Seriously, this French Vanilla Almond Granola tastes just like what you buy from the store! Slow baking and lots of vanilla make this granola crunchy and delicious.
I absolutely love this recipe for French Vanilla Almond Granola I’m going to share with you today. Some of my recipes are good and some are just “meh,” but this one – this one is a triumph! My husband loves to eat granola for breakfast, usually my homemade granola, but a while ago I was feeling lazy and bought some from the store. It was Sweet Home Farm French Vanilla with Almonds Granola. We only had it for a limited time in our natural foods department, but it was so good, so cheap and all natural. Well, we got hooked, and unfortunately, we don’t carry it anymore (oh, how I wish we would again!), so I had to come up with my own recipe.
Developing the Recipe
I knew there had to be lots of vanilla, sliced almonds and oats. The sweetener was going to be the challenge. I tried maple syrup, but the flavor of the maple overpowered the vanilla and I wanted lots of vanilla flavor. My thoughts went to just regular granulated sugar, the most neutral of all sweeteners. But how would I incorporate granulated sugar into the granola? Simple syrup! I was introduced to simple syrup last year. I made some for cocktails, including a cinnamon one for Apple Crisp Martinis. So I basically made a vanilla syrup.
The problem now was baking the granola. I tried baking at my normal temperature and time for granola, but the granola was getting too browned before drying out. The solution is slow-baking. Baking at a low temperature for a couple of hours. I discovered that this method makes the granola even more crunchy. The vanilla simple syrup does an amazing job of infusing the granola with tons of vanilla flavor. Plus, it makes your house smell amazing while it’s baking.
I don’t recommend this because the flavor of the honey will overpower the vanilla flavor.
I use canola oil because of its neutral flavor. You could use another light-tasting oil such as extra-light olive oil or grapeseed.
You can use quick oats, but the granola may not clump together as well.
Try these other oat recipes from my collection:
French Vanilla Almond Granola
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick) (I love Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil or other light-tasting oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together the oats and almonds.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and salt into the water. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in canola oil and vanilla. Pour into the oat and almond mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Spread mixture out on the lined cookie sheet and bake for 2 hours, or until dry.* Do not stir! Remove from oven and let cool before breaking apart into chunks. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my Affiliate Disclosure page for more information.
I am definitely trying this one! Thanks, Dianne:)
Do you think I could use honey instead of sugar?
After searching and trying various recipes this is the one (w/ slight mods) that most closely matched the cascadian farms oats and honey granola I was looking to replicate. Interestingly, simple syrup + vanilla got me there vs. other recipes that use honey (despite it being part of the name). Many thanks
Glad this worked for you!
You could use honey, but I've found that it adds its own flavor and detracts from the vanilla taste. If you do use honey, you probably shouldn't bake it as long since it is thicker.
Can I use MCT Oil? It tastes light (can’t taste it at all!) but unsure if it’s “light” enough for this kind of recipe.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been looking for a recipe for the French Vanilla granola you can buy in bulk at natural grocery store, and this is it! I tried a couple of others, and one used honey, so it just tasted like honey, and the other was good, but it wasn't this good. Since we don't live near Whole Foods any more, and I hated paying $8 a pound anyway, I am so happy that I can make it at home! I will probably add more vanilla next time (mine may just be a little weak). I am so looking forward to breakfast tomorrow!
Thanks Jenny, I'm so glad you like it!
I usually don’t comment on these things, but I have to tell you how much my husband loves this recipe! We’ve tried so many brands on the market, and after trying this recipe, we can’t go back! He says it’s the best granola he’s ever had!
Awesome! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it!
Thank You so much for sharing this with us. I have now made this several time and just can't get enough. I have tweeked it a little to include additional Vanilla Extract and also doubled the amount of Almonds!!
I have passed it on to many of my Friends and they all love it. Even my Boss likes it and She hates oatmeal.
Thank you Rosemarie! I'm glad you and your friends are enjoying the granola.
Is there a reason you chose canola oil over other oils? Also why do you specify that the oats not be quick?
