, & cinnamon together in a small saucepan. Heat gently to combine all the ingredients.
Step Three: Pour the honey mixture over the soaked oats and using a little elbow grease, stir to combine. Add the coconut at this point, as well.
Step Four: Spread the granola mixture out onto a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Put in the oven at a low setting (170-200 degrees) and let it hang out in there until completely dry, stirring every so often to check on it (this will take anywhere from 12-24 hours). When you think it's getting close, break apart a clump of the granola to ensure the inside of the clump is dried as well.
An alternative would be to spread the granola in little clumps on your dehydrator trays and dehydrate the mixture that way, though this will take an extra day or so of drying. After it's finished, add in the dried fruit & nuts and stir to combine.
I know, I know, the time factor is discouraging you from making this recipe, but I assure you it is worth it. It may not give the instant gratification we are so used to in our culture, but there is something quite fabulous about preparing something slow and intentional. It's fun, in a twisted-sort-of-foodie-way, to gently labor over something like this and have a beautiful result to show for it.
This granola is absolutely delicious when it's swimming in raw milk.
It's also delicious with some summer-frozen-berries and homemade yogurt.
Or even just shoved into a baggie to munch on in the car. What? A girl gets hungry!
Whichever way you choose to enjoy this wonderful granola, I hope that you do just that…enjoy it.
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Soaked Homemade Granola
- 8 cups organic rolled oats, or rolled grains of your choice
- 1 cup butter/coconut oil ( or any combination of the both, melted)
- 2 cups plain yogurt ((homemade works great!))
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ¾ cup raw honey
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 3 tsp cinnamon ((or spice of your choice))
- ⅔ cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup dried fruit of choice
- 1 cup toasted nuts of choice ((almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.))
Combine the oats, water, coconut oil and/or butter, and yogurt together in a bowl. Stir, pat down & cover. Let sit for 24 hours. *Note: If you haven't already soaked & dehydrated your nuts, go ahead and throw them in at this step so that they can benefit from the soaking as well!
The next day, combine the honey, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, & cinnamon together in a small saucepan. Heat gently to combine all the ingredients.
Pour the honey mixture over the soaked oats and using a little elbow grease, stir to combine. Add the coconut at this point, as well.
Spread the granola mixture out onto a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Put in the oven at a low setting (170-200 degrees) and let it hang out in there until completely dry, stirring every so often to check on it (this will take anywhere from 12-24 hours). When you think it's getting close, break apart a clump of the granola to ensure the inside of the clump is dried as well.
Do you think I could sub whey for the yogurt? I have tons of whey leftover from making ricotta cheese and not too much yogurt left!
Jackie, you can’t sub with whey used from cheese making, because it has been heated to too high of a temperature (this kills off all the bacteria and such). You can however sub with whey from my homemade cream cheese recipe. You could also use kefir or even a combination of water and a few tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar.
Oh girl, that looks sooooo yummy!!!! I happen to have everything called for so I will start soaking right now! Thanks for the great recipes (food AND beauty!)
OMG that looks WONDERFUL!!! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
this is really good. really, really good. 🙂
Hi! I’m not sure what’s going wrong but I’ wondering if your soaked granolla ever tastes sour? I’m not soaking the oats longer than 24 hours and my house isn’t very hot at all. But I’ve tried making this recipe multiple times and it tastes super sour after baking (and even smells sour before I put it in the oven) and I’ve had to throw it out. I’m using homemade raw yogurt. Do you ever have this problem? It’s really frustrating me because I’m trying to find a good homemade breakfast cereal that’s quick in the mornings for my husband and I. I haven’t had any luck!!! Any tips?
Katie
Hi Katie!
Hmm….I haven’t had this problem, but here’s a few things I’d try:
1. Use store-bought yogurt. I wonder if your homemade yogurt strain is causing this.
2. Instead of using the yogurt in the recipe, sub it for more water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar. This will perform the same breakdown of phytates that the yogurt will and I can’t imagine it having the same sour taste and smell.
I’m so sorry you’ve had to throw out some batches – what a bummer!
I’d try the water and vinegar/lemon juice first and see if that works (that’ll keep you from having to buy yogurt….)
Let me know how it turns out!
What if you added baking soda to it to neutralize the sour…? I know this was written a year ago so maybe you’ll never see it…
I’ve never tried that. It may be worth a try? I find it I use a good yogurt, I don’t really have a problem with it souring.
Hi!
Shaye, first of all, thank you for this site! I just started eating the real food way a couple weeks back, and blogs like yours are a lifesaver for newbies like me!
I tried a similar soaked granola recipe from a different blog, and had the same souring problem as Katie. I did use store bought yogurt, but it still came out tasting very, very sour – I also had to throw mine! 🙁
I’m planning to try a new batch with ACV instead & see how that works; just wondering, Katie, if you tried the vinegar/lemon juice method & if so, did you have success?
Thanks again for all the great resources! 🙂
Britt
Britt, buttermilk may be another good option! Or perhaps less yogurt. The vinegar imparts the least taste, I think.
Overly sour is likely due to the volume of yoghurt. Less used like say 1/4 cup and soaked 24 hrs may give you the milder flavour you seek. My two pennies worth.
I’ve had the same experience as Katie above. I’d love to hear your answer to that.
Thanks!
Liza
I’m new to your blog, so forgive me if you have to repeat yourself. But after reading this “We’ve been able to eliminate white flour, white sugar, prepackaged cereals, breads, tortillas, chips, crackers, blah blah blah.”, I have to know how!!!
We made them ALL! From WHOLE WHEAT! Check out the recipe page for more info!
