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 totally commit to creating a batch of do-it-yourself granola, I sit up for inhaling its toasted, caramelized, nutty aroma because it bakes, then digging right into a recent, still-warm bowl. Once I plow via my granola stash quicker than I could make it, although, I attain for the store-bought stuff. The query is: Which granola is value shopping for?

To seek out the perfect store-bought granola, our editors sampled 28 completely different manufacturers that you just’re prone 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 unique or basic. We allowed easy inclusions, equivalent to nuts and dried fruit. We poured every into bowls, then sampled them in random order with out figuring out which model was which. After crunching our manner via 28 completely different granolas, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an general winner, in addition to three worthy contenders that we might be completely happy 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 might be pleasantly crunchy however not exhausting or giant 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 should style freshly baked, but it surely should not style dusty or stale.

Total Winner

Tom’s Excellent 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, beloved 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 advocate it to followers of dried prunes. I beloved this granola a lot—each for its chewy fruit clusters and salty-sweetness—that after the style check, I snuck the bag dwelling earlier than anybody else may declare it.

Runners-Up

• Michele’s Authentic Granola
• Nature Valley Granola
• Early Hen Farmhand’s Selection Granola
• Jessica’s Vanilla-Maple Granola

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

Everybody praised the feel of Michele’s Authentic Granola. Genevieve loved its “appropriately-sized morsels” and “good crunch.” Jessie thought it was “calmly candy, with a great 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 totally 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 had been too large and would have most well-liked a barely looser texture.

Daniel was head over heels for Early Hen Farmhand’s Selection Granola. “That is textbook good granola,” he wrote. “Almost excellent, crisp, not soggy, not enormous clusters.” Our affiliate editorial director, Megan, accurately recognized this as Early Hen and named it her general winner, praising its saltiness, nuts, seeds, and crunch. Likewise, Genevieve applauded its “satisfyingly crunchy” texture and appreciated that “it would not break your enamel,” and particularly beloved the superbly toasted pecans. Some editors, together with Jessie and I, thought it was a contact too salty, however agreed it might 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 appreciated its “large chunks,” whereas Genevieve thought the clusters could possibly 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 Entire Meals Maple & Almond Butter Granola
• 365 by Entire Meals Oat & Honey Granola
• Aurora Pure Nut & Honey Granola
• Aurora Pure Vanilla Crunch Granola
• Again Roads Natural Authentic Granola
• Bear Bare Vanilla Almond Crisp Granola
• BOLA Granola Authentic
• Bob’s Crimson Mill Honey Oat Granola
• Cascadian Farm Natural Granola, Oats and Honey
• Early Hen Farmhand’s Selection 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 Authentic Granola
• Pure Vert Vegan Authentic 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 Authentic Historical Grain Granola
• Quaker Oats Honey & Almonds Granola
• ShopRite Oats and Honey Granola
• Tom’s Excellent 10 Traditional Granola
• True North Maple Vanilla Granola

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

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

A lot 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 well-liked granolas made with brown sugar, which gave the granola caramel notes and a wealthy depth of taste. Our winner, Tom’s Excellent 10 Traditional, is sweetened with a mix of darkish brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey.

Our Testing Methodology

All style assessments are carried out with manufacturers fully hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could 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 varied standards. All knowledge is tabulated, and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter to supply essentially the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.