Julie Clark
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Brown Sugar Granola
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This Brown Sugar Granola cereal with oats and almonds is one of our favorite breakfasts. Serve this homemade granola recipe in a bowl with milk or just eat it by the handful for an on-the-go breakfast.
Ok, who are the cereal lovers out there? I could have eaten cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not sure what to have for lunch? Cereal. No time to make dinner? Cereal. Hungry before bed? You guessed it…cereal.
There’s one type of cereal that I crave. Granola. And specifically, this Brown Sugar Granola with its crunchy texture and dried fruit. It’s perfect for breakfast, a snack, with milk or without, on top of yogurt, ice cream topping…you name it, it fits!
Brown Sugar Granola Ingredients
- Butter and brown sugar. This will caramelize and bind your granola together.
- Vanilla extract. A little vanilla will flavor the syrup that holds the granola together.
- Quick cook oats. I prefer the small pieces of quick cook oats, but if all you have is old fashioned rolled oats, those will work as well.
- Bran flakes and wheat germ. These two ingredients add texture and fiber to this easy granola recipe.
- Sunflower seeds and almonds. For protein and crunch!
- Dried cranberries. They not only add color, but a sweet and tangy flavor.
✨ See the recipe card below for full ingredients and amounts. ✨
How to Make Brown Sugar Granola
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Bring this to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Place the oats, bran flakes, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, and almonds in the prepared pan and mix well.
- Pour the hot sugar mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir until the mixture is well coated.
- Bake for 10 minutes, stir and bake again for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir in the dried cranberries.
How to Keep Granola Crunchy
Bake the granola for the full amount of time, stirring it several times during cooking. It also helps if the granola is in a thin layer on the cookie sheet or baking pan.
Allow the granola to cool completely to room temperature before sealing it in an airtight container. If it is warm at all it might get soft.
Recipe Variations
Looking for different flavors in your brown sugar granola? Try one of these:
- Switch the nuts. Try pecans, walnuts or even peanuts. Pumpkin seeds are good, too.
- Don’t have craisins? Add dried apricots, raisins, cherries or leave them out and add fresh berries when you make granola cereal.
- Add a 2 teaspoons cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Need gluten free? Use gluten-free oats, cereal flakes, flax seed and chia seeds in place of the ingredients that have gluten.
- Chocolate! Add chocolate chips, because in a trail mix, we all know chocolate is the best part.
Looking for a granola recipe with grains and added sugar? Try our paleo granola.
How to Serve Homemade Granola
You’ve got your batch of brown sugar granola, now how do you serve it? Try one of these ideas:
- Sprinkle the granola over a stack of homemade pancakes with butter and maple syrup.
- Make a smoothie bowl or yogurt bowl and add crunchy granola on top.
- Take vanilla ice cream, add a scoop of peanut butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar granola.
- Sprinkle over maple roasted pineapple.
- Serve on top of raspberry overnight oats. Add the granola in the morning so it stays crunchy.
You may also love our butterscotch magic bars and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
Brown Sugar Granola
This Brown Sugar Granola cereal with oats and almonds is one of our favorite breakfasts. Serve this homemade granola recipe in a bowl with milk or just eat it by the handful for an on-the-go breakfast.
Servings 16
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter 8 ounces
- 1 cup packed brown sugar 210 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 10 grams
- 6 cups quick cooking oats 600 grams
- 6 cups bran flakes lightly crushed, 370 grams
- 1 cup wheat germ 120 grams
- 1 cup sunflower seeds 140 grams
- 1 cup sliced almonds 95 grams
- 1 cup dried cranberries 124 grams
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Bring this to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 1 cup salted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Place the oats, bran flakes, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, and almonds in the prepared pan and mix well. 6 cups quick cooking oats, 6 cups bran flakes, 1 cup wheat germ, 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup sliced almonds
- Pour the hot sugar mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir until the mixture is well coated.
- Bake for 10 minutes, stir and bake again for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir in the dried cranberries. 1 cup dried cranberries
- Allow the mixture to cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Recipe Source: I found this recipe online over 15 years ago and can’t find it online anymore. It’s from a bed and breakfast in Penn Yan, NY called Flint’s Landing.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks. The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 16, with 1 serving being 1/16 of the granola. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 344mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1115IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 10.6mg
I used to make my grandmother’s granola for her every week after her dementia started getting the best of her. That recipe took half the day to make. It was good, but it took forever. I like this short and sweet version. My only addition would be shredded coconut.
I love the idea of bulking up regular granola with some cereal pieces. It seems like an unpopular opinion but I so often find granola to be not quite as satisfying as a bowl of old-fashioned cereal, you know? This mix of the two sounds perfect! I have just one question – do you think I could use Special K cereal instead of the bran flakes here?
Making this now! Just curious – what kind of baking pan?? A cookie sheet?? I’m such a goof – hardly know anything!! Thanks for this delish recipe as well as all your others!! And by the way – in your pictures, so hard to tell who is the mom! So young looking!!!