Eleven Madison Park Granola Recipe (2025)

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

The BEST granola recipe is Lesley Stowe ( of raincoats crisp fame) .It has no sugar , but a small amount of maple syrup. It has large coconut flakes & ginger. Amazing. Try it.

Excellent granola does not require this much sugar. Try a different recipe.

Wasn't a fan of granola until I decided to try this recipe. Fantastic. Way too salty on the first try (yes, I used Diamond Kosher) so I made a second batch using only one teaspoon of salt and combined the two batches. Perfect. Almonds work well, I did half and half with pistachios. From now on I plan to always have this granola on hand. It goes great with plain kefir.

DELICIOUS. Needs less salt.

This is now my go-to granola recipe, and everyone I've given it to loves it. It's so easy, and is delicious.

Just made this. Wish I’d read some of these comments beforehand. Even though I used Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, a tablespoon of it was way too much. Nearly inedible. I’ll make more of it without salt and less sweetener.

Halve the amount of brown sugar. Reduce salt if using salted nuts

This is my favorite granola recipe! I make it frequently and give it away in mason jars as gifts. I use just under a third of the salt called for in the recipe (Diamond Kosher salt) and find that to be the perfect amount.

Little to no salt - way too much

This granola is delicious! I cut back on the sugar, and will cut back more next time. I used slivered almonds instead of pistachios, because that’s what I had on hand. I cut back on the salt just a little after reading the comments. We ate it all up, on fruit, on yogurt, and on its own.

It’s very good. I used 1 T Kosher salt — I will reduce next time.

This is the best granola we've ever eaten. We've been making repeat batches exactly as written when our nut-allergic kid is off at college. When she's home, we make a version without pistachios, but add chia seeds, more dried fruit, and any other healthy grains on hand. The base flavor is flexible and delicious.

This was delicious, I took all your suggestions and reduced the salt to 1 tsp. QUESTION - why did the granola not clump? I have a baking sheet full of loose flakes of everything, I did not see anyone else mention this. I measured All ingredients precisely. Some recipes say honey would be the solution, but I don't want to mess with this recipe.

For the crispest granola, don't add any dried fruit until you eat it. Not only will the granola stay crisp, but the fruit will not get hard.

Great recipe with lots of flexibility regarding the amount of sweetener.I bake a little below 300. Keep an eye on it your first time through. It can quickly go from toasted just right to slightly burned.