Make a batch of this healthy granola for quick access to a healthy crunch all week long! Store this healthy granola in an airtight container for a healthy breakfast option with a big crunch. Top your favorite breakfast smoothies, yogurt parfaits, or chia seed pudding with this healthy granola. 
Why We Love Healthy Granola
Gotta get that boom boom CRUNCH. Granola is essential for people out there who are crunch people! I love smoothies, oatmeal recipes, and chia seed pudding, but I will always add a big ole’ scoop of granola on to anything that needs it. I love granola recipes that are simple and made up of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, a little sweetness.
I remember growing up and my aunts would make the best homemade granola. It had perfect granola chunks and was so incredibly crispy. Their secret was lots of BUTTER. This healthy granola recipe is a healthier version of that light and crispy granola!
Not into making your own granola? It’s ok, we love trying new packaged granola, too! We do have our favorites, so when you’re not feeling like whipping up a batch of your own granola, try one of these tasty nolas!
You just can’t go wrong! If you do have the time to make your own granola, we made a list of everything to have in your pantry for those days you want to throw a pan of granola in the oven!
How to Make Granola- Here’s What You’ll Need
This basic healthy granola recipe is how we like our granola- crispy and simple. It is also a simple guide for you to make homemade granola just the way you like it. If you don’t almonds, use walnuts. Not a fan of crasins, use raisins! Make whatever substitutions you want! We’ve broken down all the layers of granola below and some possible substitutions!
The Oats
We use oats in our granola! It is a great base that gives the granola a little gerth and soaks up the flavors just right. If you are looking for an alternative to oats try a combination of some of the grains below!
- Quinoa flakes
- Cooked quinoa
- Coconut Flakes
Dried Fruit
We used dried cranberries in this granola. Feel free to use your favorite dried fruit you’d prefer. We tend to add dried fruit to granola with 10 minutes left in bake time or right at the end. Sometimes raisins or dried cranberries will turn to little hard rock pellets if they are baked for the whole bake time. Here are some other tasty dried fruit options.
- Dried Apricots
- Dried Cherries
- Dried Dates
- Dried Banans
- Banana Chips
- Dried Mangos
- Dried Apples
Nuts + Seeds
Add a little protein and fiber to any granola by adding nuts and seeds! Chop them up or leave them whole, you do you! Guess what, you can use a mixture of nuts and seeds as well. They offer a great texture when you use them both!
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Pistachios
- Pecans
- Sesame Seeds
- Sunflower Seeds
- Macadamia Nuts
Natural Sweeteners
Forget that white sugar and use a natural sweetener! We love mixing things up between sweeteners and you can, too. Get creative and remember that a little sweetness goes a long way.
- Maple Syrup
- Honey
- Agave Syrup
- Monk Fruit syrup
Oil Options
Oil is important in healthy granola recipes because it helps bind the granola together as well as crisp it up! There are so many options when it comes to oil so feel free to substitute your favorite oil in this recipe, too!
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Grapeseed Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Macadamia nut oil
- Walnut Oil
Spices
Flavor up your granola by adding your favorite dried spice. We kept it simple and just added cinnamon to this granola, but you could spice things up by using a couple of teaspoons of our DIY Chai Spices, too.
- Ginger
- Allspice
- Nutmeg
- Cardamom
- Sea salt
- Cocoa Powder
Other Granola Recipes
Are you looking for more healthy granola recipes? Check out some of our favorite granola recipes on FFF!
- Chocolate Coconut Chickpea Granola
- Peanut Butter Cup Granola
- Blueberry Orange Granola
- Apple Pistachio Granola
Breakfast Smoothie Recipes
Though we love adding our healthy granola recipes to many things, smoothies are by far our favorite thing to top with granola! Here are some of our favorite breakfast smoothie recipes. Smoothie + Granola = LOVE.
- The Best Breafkast Smoothie
- Peanut Butter Banana Cold Brew Protein Smoothie
- Green Smoothie
- Minty Avocado Banana Smoothie
Healthy Granola Recipe
Make a batch of this healthy granola for quick access to a healthy crunch all week long! Store this healthy granola in an airtight container for a healthy breakfast option with a big crunch. Top your favorite breakfast smoothies, yogurt parfaits, or chia seed pudding with this healthy granola.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup whole, raw almonds
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a baking sheet with coconut oil or lay a piece of parchment paper down over the baking sheet.
- Evenly spread rolled oats, almonds, pepitas, and cinnamon over the baking sheet and drizzle with maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix well and make sure all ingredients are combined and covered with maple syrup and coconut oil.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown to your likeness.
- Remove from oven, add cranberries, stir and let cool.
- Store in an airtight container and keep for up to three weeks.
Tips & Notes
*Serving is about 1/4 cup
Wondered why you can store only 3 weeks. I usually keep my homemade granola for months in airtight container without problems, but never used coconut oil.
It’s just a personal preference! We just like really crunchy granola and find it can get a bit soggy if kept longer. However, our granola doesn’t usually last that long before it’s eaten anyway. lol If your granola tastes great after months, that’s great! :)!
What is the nutritional information on this? Thank you.
The nutrition information has been added to the recipe card! Thank you for catching that!
can i replace the maple syrup?
You can try it with honey!
It is so easy for me to consume a copious amount of granola in one sitting. It’s BAD, haha! That’s why I have to be super careful when I purchase some granola since I can graze on it all day! I need to try making my granola sugar free so it’s at least less carbohydrates. I used to make oil free and sugar free granola for breakfast and it was the best treat! I HAVE to get back into that because it was so satisfying and easy to customize the flavors!
Hi,
Thanks for this recipe! It’s great.
Also had a query on the nutritional info given here. Reference quantity is given as 1/8 of what I am assuming to be total yield. That should be 1/2 cup by my calculation, but serving size noted here is 1/4th. Can you please just clarify the nutritional reference point?
Thanks a ton !
D
★★★★★
I made a batch of this to use as a quick breakfast for my busy mornings and it’s delicious! The only thing is that I wasn’t paying close attention to the timer and after 35 minutes the granola on the outside edges of the pan was burned. So next time I’ll definitely try cooking it in shorter (5 minute) increments rather than 10 or 15.
★★★★★
Made the home made granola this morning and it is delicious.I put in dried cranberries infused with blueberry juice,walnuts and sunflower kernals.
Love the dried cranberry addition!