Name: Healthy Homemade Muesli Recipe
Prep time: 4 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (can also use barley, quinoa or other flakes); 1 cup nuts (cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or mixture); ½ cup flaked almonds; ⅔ cup sultanas (raisins, chopped apricots, prunes, dates or mixture); 4 tablespoons desiccated coconut; ½ cup banana chips (lightly crushed, or use freeze dried fruit); ⅔ cup sunflower seeds (mix with pumpkin if you like); 2 tablespoons flaxseed; 2 tablespoons chia seeds

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Homemade muesli is one of the healthiest breakfast options I know. Not only that, it's also super quick and easy to make and so much better than the ready made variety. There is every reason why you should make your own.

There are several delicious ways to enjoy oats for breakfast. You can cook them and enjoy as hot porridge when it's cold outside or make refreshing overnight oats throughout summer months. Muesli is another great way of eating oats and today I am going to show you how to make your own.

Why it's a good idea to make your own muesli

Most importantly - because it's so much better than the store bought variety! It's freshly made by you, at home, so it simply has to. And you don't have to make any compromises. My own experience with ready made muesli has always been that nutty muesli didn't have enough of the nuts I liked and fruit muesli was just clusters of too many raisins. So I'd always end up adding other ingredients too it (or getting rid of some of those raisins!).

With homemade muesli you have complete control over what goes into it. So you can make it using your favourite ingredients.

And it's super healthy too! A combination of whole grain flakes, nuts and seeds is very nutritious and if you add a moderate of dried fruit it will be low in sugar too.

Is muesli healthier than granola

Both muesli and granola are made using similar ingredients with one significant difference. While the muesli ingredients are simply stirred together granola is made by creating clusters which are bound together by some form of fat and sugar. This has given granola a reputation of being unhealthy.

But it's all about using the right ingredients in the right proportions. If your homemade muesli contains a generous amount of tropical fruit (sweetened) it will have a pretty high sugar content. On the other hand, granola made using a moderate amount of fat and sugar, such as my chocolate coconut granola, is a pretty healthy breakfast option.

So use your judgement, common sense and above - enjoy your oats!

Homemade muesli ingredients

The 4 classic muesli ingredients include oats, nuts, dried fruit and seeds. The proportions I used were: 3 cups of flakes, 1.5 cup of fruit and nut each and 1 cup of seeds.

The suggested proportions are a rough guide only and based on my personal preference so feel free to adjust these to your liking. I used a combination of rolled oats and jumbo rolled oats (a little coarser) but you can add barley, quinoa or any other whole grain flakes. I do not recommend using steel cut oats as they are too coarse and are best served cooked.

I used a combination of cashews, almonds and almond flakes (for more texture) but you can use any nuts you like.

I also added sultanas, a small amount of banana chips and dessicated coconut for added sweetness but, again, the choice of dried fruit is yours.

Recipe instructions

If you do not want to toast the ingredients simply combine them, give a good stir and store in a jar/airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

1.To make toasted muesli preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C/ gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and spread the oats (and other flakes if using) over the sheet. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 8 minutes (do not brown them). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

2. While the oats are in the oven prepare the rest of the ingredients. Toast the nuts (optional) in a large pan until golden brown stirring frequently. You can also toast the seeds and desiccated coconut (optional) but do so separately (they are smaller than nuts so take less time to toast). Cool completely before adding into the muesli mixture.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine the muesli ingredients.

4. Stir thoroughly.

5. Transfer into a large jar/airtight container and store in a dry place for up to 2 weeks.

Expert tips and FAQs

The proportions used are recommendations only and you can adjust them to your liking. Bear in mind, however, that adding more nuts and sweetened dried fruit will increase the calories of your muesli.
Use any whole grain flakes, such as oat, barley, quinoa etc. You can use raw or toasted flakes (toasted taste better and are crispier but the choice is yours).
You can, but don't have to, also dry toast the nuts and seeds. Toast these separately - seeds are smaller so toast faster (chia do not need to be toasted). Ensure all the toasted ingredients have cooled completely before placing them in a jar.
If adding larger fruit into the mixture (apricots, prunes, dates etc) chop them up roughly first.
You can also add a bit of cinnamon or pumpkin spice into your muesli.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Serve with any milk, either cold or hot. Also delicious with plain or flavoured yogurt, or fresh fruit.

Do I have to toast the ingredients

No, but I recommend you do. Toasted grain flakes taste better than raw and have a crispier texture. Toasted nuts and seeds release more flavour so I like to also toast these before adding to my muesli mixture. If you toast desiccated coconut do so very briefly, stirring all the time as coconut browns quickly.

Check out also this collection of 18 healthy, easy vegetable breakfast recipes.

Keep in touch!

Do you regularly made muesli at home? What are your favourite muesli ingredients? Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)

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