The Quickest Way to Make Healthy Granola

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You’ve probably got a wok. It’s likely buried deep in some kitchen cabinet. And every once in a while, you use it for a quick stir-fry dinner. But why? There is so much you can do with a wok!

A wok is really just a wide, deep, flared saucepan. You can heat soup in it. Or boil pasta. Or steam veggies. Or make breakfast.

Wait. What? Make breakfast?

Yep. Get ready. We’re going to show you how to make granola in a wok.

It solves the problem of your love of homemade granola vs. having no time.

Here’s the thing: This deep, oversized kitchen tool can toast grains in a flash. Its tall, flared sides let you toss around the ingredients for granola without spilling them on the stove. See? That’s why you got a wok. Well, okay, that and stir-fries.

In our upcoming Clean Eating course, Shortcut Cooking: Easiest-Ever Clean Meals, we’ll show you how to master this useful cooking tool (and so many others!).

Here’s the skinny to our two-step process for wok granola:

Step 1: Toast the grains.

For gluten-free granola, use certified gluten-free rolled oats (not steel-cut or quick-cooking oats). Or mix it up with rolled oats plus barley flakes, wheat flakes, rye flakes, or (our favorite) Kamut flakes. Toss the grains in a hot, dry wok set over medium-high heat until they give off toasty aroma and brown lightly with a decidedly crunchier texture. Dump these grains in a big bowl.

Step 1A: If you want, add nuts, seeds, or other ingredients to the hot wok to toast them.

Okay, we cheated by adding an intermediary step. It’s not necessary; but if you want, toast nuts, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, maybe even pepitas in the hot, dry wok. Just stir-fry them until they’re aromatic. Add these to the bowl with the grains.

Step 2: Mix up an oil and sweetener combo.

As you’ll see in the video, Bruce loves coconut oil and pure maple syrup. But you could go with walnut oil, almond oil, or even extravagant pecan oil. Or swap out the maple syrup with organic raw honey. Once the sweetener and oil have heated up in the wok, add vanilla extract and cinnamon, then pour this mixture onto those toasted grains (and any nuts or other additives).

And toss it all up. You’re good to go. Unless you like dried fruit: raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, you name it. Call this Step 2B. Another cheat. Forgive us. And you needn’t. But if you do, add these now. And toss well.

Layer on to a clean sheet pan and let cool until room temperature. Serve the granola or store it in a sealed container in a cool, dark pantry. It will last for up to two months.

See: Wok granola. Now that’s fast. And pretty tasty.

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