Granola probably seems like one of those foods that makes much more sense to make in bulk, right? For most people, it probably does make sense to make massive amounts of it. But I’m not one of those people. You see, I like granola; don’t get me wrong. I just can’t eat a ton of it before it becomes stale. Cooking for a single person is difficult; I don’t want to waste food [and yet I still do this anyway.. ugh], but I also don’t want to have too little around. Because then I might get hangry, and no one wants to see that!

So my solution for making just the right amount of food for myself is to cut most recipes in half, and sometimes in half again. For this granola, I found a basic granola recipe and then cut it in half and made a few minor adaptations to the recipe. The result is this tasty, simple, and relatively healthy granola. And it’s just enough to get me through this granola craving, and then I’ll move on to some other random craving.

Now, I am no granola expert. But I have made it several times using various recipes, and I think that I like this one the best. There is a bit of added sugar, which is the only caveat. It’s brown sugar, and I really like the flavor that brown sugar adds to just about everything. There is also honey in my version, which I like as well. The granola almost tastes sort of graham cracker-esque, so you know that’s a good thing! It’s also super customizable, so feel free to alter the recipe however you like. If you hate almonds, add a different nut. If you want to add some dried fruit, go for it! I think that this recipe could also be pretty easily veganized using agave nectar in place of the honey. I will definitely be trying more granola variations soon, so I will be sure to post them here when I do.

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Small Batch Granola.
Yield: About two to two and a half (2 – 2 1/2) cups of granola.

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups rolled oats [Not instant!]
– 1 1/2 TBS. packed light brown sugar
– 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
– 3 TBS. honey
– 2 TBS. light olive oil
– 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup raw slivered almonds [NOTES: I get mine at Trader Joe’s. Please note that it is important to use raw nuts if you’re going to be baking them with the granola. If not, you may buy pre-roasted nuts and add them to your granola after it bakes. Just don’t put roasted nuts in with the granola to bake, or you may end up with overcooked nuts, and the taste of them is not pleasant. Not that I’d know from experience or anything…]

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, olive oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture together until the oat mixture is evenly coated and some clumps begin to form. {Note: You might find that you’ll need more oil/honey to get it to come together. Feel free to experiment with this.}
3. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper, then spread the granola out in an even layer on the sheet.
4. Bake the granola for about 15 minutes. Take the granola out, and stir it around to get it more browned evenly. Add the slivered almonds, and stir around to evenly distribute them. Put the granola back in the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Be sure to keep an eye on it, as it can burn quickly.
5. Cool the granola, then store in an airtight container. Granola should keep for a few weeks.

– Recipe adapted from Chow.com.