Nutritious and tasty granola blends have become an integral part of many breakfast tables. This is not surprising. After all, the healthy mixtures with oat flakes provide an energetic start to the day – and taste good.

They are also suitable as an in between snack. They are a healthy alternative to crisps and other calorie-rich snacks. But what exactly is granola and what is the difference to muesli?

What exactly is granola?

Nuss Granola Fertig

Granola is another term for crunchy muesli. And crispy muesli is called that because it is crispier than traditional muesli. Various natural additives such as honey or different types of syrup ensure this.

Oat flakes – and other ingredients if necessary – are mixed with a natural sweetener (of your choice) and baked. They thereby form small crispy lumps.

You can then mix them with fruit and berries. Granola tastes especially delicious with milk or yoghurt.

Due to its consistency, healthy granola is also suitable for further processing, for example into biscuits or bars. You can of course also eat it as a topping with your porridge.

What ingredients does the crunchy muesli consist of?

A crunchy muesli consists primarily of oat flakes baked with honey or syrup (maple syrup, agave syrup). Other ingredients can also be added. Sunflower seeds, sesame or pumpkin seeds and chopped nuts are particularly suitable.

Sultanas, various berries​1​ or even chocolate pieces can be added later and provide a fruity bite. Cinnamon or vanilla are perfect as natural flavour enhancers. But turmeric and chilli can also be used if you want the crunchy muesli to be a bit spicier.

If you make your own healthy granola, there are no limits to your imagination. Verival’s crunchy mueslis are more likely to be found as sweet and crunchy mixtures on the breakfast table. But of course you can add some seasoning yourself if you feel like a little more spiciness.

Granola (crunchy muesli) vs. muesli – What is the difference?

The traditional muesli is a loose mixture of oat flakes. There are also various types of nuts (nuts and kernels) and other ingredients.

These can be nuts or various other dry fruits, such as prunes or sultanas. You can also refine your muesli with fresh fruit.

Unlike granola or crunchy muesli, this type of muesli is not baked with honey or syrup. It is only through this addition that the muesli mixture gets its crispy texture.

Moreover, honey and syrup give the granola a slightly sweetish note, which is missing in muesli. While granola is often eaten with milk or yoghurt just like muesli, it can also be processed further. The loose consistency of muesli, however, is not suitable for this.

In other words, if a muesli is to become a bar or biscuit, the first step would be to process it into granola.

Schüssel mit frischem Granola

What makes granola so crunchy?

To obtain a crispy muesli, the respective oatmeal mixture is baked in the oven with natural sweeteners. With their viscous consistency, various types of syrup, such as agave syrup or maple syrup, are particularly suitable, in addition to honey. They have the right ingredients to give the muesli a crunchy bite.

Besides, they are the perfect base for healthy nutrition and also suitable for vegans. Various natural ingredients are blended together to create a delicious and crunchy granola. The addition of whole grain cereals and whole grain rice crispies can also provide an additional crunchy effect.

How healthy is granola?

Since only natural foods are used to make crunchy muesli, it is inherently healthy. The baked oat flakes as the main ingredient are nutritious and offer many health benefits.

This was already known to a certain Dr. Jackson, who is generally regarded as the inventor of granola. He recognised the beneficial properties of the individual ingredients and served them to his patients as a tasty mixture.

The beta glucan contained in oats can lower cholesterol and also prevents cardiovascular diseases. ​2​

Incidentally, the hippie movement of the 1960s with its awareness of healthy eating also recognised this. It helped granola to regain its popularity and today there are many different varieties. Verival’s Crunchy Mix is not only particularly crispy, but also healthy and delicious. We use only the best natural ingredients for our crunchy mueslis.

We take a lot of time – both for the preparation and for the subsequent refinement. We bake our selected blends slowly and gently. Then we refine them with different berries, fruits or chocolate.

Nutrition table – sugar content in oats

In the table below you will find the oats’ content of energy and monosaccharides as well as double sugars per 100 g of oats.

 Energy (kcal)Glucose (g)Fructose (g)Sacrose (g) Sugar in total (g)
Whole grain oats raw3320011.1
Whole grain oats cooked118000.41.1
Whole grain oat flakes/bran cooked83000.20.8
Whole grain oat flakes/bran raw354000.70.8
Oat flakes with dried fruit3424.16.62.57.3
Oatmeal biscuits4100.10200.5

When does crunchy muesli become unhealthy?

A crunchy muesli is by nature already slightly sweetened. This is ensured by the honey or syrup, which are absolutely necessary for the preparation. If you have a sweet tooth and then regularly add sugar, this can be unhealthy in the long run.

Even ready-made mixtures can sometimes be unhealthy, namely if they contain too many additives. So not all crunchy muesli is the same.

At Verival, we always make sure we only use natural ingredients in the preparation of our Crunchy mixes. We source all our ingredients from top quality suppliers and ensure that all products are of the highest quality.

We take our time in preparing all our mixtures. This way we can guarantee that all our blends are healthy and free of additives.

