I’ve been a fan of Whole Foods’ blueberry granola for quite a while… and whenever I find a food I love, I am always tempted to make my own version. I finally remembered to pick up some dried blueberries on my weekly grocery trip and had the rest of the ingredients on hand. I made this super easy and quick recipe by throwing together a bunch of the ingredients on the back label of the container, as well as, a few other key ingredients and let it bake while I was working at home today. Multi-tasking at its finest. 
Ingredients
- 5-8 tbsp melted butter, canola oil, or coconut oil*
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed*
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup wheat germ
- 1/4 cup flaxseeds
- 1/3-1/2 cup almonds
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 oz dried blueberries
* I used 5 tablespoons of butter, and mine turned out more crispy and less clumpy. If you want larger chunks of granola, I would use more butter/oil and brown sugar.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, stir together butter (or oil), honey and brown sugar.
- Then mix in the oats, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon.
- Pour the mixture onto a 13 x 18 baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Stir in the wheat germ, flaxseeds, almonds, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
- Bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and immediately stir in the dried blueberries.
- Allow the mixture to cool completely before storing.
Makes about 5 1/2 cups granola.
When I make this again, I think I will add in some Uncle Sam cereal to mix it up a bit, rather than having just oats. Regardless, it turned out fantastic, and is the perfect slightly sweet topping for yogurt, ice cream (or frozen yogurt), cottage cheese, smoothies, and even oatmeal!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmmm – that’s sounds yummy. I think I’ll make that tomorrow. I have often bought the ready made granola with blueberries at Whole Foods but this sounds even better. Thanks!
YUM. That looks really delicious! I like cooking up homemade granola and then using it as a topping on a bowl of puffed wheat, then adding a splash of milk and piling fresh fruit on top of it. That way I get the low cal from the puffed wheat with the tasty CRUNCH of homemade granola.
I wonder how nut butter would taste in your recipe (in exchange for the butter/oil)… I bet it would contrast really nicely with the nuts and seeds you’ve got in there!
I love granola, but never let myself buy grocery store varieties because they are so fattening/caloric! Your homemade version sounds decidely healthier and I think it would definitely go great with some additional cereal mixed in. I’ll have to try it when I’m in the mood for oats that have not been turned into oatmeal!
So funny….I actually have all of the ingredients on hand (except the dried blueberries)!! It’s amazing how ‘clean’ my pantry has become over the last year and a half!!
I’m going to give this recipe a try, substituting raisins for the blueberries this first time around!
Thanks Sheila!!
xx MB
I am anxious to try your recipe; I make granola at least once per week. Today, I purchased a small amount of vanilla macaroon granola at Whole Foods. 220 calories per 1/2 cup – somewhat high in calories, but delicious! I would appreciate any suggestions you have to help me reproduce this delicious granola.
thanks!
from the www:
Vanilla Macaroon Granola
INGREDIENTS: Whole Rolled Oats, Milled Cane Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Canola and/or Safflower and/or Sunflower Oil), Rice Flour, Coconut, Cornstarch, Almonds, Honey, Natural Flavor, Salt, Organic Barley Malt Syrup, Organic Cardamom Seed, Organic Fennel Seed, Organic Fenugreek Seed, Organic Nutmeg.
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Whole Foods Market Vanilla Macaroon Granola
There are 220 calories in the Whole Foods Market Vanilla Macaroon Granola.
Hi Gale – Thanks so much for your comment. This sounds yummy! In order to re-create it, I would use the recipe for the granola I made, and sub in your ingredients, guesstimating based on how much of each it looks like they used for their recipe. Cornstarch is a thickener, so I am guessing it might be mixed in with the syrup (??). You could try leaving that out in your first batch, and see what happens. Let me know how it turns out!