Homemade Nut Free Granola

I used to LOVE eating vanilla granola with almond slivers from the grocery store. I would eat it as a snack and mixed into a bowl of yogurt with strawberries and honey.

Once I was diagnosed with a tree nut allergy, I couldn’t easily find a safe granola or similar safe crunchy cereal substitute for my yogurt.

Enjoy Life brand does make a good granola, but I have never seen the nut free version in a store near me, I always had to order it online, and it just wasn’t the same. I assumed, granola was something I wouldn’t really be able to safely eat anymore. I hate to admit how long it took for me to attempt making my own granola at home, granola just seemed so daunting.

One day I just went for it and dumped some oatmeal, honey, olive oil, and vanilla extract in a bowl and mixed it all together. I placed it on a cookie sheet baked it.  It was so delicious I now make a batch every week for my yogurt. The kids even love it especially when I mix in some chocolate chips 🙂

The best part of the granola is it’s so healthy easy, and you can easily customize your recipe by adding chocolate chips, craisins, coconut shavings!

I hope you enjoy.  I think if you use a certified gluten free oat this is easily a gluten free and dairy free granola. Let me know what you like in your granola?

Next, I’m going to try and turn this recipe into a granola bar. I have tried once before, and it wasn’t sticky enough to stay in the bar form.

I like to store the granola in a mason jar, it stays fresh for at least a week, but it usually doesn’t last that long 🙂

Vanilla Nut-Free Granola

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats (instant oats didn’t work very well)
• 1 cup of honey
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon of vanilla
• pinch of cinnamon (or to taste)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2.  line a cookie sheet with foil.
  3. In a bowl combine the granola, olive oil, honey, and vanilla and stir so everything is coated. You can add more or less honey or oil depending on what you may like. Then spread onto the cookie sheet.
  4. I stirred the granola every 2-3 mins for 15 mins then I let it cool for 5 mins and transferred to the mason jar.
• *optional 1/4 cup of SunButter I love to use the crunchy sun butter. Any of your favorite nut butter substitutes or nut butter will work.
• optional- When the granola has cooled stir in a 1/2 cup enjoy life mini chocolate chips (or your preferred brand) I haven’t found another brand of nut free mini chocolate chips and the mini ones seem to work really well

ENJOY 🙂