I often do parts of my meal prep and cooking in the morning to get a head start for later. But when I ran out of time to finish my granola before joining the morning traffic, Lazy Granola was born. A cooking mistake became my new method of choice for making this tasty treat.
When my son was little, we needed a snack that was easy and clean to eat in the dugout when he was playing baseball. I loved the “What to Eat When You’re Expecting” book (find it and a newer edition here) and found that making peanut butter balls with homemade granola (both recipes in the book) was the perfect thing. Lots of protein to keep that little body powered up.
Now I love just the granola by itself. Over time though, you guessed it, I messed with the recipe so much, it’s really not much like the original. If you have the book you can compare and try it both ways. But I think you’ll love cooking granola the LAZY way.
Lazy Granola
- 3 c rolled oats
- ½ c ground flax seed
- ½ c chopped almonds (or almond flour works, too)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 c apple juice concentrate (defrosted)
- ½ c golden raisins
(NOTE: I’ve also used ¾ c almonds and ¼ c flax and that worked just as well)
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Combine ingredients through cinnamon in a large bowl; mix well. Stir in apple juice concentrate. Keep pressing dry mix into the wetter parts until it’s moist throughout.
Spread granola out on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes; then stir and spread out again. Return to the oven and TURN IT OFF. Yes, you heard me! Leave in the oven until the oven is completely cooled.
Sprinkle raisins on top and mix in. Store in an airtight container. Great as a breakfast cereal with coconut milk. You can even top with coconut if you want and extra treat.
My “lazy” revelation
I can get distracted and forget what I’m doing…that’s how I came to run out of time when I first stumbled on this method. I had half the cook time I needed, but I knew that wasn’t enough.
I knew I couldn’t leave the oven on after I left, but I also knew keeping the door closed, the oven would keep its heat long enough for the granola to finish cooking. I literally left that granola in the oven the WHOLE day. And it tasted better than ever!
And that’s not the only part of the original method I changed. I tend to streamline just about any recipe I can if I find it doesn’t harm the final product. I even swapped out some of the ingredients to make it even easier (almond flour is easier and faster than chopping those nuts!).
A cooking mistake could inspire your new favorite method
Perfectionism be gone. I’m embracing mistakes that end up making life easier. I think you’ll be thanking my mistake, too, once you try this easy LAZY granola method.
Tried this LAZY method? Whatcha think? Share in the comments below!
This is actually a Recipe Renovation…see other renovations at the links below.
