Carla Lalli Music’s No-Stir Maple Granola: A Pantry Staple with a Timing Issue
We tested Carla Lalli Music’s No-Stir Maple Granola (p.156 in her James Beard Award-winning cookbook Where Cooking Begins), and while the recipe itself had major potential, let’s just say… timing is everything.
Granola is one of those deceptively simple recipes—just mix, bake, and enjoy, right? Well, not if you follow the baking time in this book to the letter. We learned this the hard way.
What We Loved About This Recipe
✔ Pantry-Friendly Goodness: This is a classic “use what you already have” kind of recipe. Oats, nuts, seeds, maple syrup? Check, check, check. No unnecessary fuss.
✔ Respect for the Recipe’s Roots: Carla gives credit where it’s due, noting that this recipe was inspired by Nekisha Davis—which we love. Acknowledging the OG creator of a recipe matters, even when adding your own twist.
✔ Perfectly Balanced Flavor: This granola isn’t overly sweet, and the olive oil + maple syrup combo gives it a rich, nutty depth that feels slightly elevated from your average store-bought granola. The hint of cardamom? Chef’s kiss.
✔ The Final Product (With a Time Adjustment!): When baked properly (spoiler alert: not for the full 35 minutes), this granola has the perfect crunch—not too sweet, just lightly caramelized from the maple syrup.
The Baking Time Dilemma (AKA: The Burnt Batch Incident)
The cookbook instructs you to bake the granola for 35 minutes, but we quickly found out that was way too long. At that point, the granola had gone past golden brown into “why does my kitchen smell like regret?” territory.
Our advice? Set your timer for 25 minutes and watch it like a hawk. Granola can go from perfectly toasty to expensive charcoal real quick, and since nuts and seeds cost a small fortune, this is not the kind of recipe you want to mess around with.
RIP to the ingredients we lost along the way.
Texture & Flavor: What Makes This Granola Different?
Unlike clumpy, sugar-heavy granolas, this one has a looser, crispier texture, making it perfect for:
🥣 Sprinkling over yogurt or smoothie bowls
🥛 Pouring into a bowl with cold milk
🍎 Tossing onto fruit and nut butter for an easy snack
✋ Eating straight from the baking sheet (because we all do it)
The mix of cardamom, olive oil, and maple syrup adds a more grown-up, slightly savory twist compared to traditional sweet, cinnamon-heavy granolas.
Final Verdict: Worth Making with One Key Tweak
If you bake it at 25 minutes instead of 35, this recipe is solid. The granola has a beautiful crunch, a light maple sweetness, and toasty goodness that makes it an excellent topping for yogurt, smoothie bowls, or just eating by the handful.
✰✰ stars for the cookbook’s misleading baking time.
✰✰✰✰✰ stars if you adjust the timing.
Would we make it again? Yes—just with a timer in hand.
Have you ever overbaked granola? What’s your go-to mix-in for homemade granola? Let us know!
Carla Lalli Music’s No-stir Maple Granola
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats, not quick-cooking
- 2 cups seeds , and/or raw nuts
- 1 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1½ cups mixed dried fruit
Instructions
- Position a rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350 ° F.
- In a large bowl, toss together oats, seeds, and coconut flakes to combine.
- Add oil and maple syrup and use a spatula to fold mixture together until everything is evenly coated. Add salt and cardamom and stir through.
- Scrape granola mixture onto a large rimmed baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer, wall to wall. Bake, rotating sheet back to front halfway through, until nuts and oats visible on top are very dark golden and mixture is fragrant and toasty, about 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut dried fruit into smallish pieces – you could use a pair of kitchen shears.
- As soon as granola comes out of oven, add fruit to baking sheet and toss to disperse evenly; the fruit will soften and pick up seasoning. Let granola cool completely on sheet, then transfer to airtight container and store at room temperature. It will keep well for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
Shout-out to granola kingpin and recreational weather commentator Nekisha Davis, who did the world a favour by inventing Early Bird Granola. — This is Carla’s interpretation of this recipe pg. 156 in Where Cooking Begins cookbookIMPORTANT NOTE: After 20mins in the oven, check the granola because it can burn quickly at this point. Spin It (substitutions)
- Kamut flakes for oats
- Any combination of seeds such as sunflower, pepitas, sesame seeds, and/or hemp seeds
- ¼ cup cacao nibs to replace equivalent amount of seeds
- Nuts such as pistachio, pecan, walnut, almond, and cashew
- Additional coconut flakes can be used to replace some nuts or seeds
- Cinnamon or nutmeg for the cardamom
- Dried fruit such as dates, apricots, sour cherries, gooseberries, and/or golden raisins
Did you make this recipe?
Please let us know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @moody.eater on Instagram and hashtag it #moodyeater #moodyeatersclub .
