Balsamic Honey Granola is sweet and crunchy! Perfect with yogurt and your favorite fruit! The perfect breakfast or midday snack. 

There are a lot of things over my lifetime that I wish I could go back and either fix, change a smidgen or erase from my mind without any likelihood of remembering. Like my Richard Simmons perm I sported in the third grade. Erase! Or the MC Hammer pants I had in 8 different colors and *gasp* patterns that I wore religiously every day in the 6th grade. Erase! 

And let’s just say there are a few (read: a lot) recipes I’ve attempted to make in the early years of me recipe developing that I royally screwed up and destroyed. Crock pot Mac & Cheese for one.

Today I’m making over that recipe I’ve wanted to redo and share with you for like ever now. 

Balsamic Honey Granola. I originally made this recipe not really thinking I should reduce the balsamic into a glaze and drizzle it over the granola. Nope… I just dumped it in with a bunch of brown sugar. Straight up soggin’ out my oats! Really? What was I thinking? Oh and let’s just say when I opened up my oven door I got slapped across the face with the vinegar gas {for lack of a better description} making my eyes burn… tear up and almost bringing me to my knees. I kid you not!

So I’ve taken this slight rendition of that recipe-gone-wrong and given it a face lift and I think you’ll like the results. I’ve come a long way with my cooking skills and so has my love for reduced balsamic vinegar! I still can’t promise you won’t get slapped in the face when you open your oven door… but I can promise you the best and crunchiest vanilla yogurt topping!

You really aren’t going to need THAT many dates. I kind of just dumped them in and when I chopped up 4 I thought… whoops.

In a large bowl add the oats and the germ.

Coarsely chop up a half cup of walnuts.

And add those in to the bowl.

Then I added in a quarter cup of sunflower seeds. Really you could add in anything you like! Pecans, pine nuts… the sky is the limit!

Kosher salt… ya know… stir.

In a sauce pot add in the vinegar.

Honey.

Heat.

Before that balsamic honey is at a boil… spray a medium-sized cookie sheet with your Misto {lightly greased with butter would work too!}.

Once that vinegar comes to a boil, reduce and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Remove off of the heat once it is thick and covers the back of a spoon.

Next, pour it over the oats, nuts and wheat germ.

Then, use a rubber spatula to coat the oats with all that goodness.

Next, spread the granola out evenly on the prepared sheet pan and pop it into a 300° oven for 10 minutes.

Then remove, stir and pop back into the oven for 10 more.

Repeat one more time for a total of 30 minutes in the oven.

Next, while the granola cools, I chopped up 4 dates.

And then sprinkled them into the granola. This is mainly to bulk the granola up a bit… try raisins if that’s more your thing!

Lastly, store the cooled granola in a container with a tight lid for up to a few weeks. Could be longer than that… but in my house it doesn’t last long. If you are planning on eating this straight out of the jar… I think it would benefit from a little vanilla added to the reduced balsamic honey reduction. Maybe like a half teaspoon vanilla should do the trick.

I prefer this Balsamic Honey Granola on top of my midday yogurt snack and I think the vanilla really helps to bring out the other flavors.

So crunchy. So healthy. So.darn.good.

Enjoy! And if you give this Balsamic Honey Granola recipe a try, let me know by snapping a photo and tagging me on twitter or instagram!

My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance! 

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Yield: about 3 cups

Balsamic Honey Granola

My newest favorite midday snack!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cup old fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or any nut you like!)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (if you can find flavored balsamic then give that a try!)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 pitted dates, diced (optional)
• vanilla yogurt, for serving

Instructions

1. Combine the dry ingredients and chopped walnuts, stopping at the salt and stir.
2. In a sauce pot add the vinegar and honey. Stir over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until it reduces by 75 percent and coats the back of a spoon.
3. Remove off of the heat. {now is where you'd want to add the vanilla if you're choosing to use it}
4. Slowly pour the reduced balsamic/honey over the oats. Stir with a rubber spatula so everything gets coated.
5. Spray a medium size cookie sheet, I like to use my misto!
6. Spread evenly and bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to stir.
7. Stir in the chopped dates, let cool and serve over vanilla yogurt!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1/4 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 163Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 262mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

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This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you share your own do-over moment at Facebook.com/Frigidaire, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, Frigidaire will help cover the costs for one lucky visitor to win the ultimate do-over.