Make-Ahead Yogurt Parfait Jars with Honey-Almond Granola

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A café-style breakfast parfait built for the whole week: thick vanilla-honey yogurt layered with lightly macerated berries in jars, and a batch of toasted honey-almond granola stored separately so it stays audibly crunchy right through Friday. Twenty minutes of work on Sunday buys you four mornings of a breakfast that tastes like a $9 pastry-case parfait.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds or chopped pistachios
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg white (optional, for bigger clusters)

• 3 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons honey, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

• 2 cups mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, quartered strawberries)
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 4 teaspoons honey, for drizzling
• fresh mint leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 325°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Low and slow is what makes granola stay crisp for a week — hotter ovens brown the honey before the oats dry out.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the honey, oil, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth. If you want big clusters, whisk in the egg white until frothy and combined.
3. Add the oats, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds. Fold with a flexible spatula for a full minute, scraping the bowl, until every oat looks glossy and there are no dry pockets left.
4. Scrape onto the baking sheet and press into an even 1/2-inch-thick slab with the back of the spatula. Do not spread it thin and do not stir it while it bakes if you want clusters.
5. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan once at the 12-minute mark, until the edges are deep golden and the center smells toasted. It will still feel slightly soft — it crisps as it cools.
6. Cool the granola completely on the pan, at least 40 minutes, then break into clusters. Store in an airtight jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Never refrigerate it; the fridge is damp and will soften it overnight.
7. Make the yogurt base: whisk the Greek yogurt, 3 tablespoons honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth and pourable-thick. Taste and add honey by the teaspoon if your yogurt is very tart.
8. Make the fruit layer: toss the berries with 1 tablespoon honey, the lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Let sit 10 minutes, then crush about a third of the berries against the side of the bowl with a fork to release a little syrup while leaving the rest whole.
9. Build four 12-ounce wide-mouth jars: 1/3 cup yogurt, then 1/4 cup berries with a spoonful of their syrup, then another 1/3 cup yogurt, then the remaining berries on top. Leave at least 1 inch of headroom for granola later.
10. Seal the jars and refrigerate up to 4 days. Portion 1/2 cup granola per person into small zip bags or a second set of small jars — keep them out of the fridge, next to the coffee, so you actually remember them.
11. To serve, top a chilled jar with its portion of granola, drizzle with a teaspoon of honey, add a mint leaf if you like, and eat within 10 minutes for maximum crunch.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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