Hi Jeanie, I chose canola oil for its neutral flavor, but you could use any other neutral oil, such as grapeseed or extra light olive. In my experience, the rolled oats clump together better than quick oats.
Thank you,
This recipe is amaaaazing.
Glad you liked it!
Have you tried infusing the vanilla in by using vanilla beans, letting them sit in the oat mixture for a few days before actually making the granola?
No, I haven't tried that. Sounds like a neat experiment to try!
I was just thinking of ways to keep or enrich the flavor with the end goal of lessening the sugar… what is the minimum amount of sugar you would recommend?
I think I have tried using 1/3 cup sugar. It tasted great, but it didn't clump into clusters as well. So if you don't mind have "clumpless" granola, go for it! 🙂
Are oats gluten free?
Generally oats are not gluten-free because of cross-contamination, but you can find certified gluten-free oats by Bob's Red Mill. However, some people may still have issues with oats because of a gluten-like protein that it contains. I can't digest oats very well, so I don't eat this recipe myself. I make it for my husband, who loves it!
I made this and I'm SO happy about it since it's SUPER easy, AND my husband likes it! Yay!
I have been making these wonderful Granola ever since I discovered it a couple of years ago. They are so good! Now many of my friends are making them also. Thanks so much for sharing!
Glad you like it! I just made a batch today.
I've been looking for a good granola recipe and this is the one. I used coconut oil instead of canola oil and I used coconut sugar instead of cane sugar. Coconut sugar is not as sweet as cane sugar. It turned out perfect! I usually add a little honey on top of granola prior to eating.
Delicious! I will definitely use this again.
Coconut oil and sugar sounds delicious. Happy the recipe worked for you!
I ran across this recipe several months ago when looking for something similar to the Sweet Home granola. My family loves the maple pecan granola, but it's too pricey to buy every week. Well, if we just had a single serving at a time it wouldn't be too bad, but it's so good the carton doesn't last very long. 🙂 I tried your recipe, and loved it! The granola was a bit more dense than we prefer, and we really do like the maple flavor of the store bought, so I substituted half of the simple syrup for maple (1/4 cup of each), and replaced 1 cup of oats with rice crispies. The result was much lighter in texture, but still clumped up wonderfully, and tasted delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe! It still doesn't last long (I made a batch 2 days ago and it's almost gone 😉 ), but it's easy enough to make that I don't mind. 🙂
How long does the granola last? Do you need keep it in the fridge?
This granola will keep for a couple of weeks at room temp.
Pingback: Weekly Meal Plan (5/16-22) – Wholehearted Homemaking
I made this granola and it is so good! The only differences were that I used monk fruit sugar and added some crushed vanilla bean for extra flavour. I did want to tell you how I bake a very similar granola to this one. I preheat the oven to 325 and bake it for 15 minutes, turn off the oven and let it sit inside overnight. It’s ready to eat when I want for breakfast. Super easy and it worked perfectly for this recipe too! I’m glad I found your site! I did Calm Belly’s FODMAPs elimination and LOVED your gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffins. I’m presuming it was yours because the flour is very similar.
I made this recipe, and it is awesome!! Just like the store if not better!! I substituted cooks white vanilla powder with vanilla extract. I cannot consume even tiny amts of alcohol. It did take my oven 5 1/2 hrs to bake it, oven doesn’t hold temp very well, maybe I will increase temp a tad next time. But when it was done, I also sprinkled some of the vanilla powder on top and mixed it. I love vanilla! It is absolutely amazing. I used it in yogurt last night, and it stayed crunchy. Also ate a bowl as cereal, still crunchy even then. I also used 1/4 cup more almonds. Didn’t change liquid amts, still turned out great! I’m just happy I have delicious granola without worrying about whether or not extract was used! I will be making this frequently!
So glad the recipe worked for you!
what size cookie sheet should I use? So excited to try this recipe with our homeschool co-op!!
Do you think the sugar could be substituted with swerve or Erythritol for a more diabetic, friendly option?
I’m not sure, I’ve never made it with a sugar substitute. Might be worth a try though!
Pingback: Maple Pecan Granola // Vanilla Crunch Granola - Obsessive Cooking Disorder