We’ve reached the fourth week of Mini Chef Mondays! Helping children in the kitchen is a wonderful learning experience for kids of all ages, so I’m part of a group of bloggers sharing simple recipes to make with our children. If you’d like, please join our link-up this week (details are at the bottom). In case you missed earlier posts, we’ve shared a Chocolate Chip Banana Cake, JELL-O Cranberry Cookies, and Cherry Banana Smoothies. This week we made Homemade Berry Granola.
Homemade granola is a favorite in our home — the fresh flavor is unbeatable. It’s also a great way for kids to participate by choosing ingredients and deciding how to enjoy the finished granola.
This recipe offers many opportunities for children to measure, stir, whisk, and pour — perfect for little hands learning kitchen basics.
My middle son saw us working and decided to join in; it’s a fun group activity for siblings or friends.
We like to add nuts and extra dried fruit for flavor, color, and texture. For this batch we used an organic Super Berry Fusion dried fruit mix I found locally.
Little hands kept sneaking granola while I was trying to photograph it, so I didn’t get many shots of the final bowl — everyone loved it!
I actually had to stop my three- and seven-year-old from eating it all because they would have kept going. It really is that good.
Homemade Berry Granola
10
minutes
15
minutes
25
minutes
4
cups
Emilie
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (can substitute canola oil or melted butter)
- 3 tablespoons real honey
- 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped dried berry fruit mix (cranberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C) and position the racks in the center.
- In a large bowl, combine oats, walnuts, orange zest, coconut, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, honey, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat evenly.
- Spread the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or lightly greased. Spread it into an even layer.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through and pressing the mixture down again so it bakes evenly. When done, remove from the oven and immediately transfer the granola to a bowl.
- Stir in the dried berries and allow the granola to cool completely before serving.
- Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Serve this homemade berry granola with milk for breakfast, or use it as a crunchy topping for yogurt. It’s also delicious straight from the jar as a snack.
This week I’m featuring Smarty Pants Mama and her Baked Apple Chimichanga recipe — it looks amazing!
I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 11 fabulous bloggers
Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts. We’d love for you to share your kid-friendly recipes with us each week. Follow along and share your mini chef’s creations using the hashtag #MiniChefMondays. If you have a kid-friendly recipe link up, or if you don’t have a blog, you can share the URL of an Instagram photo in the link-up.
- Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake with Whipped Cream // Courtney’s Sweets
- One Hour Bread Recipe // Momma Lew
- Homemade Berry Granola // Baby Loving Mama
- The Best Sweet Potato Pie Recipe // We’re Parents
- Cranberry, Orange, & White Chocolate Bars // Frugal Novice
- Easy French Pastries Kids Can Make // Eating Richly
- Thanksgiving Fruit and Cheese Turkey Centerpiece // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
- Easy Peasy Cheesy Puffs // Step Stool Chef
- Twinestrone Soup // Vegging at the Shore
- Banana Smoothies // Mom’s Messy Miracles
- Harvest Kale Salad // O’Boy! Organic
- Zwetschgenwähe: Swiss Plum Pie // Can’t Google Everything
An InLinkz link-up is available for sharing your Mini Chef posts.