Granola crunchy muesli – simply make it yourself

You can make granola very easily yourself. You need oatmeal and honey or syrup. Which kind of syrup you use is up to you.

Agave syrup, maple syrup or sugar beet syrup, there are different varieties. Depending on your mood – or taste – you can mix the oat flakes with nuts and other ingredients.

Coarsely chopped or whole nuts and various seeds and kernels are suitable for a crunchy mixture. But also sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds are a popular ingredient for crunchy muesli. And various fruits and berries such as sultanas or cranberries give the crunchy muesli a fruity bite.

After you have mixed your finished mixture with honey or syrup, you can spread it on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (top and bottom heat). You can then bake the mixture in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, turning regularly.

Alternatively, a pan on the cooker is also suitable. Whatever you choose, please remember that dried fruit should only be added afterwards. Otherwise they will burn or become tough.

The same applies, of course, if you refine your crunchy muesli with chocolate chips. Chocolate would melt.

Afterwards, you should definitely let your crunchy muesli cool down. This way, the crunchy effect is retained, even if you fill it airtight for storage.

Do you already know the Bircher Granola recipe?

The most famous type of muesli par excellence is probably Bircher Müsli. It was named after the Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner, who is considered the inventor of the healthy muesli mix. Bircher muesli has enjoyed great popularity since the 19th century.

Did you know that Bircher muesli is now also available as Granola? And the best thing about it: It can be prepared quickly and easily in your own kitchen. All you need are the right ingredients and a little time. Then nothing can go wrong if you follow our recipe.

bircher müsli granola
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Bircher Granola – simple recipe

The muesli original reinterpreted – You can easily make your own Bircher Granola and have many mornings full of crunch and crisps.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time30 mins
Servings: 8
Calories: 466.4kcal

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking tray 
  • Jar

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180° (top and bottom heat). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  • Chop the hazelnuts with a knife until they have the desired size. If you like, you can also use whole hazelnuts.
  • Mix Bircher Muesli, oat flakes, chopped hazelnuts, linseed, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
  • Add vegetable oil and maple syrup and mix well again so that the whole muesli mixture is covered with oil and maple syrup. 
  • Pour the mixture evenly onto the prepared baking tray and spread.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven briefly, turn the mixture over with a spoon and bake again for another 10 minutes.
  • As soon as the granola gets a crispy brown colour, take the tray out of the oven and let it cool down. Attention: During the last few minutes you should keep a good eye on the crunchy granola so that it does not burn. 
  • For serving we recommend (plant based) yoghurt and fresh, diced apples.
  • For storage, pour the granola into an airtight sealed glass jar. Eat within 2 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 100g | Calories: 466.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.3g | Protein: 8.3g | Fat: 23.4g

Prepare granola tartlets yourself

Another delicious dish, especially in spring, is granola tartlets. They taste great with yoghurt cream and fresh fruit and give you a good dose of energy. It is best to use the Verival Heritage Grains Muesli with Berries.

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Verival Granola tartlets with yoghurt cream and berries

Servings: 20 Pieces

Ingredients

Tartlets

  • 200 g Heritage Grains Muesli with Berries
  • 100 g oats
  • 100 g walnuts
  • 4 tbsp linseeds, grinded
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, grounded
  • 100 g coconut oil
  • 100 g maple syrup

Yoghurt Cream

  • 300 g greek yoghurt
  • 150 g curd
  • ½ lemon zest
  • ½ tsp vanilla, grounded
  • 1 tsp maple syrup

Topping

  • many different berries – e.g. raspberries, blueberries, strawberries
  • a few banana chips
  • a few edible flowers – e.g. daisies, lilac flowers

Instructions

  • For the granola base, finely chop the walnuts and melt the coconut oil.
  • Knead with all the other ingredients to a sticky mass. 
  • Spread the granola mixture into muffin tins and press well at the bottom and sides. This works best with moistened hands. 
  • Bake in the oven at 160°C hot air for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool briefly and then gently remove from the muffin cases with a spoon. 
  • For the cream, mix all the ingredients and pour into the granola cups. Decorate with berries and flowers.

Video

Granola variety from Verival – The crunchy muesli with the right crunch

Crunchy mueslis taste just as good at breakfast as they do as a meal in between. And because they are available in numerous variations, they are suitable for every taste. At Verival, healthy variety is important to us and you can buy your granola in our shop.

All our Crunchys are deliciously crunchy, no matter which variety you choose. You can also add various berries like currants, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries.

  1. 1.
    Basu A, Rhone M, Lyons TJ. Berries: emerging impact on cardiovascular health. Nutrition Reviews. Published online March 2010:168-177. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00273.x
  2. 2.
    Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to oat beta glucan and lowering blood cholesterol and reduced risk of (coronary) heart disease pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFS2. Published online December 2010. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1885

Victoria Schwabl

Nach meiner Arbeit im Marketing, arbeitet ich mittlerweile im Einkauf bei Verival und kenne mich bestens mit der Rohware aus. Ansonsten liebe ich Schauspielen, reisen und meine zwei Katzen.

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