Yes! You can totally make granola with steel-cut oats! This Honey Nut Steel-Cut Granola is packed full of flavor and healthy nuts and will make you forget all about rolled oats in your granola!
Growing up we only ever ate steel-cut oats. It wasn’t until I got really into healthy living blogs that I discovered that most people didn’t eat steel-cut oats. I honestly believed that rolled oats were called “quaker oats” since I only ever saw them come from those horrible quaker oat packets.
Feel free to judge.
But suddenly I found myself buying enormous bags of Trader Joe’s Rolled Oats, making overnight oatmeal and completely neglecting my beloved steel-cut oats. Truth is, once you discover the convenience of rolled oats (aka ready in under 10 mins!) it’s difficult to justify spending 30 minutes cooking steel-cut.
But I really do miss the crunchiness of steel-cut oats. Though to be fair, I think that I mostly miss how my mom used to make it with milk and brown sugar…so good.
Speaking of moms, have I mentioned that mine is wonderful? Mom, I can already feel you typing your response to this…
Allow me to explain.
Not only is she responsible for introducing me to steel-cut oats, but also for that delicious manuka honey you see in the background of those photos. She brought it back for me after her recent trip to New Zealand (where manuka-pollinating bees live) and I’ve basically been rationing it out every single day since.
This stuff is like gold. If you’ve never tried manuka honey, start saving your pennies and then invest in a little jar of this magic. The best way for me to describe it is like “the most honey-filled honey you have ever tasted”. Does this make sense?
Confession: I totally didn’t use the manuka honey in this Honey Nut Steel-Cut Granola. It is far too precious for that. But I DID top the granola with a bit of manuka honey for an added sweet and antioxidant-filled boost!
Apparently manuka honey has all sorts of health-benefits and its encouraged you have a spoonful a day. An excuse to eat a spoonful of honey everyday? Thanks Mom!
PrintHoney Nut Steel-Cut Granola
Yes! You can totally make granola with steel-cut oats! This Honey Nut Steel-Cut Granola is packed full of flavor and healthy nuts and will make you forget all about rolled oats in your granola!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 3 cups steel-cut oats (gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 cups of mixed nuts (I did 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, pecans, slivered almonds and walnuts but feel free to use any kind of nuts)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup honey (local raw honey is ideal)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a large bowl combine steel-cut oats, nuts, cinnamon and sea salt.
- In a separate bowl combine coconut oil, applesauce, honey and vanilla.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined.
- Spread granola over a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 mins.
- Remove from oven and flip and the bake for another 20 mins.
- Remove from oven once again, flip and then bake for another 15 mins.
- Remove from oven and flatten granola with the back of a spatula.
- LET SIT FOR ONE HOUR. Do not try to move granola off tray.
- After an hour, you can take the granola and break it up into clusters.
- Combine with raisins.
- Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (if it ever lasts that long…)
Keywords: steel cut oatmeal granola, steel cut oats granola
Have you ever tried manuka honey? What foods did your Mom introduce you to?
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74 Comments
Kylie
November 6, 2022 at 10:30 pmLove this granola! So quick and easy to throw together. My daughter had a blast helping me measure everything out and then enjoying the fruits of our labor. I love that it’s not overly sweet and that is clumps together so beautifully. This will be my new go to recipe!!
★★★★★
LC
June 28, 2022 at 8:26 pmSo delicious !
I accidentally did a half cup of coconut oil. But I also added a half cup of hemp hearts. Had to cook for about 10-15 minutes longer than the recipe said. It still turned out great ! Clumpy delicious, crunch !
For those asking if you have to cook the oats first, no you don’t 🙂
★★★★★
Faith
March 25, 2022 at 4:36 amDo you cook the steel cut oats first? Would oat groats work as well?
Rebekka
February 16, 2022 at 1:39 pmI flattened mixture on my pan, would flip using another parchment paper lined pan. Came out so yummy, got clumps and some crumbly bits. So glad to know that I can make some granola with steel cut oats! Now I just need some marula honey….
★★★★★
AJ
June 4, 2021 at 9:31 pmIn my case the bottom came out toasted, almost burnt, in the first 20-min flip. We used 1.5 cups of nuts and added flax seeds, sesame seeds, and chia seeds. Maybe it was too dry? Either way, i recommend either following the recipe EXACTLY or if you’re feeling adventurous like I was, maybe lower the temp a bit and keep an eye on it. Good luck!
★★★★
Bella
March 2, 2021 at 8:39 amI made this today and it looks and smells great. I swapped out one cup of steel cut oats for rolled oats, and used slivered almonds and walnuts, with some shredded coconut. I did not catch that I should have held the raisins out — will fix that next time.
I used a tip in the comments about flipping between two baking trays, and that worked well. Didn’t use parchment. Instead of baking 3 times, I extended the bake time on each side a bit. Look forward to trying it.