Makes: About 8 cups | Prep: 10 minutes | Bake: 30 minutes | Cools: 1 hour

A little note from me

This has become one of those recipes I make on repeat.

Simple, nourishing, and endlessly adaptable depending on what's in the pantry.

I filmed it because I wanted to show how I actually use my STYLD.Chop™ through a whole morning. Prep, into the oven, protecting my benchtops, then straight onto the table for breakfast. One board, start to finish.

The only thing I'd tell you before you start is this. Once it comes out of the oven, walk away. Don't stir it, don't touch it, don't check on it. That hour of leaving it alone is what turns loose oats into the big crunchy clusters, and it's the step I got wrong for years.

I hope it becomes one of your favourites too!

 X Alicia

Ingredients

Base

• 4 cups organic rolled oats (not instant)

• 1½ to 2 cups organic nuts and seeds of your choice

My favourite mix

• Almonds

• Walnuts

• Pepitas

• Sunflower seeds

• Chia seeds

• Crushed flaxseed

• Linseed

• Psyllium husk

Wet

• ½ cup light olive oil or melted coconut oil

• ½ cup organic maple syrup or honey (brown rice syrup also works)

Flavour

• 1 to 3 tsp organic ground cinnamon (I love cinnamon, so I'm generous)

• ½ tsp quality sea salt

• ½ tsp vanilla extract, optional

• Finely grated orange zest, optional

Method

1. Roast the nuts

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Spread the nuts onto a tray and roast for 10 minutes until lightly golden.

I do them on their own so they toast properly without the oats catching.

2. Warm the syrup

In a small saucepan, gently warm together the oil and the maple syrup.

Only until combined. Warm and pourable, not hot.

3. Mix

In a large bowl, combine the oats, seeds, psyllium husk, cinnamon and sea salt.

Pour over the warm syrup mixture and stir well until every oat is coated.

Fold through the roasted nuts.

4. Bake

Spread evenly onto your STYLD.Chop™, laid flat on a baking tray.

Press the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Firmly. All that pressing is what gives you clusters later, so don't be gentle with it.

Bake at 180°C for around 20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Take it out while it still looks slightly underdone. It keeps cooking on the hot tray, and golden brown at 20 minutes turns bitter by the time it cools.

5. Let it cool

This is the secret.

Leave the granola completely untouched until cool. A full hour.

As it cools, the syrup sets and holds everything together, and that's where those delicious crunchy clusters come from.

Stir it while it's warm and you'll get loose granola. There's no coming back from it.

6. Store

Break into chunky pieces and transfer to an airtight container.

It'll stay fresh for around 2 weeks.

Optional additions

For extra crunch

Flaked almonds, pecans, extra walnuts, or coconut flakes added in the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.

For extra goodness

Hemp seeds stirred through after baking, extra flaxseed, or chia seeds.

Stir through once cooled

Dried cranberries, freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries, chopped dried apricots, goji berries, cacao nibs, or dark chocolate chips.

Dried fruit will burn if it goes in before baking, so I always add mine at the end.

Serving ideas

Thick Greek yoghurt. Fresh berries. Banana. Stewed apple. A drizzle of honey. Your favourite milk.

Perfect alongside a cup of tea on a slow Sunday morning.

I serve straight from the STYLD.Chop™ on the table. The bowls don't slide, it catches whatever the kids spill, and the whole thing goes in the dishwasher afterwards.

Questions people ask

How long does homemade granola last? 

Around 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. Cool it completely before sealing, because trapped steam turns crunchy granola soft overnight. It also freezes for up to 3 months.

Why is my granola not crunchy? 

Most often because it was stirred while cooling. The syrup needs to set undisturbed to bind the oats into clusters. Pressing the mixture down before baking and leaving it alone for an hour afterwards fixes it.

Is this granola gluten free? 

No. It contains oats, and under the Australian Food Standards Code nothing containing oats can be labelled gluten free here. It's wheat free, and free of rye and barley. If you're coeliac, choose oats labelled uncontaminated or pure and speak to your GP.

Can I make granola without oil? 

You can swap the oil for an extra ¼ cup of nut butter thinned with warm water. The clusters come out denser and it browns faster, so drop the oven to 160°C.

Can you bake on a STYLD.Chop™? 

Yes. STYLD.Chop™ is 100% food-grade silicone rated from -20°C to +220°C, so it goes into a conventional oven up to 220°C in place of baking paper. Lay it flat on an oven tray and keep it away from the grill element or direct flame. It's reusable, so it replaces single-use baking paper, and it goes in the dishwasher afterwards.

Can I use a silicone chopping board for prep and serving? 

Yes. STYLD.Chop™ is knife-safe, non-slip and food-safe, and it works as a prep board, a benchtop protector, a pot mat, a serving board and a picnic board. Cut marks appearing over time are cosmetic and don't affect hygiene or performance.