3-Ingredient Stovetop Granola
3-Ingredient Stovetop Granola
Late night, dessert craving. Coconut yogurt in the fridge. Strawberry jam, too. Needs a crunchy topping. Honey granola oat bars in the pantry. Tempting. Not mine. Has honey in it. Tempting. But, no.
No almonds. No walnuts. No shredded coconut. Raw cashews? Nah. Hemp seeds? eh…
Really wish I had some granola.
I have rolled oats. I have sweeteners. But I have to turn on the oven. It’s 9pm. Just washed all the dishes from dinner. Arrggghh too lazy, too impatient. Wish I could make it on the stove.
Wait, can I? Is that possible? Probably. I can figure it out. Wait, maybe someone else did already. Save me the hassle and heartache of ending up with… not granola.
Open Pinterest. Type in “stovetop granola.” Whoa! Find two results with the words “stovetop granola” in them! Two granola geniuses out there.
Click the first one. Okay, steps make sense. Has honey, but I can use maple syrup instead. Looks good. No nuts in the pantry, but who cares. Check the second result. Steps look similar. Okay, let’s do it.
Within 10 minutes (including the mistake of burning oat dust), I have hot, crunchy granola. Okay, dish out the coconut yogurt and strawberry jam while it cools a little. Sprinkle it on. Dig in with a spoon. Ahhh, sweet, crunchy satisfaction.
Feel like a granola MacGyver genius.
Eat in front of husband. Give him a spoonful. Walk away. He wants his own bowl. Feel even more genius-like. Fix him a bowl. Eat together. Mmm, late-night snacks.
I’d eat this stovetop granola for breakfast. With soy milk. Make my own cereal. I should blog about this. Wait, I should get back to blogging! Mentally pat my own shoulder.
A couple of weeks later…
Since that first night that I stumbled upon the stovetop granola concept, I’ve tried it several more times with a few tweaks. I looked up “oil-free granola” and saw that someone made granola in their oven using applesauce instead of oil. I thought “what if I could make the first oil-free stovetop granola on Pinterest??”
Haha, well I tried making that, using applesauce, and it did not turn into granola. The toasted oats got all soggy when I added the applesauce, and I couldn’t make them crispy even though I tried rescuing my experiment with some added coconut oil (which defeats the purpose, but I wanted to make them more edible for myself).
Oh well. At least I figured out a 3-Ingredient version; that counts for something. Of course, you can always mix in some more ingredients, such as chopped nuts, a dash of vanilla or cinnamon, or some dried fruit at the end. Consider this a minimalist base granola that you can build on (or not!) and use as a sweet crunchy topping for yummy things, as a cereal with any plant-based milk, or to eat on its own.
3-Ingredient Stovetop Granola
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1-1/2 tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
- 1-1/2 tbsp. maple syrup
Instructions
- Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the rolled oats and stir often until they become a light golden color and have a toasty aroma (about 5-7 minutes); be careful not to burn them.
- Transfer the oats to a large mesh strainer over the sink and sift out any small "oat dust" particles; stirring helps. This step is important so that the small particles don't burn in the hot skillet when you add the oil.
- Return the oats to the skillet; reduce heat to medium-low. Pour in the coconut oil and stir well to coat the oats. Pour in the maple syrup and stir again. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, to let the oats become crispy.
- Remove from heat; let cool slightly and enjoy.
Nutrition information below is calculated for a 3/4-cup serving (half of the recipe above).