Hi there! A couple questions: 1. I’ve made granola before, but never soaked…is the soaking aspect what requires such a long time in the oven? I’ve never seen a recipe require that. And 2. Why are you using raw honey here as its going to be baked, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of using raw honey? I’m thinking a good quality (not raw) honey would be more frugal and get the same end result, do you agree?? Thanks SO much, I’m just getting into soaking and am super excited to try it with granola!!
Also, do you think I could sub maple syrup for the honey? I’m not the biggest fan of honey’s flavor in my granola 🙂
Yes you can 🙂 It’s delicious.
Just want to be sure, the granola sits out on the counter while soaking?
Yep.
Thank you for this recipe…it is AMAZING!!
Thank you so much Shaye for your blog. I aspire to homestead and we are slowly working our way towards it… Beginning with a vegetable garden this year! (On that note, thanks for all the gardening tips and stories!)
I have experience cooking from scratch, as we just moved back to the US from a country without affordable convenience foods. But I’m just starting out with soaking. I tried half is recipe this week and my family loved it! Is there a reason that it needs to be baked at such a low temperature? The granolas that I’ve made before are usually a hundred degrees higher than this recipe, and it’s done in about 45 minutes. Also, I like to bake in bulk when possible, so how long does this granola keep? I’d like to only make in once or twice a month if possible.
Melissa, you can cook it at whatever temperature you like. The low temperature dehydration helps to preserve all the nutrients in it but sometimes I do it faster at a higher temperature too. I’ve had mine last for weeks so once or twice a month baking should be fine!
I love this recipe, my wife and i make it all the time, but i have had a few hangups on my last 2 batches. I soak the organic oats (also added hemp and chia this batch instead of nuts, using the instructions from your cook book says to add the nuts to the oaks prior to soaking) in the filtered water and organic yogurt. And at the 20 hour mark, i check it and it smells off, and the tastes is like bad milk, and it leaves an bad after taste. To me the taste is kind of similar to goats milk but not in a good way. Im thinking some thing is at work during the soaking process or the yogurt is spoiling (even though it is not close to the expiration date). Any ideas, im getting frustrated throwing oats and yogurt in the compost or dog food. (On this last batch i tried it before i added the honey and cinnamon, burn me twice, i dont think so).
I do see a possible similar problem someone comments on Sept 30 2012, dont know if you have any further advice than using lemon juice or vinegar, cause the yogurt makes this recipe shine when it turns out for us
I’d soak them for less time. If the house is a warmer temperature, this could affect it. Try 8 hours.
I am making this for the second time today! I didn’t have nuts the first time around … and still don’t – used ground flax seed instead. Also didn’t use yogurt – tried substituting water with ACV and it turned out wonderful! This is my new go-two recipe for granola now. Thank you so much for posting!
Way to adapt and overcome!
Has anyone tried soaking the oats for granola in unsweetened coconut/almond milk and yogurt instead of plain water? I do this for my breakfast oatmeal and it has a great taste with slight sweetness without adding much honey or syrup. I wondered if it would work for dried granola as well.
I’m soooo excited to try this recipe! It’s in a pot with a lid on soaking as I write. Hopefully it turns out great. My daughter is allergic to so many different foods ans has all sorts of stomach problems and gut issues. Eggs is one of her allergies making breakfast a nightmare. She has been eating oatmeal every day for almost 3 years and little did know I should have been soaking them all this time!!!!! I feel so dumb because I’ve been adding to her problem, but now I know! I’m making a huge batch of your soaked dehydrated plain oats to have on hand! And this granola should be a fantastic breakfast for her. I used apple cider vinegar and water which I saw suggested on another site and figured since I don’t have any yogurt at the moment I would give that a try! Thanks for the recipes!!!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. My family loves it! I was hoping you could guide me in adding pumpkin purée. I’m afraid of making it too wet and it taking 3 days to dry 🙂
I’ve been looking for do-able soaked granola recipe, I found yours and just pulled the granola out of the oven!
It’s amazing!! I used kefir from the farmers market and it worked so well.
As far as storage goes, does it need to be in the fridge?
Thank you!
I have made this recipe twice now, it is fantastic : ) My whole family loves it ;
thank you for posting a healthy cereal recipe !
* I did sub maple for honey and soaked my almonds separately ( not in the mix ), then rinsed and swirled them thru the food processor and added with the maple. My almond water tends to get really gunky, maybe its just the brand I buy ( who knows ).
Looks great and I am trying it now. Is it a deal breaker to skip the yogurt – do you think that is ok? I was also wondering if this needs to be stored in the fridge after completion. Great to find a recipe that has soaked oats so I am looking forward to trying it. Thank you!
Do we need to soak in yogurt, or is that for flavor? Every recipe I’ve looked at has the oats soaked in yogurt, but no explanation. Same with filtered water. Why? Are people really buying a plastic bottle of water to make this? Why can’t I use tap water?
Thanks for your help!
This is so amazingly good! I tried a half recipe first to see how it would turn out and it exceeded my expectations! I made it to have for breakfast but I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan in the evening when I finally took it out of the oven.
I did omit the cinnamon, because I am not a fan of it, and this probably accounts for my one disappointment with the granola – when I ate it with plain yogurt in the morning the yogurt completely overwhelmed the wonderful flavor that I so enjoyed when I tasted the granola by itself and could hardly stop eating it.
I have a whole batch soaking now; I plan to use part molasses, part honey to boost the flavor. I may omit the almond extract because of this.
I am going to make another honey vanilla almond batch just for snacking, though. SO good!
Can anyone give me an idea of water to ACV ratio to replace yogurt please?
Thank you