We Style-Examined 28 Manufacturers of Granola—Right here Are Our Favorites

Like lots of my colleagues, I’m fairly critical about my granola consumption. On weekends, once I can absolutely commit to creating a batch of selfmade granola, I stay up for inhaling its toasted, caramelized, nutty aroma because it bakes, then digging right into a recent, still-warm bowl. Once I plow by my granola stash quicker than I could make it, although, I attain for the store-bought stuff. The query is: Which granola is price shopping for?

To seek out the easiest store-bought granola, our editors sampled 28 completely different manufacturers that you just’re more likely to discover at your native grocery retailer or on-line. We caught to oat-based granolas flavored with honey, maple, and/or vanilla, and people marketed as authentic or traditional. We allowed easy inclusions, similar to nuts and dried fruit. We poured every into bowls, then sampled them in random order with out realizing which model was which. After crunching our manner by 28 completely different granolas, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an total winner, in addition to three worthy contenders that we would be blissful to eat at breakfast or atop a scoop of ice cream.

The Standards

Nice granola needs to be crispy and hearty. It ought to have bite-size items which are pleasantly crunchy however not exhausting or massive sufficient to interrupt your enamel. It needs to be properly toasted however not burnt or acrid. Although a contact of sweetness is welcome, it shouldn’t be cloying, and there needs to be simply sufficient salt to spherical it out. Retailer-bought granola does not need to style freshly baked, however it should not style dusty or stale.

Total Winner

Tom’s Good 10 Traditional

This New York–made granola fully gained over our editors. “That is an precise granola I might eat,” our editorial director, Daniel, wrote after biting right into a “good fruity chunk.” Genevieve, our senior editor, cherished the dried cherries and the granola’s balanced taste. Most of our editors agreed that this granola had the correct quantity of crunch and chew. Jessie, our visuals editor, loved the granola’s “sticky-ish” texture and would suggest it to followers of dried prunes. I cherished this granola a lot—each for its chewy fruit clusters and salty-sweetness—that after the style check, I snuck the bag residence earlier than anybody else may declare it.

Runners-Up

• Michele’s Unique Granola
• Nature Valley Granola
• Early Fowl Farmhand’s Alternative Granola
• Jessica’s Vanilla-Maple Granola

Although not one of the different granolas have been deemed fairly as scrumptious as our winner, our editors loved a number of different manufacturers they’d be blissful to scatter atop their yogurt as properly.

Everybody praised the feel of Michele’s Unique Granola. Genevieve loved its “appropriately-sized morsels” and “good crunch.” Jessie thought it was “evenly candy, with an excellent quantity of nuts.” Although a few of our tasters thought the granola’s sweetness was one-dimensional, they appreciated that it wasn’t cloyingly candy. Daniel put an answer in easy phrases: “This wants salt.” (You, too, can add a pinch of salt to your granola.)

Kelli, our senior social editor, instantly clocked Nature Valley Granola as a result of it tasted like a carbon copy of the model’s Oats ‘N Honey Granola Bars. Like Kelli, I used to be an enormous fan of these snacks in my center faculty lunchbox and completely loved this granola. Daniel appreciated the graham cracker–like taste of the granola and mentioned he would fortunately eat a field or two. Nonetheless, a few of our editors, together with Genevieve, thought the chunks have been too massive and would have most popular a barely looser texture.

Daniel was head over heels for Early Fowl Farmhand’s Alternative Granola. “That is textbook good granola,” he wrote. “Practically excellent, crisp, not soggy, not big clusters.” Our affiliate editorial director, Megan, appropriately recognized this as Early Fowl and named it her total winner, praising its saltiness, nuts, seeds, and crunch. Likewise, Genevieve applauded its “satisfyingly crunchy” texture and favored that “it would not break your enamel,” and particularly cherished the fantastically toasted pecans. Some editors, together with Jessie and I, thought it was a contact too salty, however agreed it will pair properly with yogurt and fruit. Amanda, our affiliate visuals director, loved this one as properly, however wished “it was clumpy as an alternative of particular person items.”

Jessica’s Vanilla Maple Granola was a prime scorer and the highest-scoring vanilla-flavored entry. Megan favored its “massive chunks,” whereas Genevieve thought the clusters may very well be crunchier. The flavour itself divided our editors. Some loved the cinnamon and honey, whereas others discovered the vanilla and maple notes overly synthetic.

The Contenders

• 365 by Complete Meals Maple & Almond Butter Granola
• 365 by Complete Meals Oat & Honey Granola
• Aurora Pure Nut & Honey Granola
• Aurora Pure Vanilla Crunch Granola
• Again Roads Natural Unique Granola
• Bear Bare Vanilla Almond Crisp Granola
• BOLA Granola Unique
• Bob’s Crimson Mill Honey Oat Granola
• Cascadian Farm Natural Granola, Oats and Honey
• Early Fowl Farmhand’s Alternative Granola
• Large Granola Vanilla Almond
• Good & Collect Honey Almond Vanilla Granola
• Grandy Organics Honey Nut Granola
• Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted Granola
• Jessica’s Vanilla Maple Granola
• Kelly’s 4 Plus Honey Maple Granola
• KIND Oats & Honey Granola
• Michele’s Unique Granola
• Pure Vert Vegan Unique Crispy Granola
• Nature Valley Oats & Honey Protein Granola
• Nature’s Path Honey Almond Granola
• Nature’s Path Pumpkin Seed + Flax Granola
• Nature’s Promise Vanilla Maple Granola
• Purely Elizabeth Unique Historic Grain Granola
• Quaker Oats Honey & Almonds Granola
• ShopRite Oats and Honey Granola
• Tom’s Good 10 Traditional Granola
• True North Maple Vanilla Granola

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

The entire granolas we tasted have oats as the primary ingredient and a few added sweetener; many additionally contained oil, nuts and/or seeds, and heat spices. Some granolas include preservatives similar to tocopherol, a type of vitamin E used to keep up freshness.

Many of the granolas we tasted use sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey as sweeteners. In some granolas, this sweetness got here throughout properly and was balanced with an acceptable quantity of salt. Usually, our editors most popular granolas made with brown sugar, which gave the granola caramel notes and a wealthy depth of taste. Our winner, Tom’s Good 10 Traditional, is sweetened with a mix of darkish brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are carried out with manufacturers fully hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A might style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to forestall palate fatigue from unfairly giving anybody pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets, rating the samples in accordance with numerous standards. All information is tabulated, and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter to offer essentially the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes potential.