Eleven Madison Park Granola Recipe (2024)

I have made this many times and still find it to be the best granola ever! For those who think the amount of salt is too much, just be sure you are using kosher salt. A tablespoon of it is equal to about a teaspoon of regular table salt. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. I have also made it with different nuts and fruits but find that my family and friends prefer it just as written.

I make this recipe often, and love it. I adapted it to make it less sweet (and caloric), and to me it is just as good. In place of pistachios, I used toasted pecans, as I prefer them. I use half the salt, use 1/4 cup light brown sugar, and then less than 1/3 cup of both maple syrup and olive oil (amount approximate - I mostly leave it about 1/2 inch below the top of the 1/3 cup measure). I personally leave out the dried fruit, as I prefer the nut and coconut taste to shine through. Yum!

I gotta say, no wonder it's delicious - it has a lot of sugar in relation to the quantity of oats. I've been using a recipe for granola from America's Test Kitchen that uses 5 cups of oats, 2 cups of nuts, and only 2/3 cup sugar, half of which is maple syrup. It's delicious, too.

Sticky dried cherries. I had a lot of trouble chopping the dried cherries into small bits because they are so sticky. I solved the problem by freezing the cherries and then chopping them up in a food processor.

Let's clear this up once and for all. Diamond Crystal Kosher salt is less dense than Morton Kosher salt. So Diamond Crystal is less salty per unit than Morton. So to be on the safe side always use Diamond Crystal. I think most pros do already.
I found this out the hard way when I almost ruined a recipe when I couldn't get Diamond Crystal and bought Morton's instead. I threw the box of Morton's right out. Too dangerous to have in the kitchen!

I make this all the time. I was not a fan of purchased granolas- even the fancy stuff they sell these days. I mix the olive oil, syrup, sugar and salt (a fraction of what is called for) in a heavy glass measuring cup and pop it in the microwave rather than using saucepan on the stove.

I make a granola recipe very close to this one but use coconut oil instead of olive oil and add pecans, sun flower seeds, chia seeds and ground flax seeds to the mix. Yum!

I also added 1 cup medium shred coconut, which was all I had on hand. It didn't burn. Although you couldn't see the medium shredded flakes, it was definitely a subtle additional flavor. When I made the batch a second time and forgot to add coconut, it wasn't as good. The coconut is definitely needed to balance the flavors.

I've ditched every other granola recipe now that I've discovered this one. The base recipe accommodates all sorts of variations. I usually use sliced or slivered almonds rather than pistachio nuts because I have them on hand. I leave out the coconut and cherries. And I cut the sugar and salt a bit. I've added cinnamon and a bit of orange juice to great success. It's a fun recipe to play around with and has become one of the more requested items for care packages for my kids.

I love having nutritional info available. It would be a huge help if the portion size was noted as well. For example, it's challenging to figure out the volume of 1/14th of this recipe.

Using sugar/syrup/olive oil gave this granola perfect crunch; my usual recipe uses veg oil and honey and it turns out a lot softer, which my husband doesn't like! I added ground cardamom, which i like with the pistachio/cherry combo.

My favorite granola--first tasted as a gift after dinner at 11 Madison Park years ago. Have used dried apricots instead of cherries and almonds instead of pistachios but best as written. Very easy to make and it freezes well.

A delicious base recipe to play around with. I don't see this granola lasting long in our house! Like most folks, I used 1/4 (!) of the sugar and syrup, and it was still plenty sweet. I also used 1 tsp of kosher salt, and will use even less next time. For the final tweak - I used shredded coconut, slivered almonds, organic raisins, and dried cranberries. So easy and fabulous - a true keeper.

One granola recipe to rule them all

This is a family staple and we make it often. I reduce the salt to about 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt and only use 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup. I also switch out different nuts and dried fruit. Pecans are a favorite.

Pistachio nuts is a nice, unusual addition! However, I will cut down on the sweetness (generally use 1/4 cup maple syrup, no other sugar)

Way too salty! I made another batch without any salt and combined the two. Now it's delicious!

Use 1/4 c. Brown sugar instead of 1/2 c. And used kosher salt

It’s hard to believe that using 3 cups of oats, rather than 2-3/4, would make any difference to the outcome.

Made this following some advice plus requests from my 6 year old. Just oats and coconut. Less than 1/3 c maple syrup and only 1/4 sugar. Heaping tsp diamond crystal kosher salt. Absolutely delish. Seemed to only need 30 mins, perhaps because the pan was less full since I skipped pumpkin seeds etc.

I substituted pistachios with pecans!Didn't have cherries so added some dates, cinnamon too, and less sugar.

I've made this and love it, but with two changes: I substitute melted butter for the olive oil, and almonds instead of pistachios...and I cut the salt to 1/2 a teaspoon!

Best best best granola! Easy, delicious & vegan. And it’s fruit free which my husband prefers.

I made this a few times and found it to be (1) utterly delicious and (2) so sweet it burns your throat. This is for snacking and certainly not for cereal. I cut the sugar by a third on one try and found it to be more edible for breakfast. Still, there are better recipes (Mark Bittman) for ordinary morning granola.

I’ve made this as written many times and it is excellent. I have also left out the brown sugar completely, and it is still sweet enough with the maple syrup. Highly recommend.

My changes.I omit the sugar and add one tablespoon of honey. I use cashews instead of pistachios. I use one half teaspoon salt instead of kosher salt.No cherries.

When I first made this, it was waaay too salty. Incapable of throwing it out, I mixed in another batch minus the salt. Delicious and plenty to share. Win-win!

The best granola is actually Samin Nosrats in her book salt fat acid heat… use maldon seasalt also for the perfect seasoning, the other kosher capers are way too fine.

I put maple syrup, nuts, shredded, coconut, head salt in the oil when I heated. Then I pour this mixture onto the oats and cook them at 350° for 30 minutes. I had raisins and sometimes chopped dates afterwards but I like the idea of dried cherries.