Simple Granola Recipe
Published 2/19/2024
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This homemade granola recipe is such an easy, healthy breakfast to have on hand. It comes together with rolled oats, almonds, dried cranberries, and a little maple syrup.
Top your favorite breakfast smoothies, smoothie bowls, or chia seed pudding with this healthy granola.
We’re so excited to be sharing this easy homemade granola recipe with you today. The three of us had been making a variation of this recipe for years. We thought, why not get this up on FFF?! It’s perfectly sweetened with maple syrup, crunchy, and so easy to make!
Granola is an essential item for those of us who are crunch people. We love topping smoothies, oatmeal recipes, yogurt parfaits, and chia seed pudding with a big scoop of granola for a bit of crunchy granola.
While store-bought granola is nice, there is something special about homemade granola. It’s made with just a few ingredients and in less than an hour to make it a simple, nutritious homemade recipe.
What You Need for this Granola Recipe
This healthy granola recipe is how we like our granola- basic. It is also a simple guide for you to make homemade granola just the way you like it. Here’s what you need for our recipe:
- dried cranberries (dried fruit)
- almonds and pepitas (nuts and seeds)
- maple syrup (all-natural sweetener)
- coconut oil
- ground cinnamon (spices + extracts)
What we love about this granola recipe is that you can use it as a base and deviate from it by swapping out other ingredients.
Variations + Substitutions
Old-fashioned oats are the most common grain used for granola. They toast wonderfully and have a delicious nutty flavor. If you’re not an oats person, you can use quinoa flakes, cooked quinoa, or coconut flakes.
We used dried cranberries in this healthy granola recipe. Dried fruit should be added after baking (or with a few minutes left) so that it doesn’t burn or harden. Feel free to use cherries, dates, or apricots in place of the cranberries.
Add a little protein and fiber to any granola recipe by adding nuts and seeds. We went with almonds and pepitas but any combination of nuts and seeds would work.
As you guys know we are all about natural sweeteners (think honey or maple syrup) because the flavor is better and it’s better for you. We used maple in this recipe to keep it vegan, but you could also use honey or agave syrup.
Storage Suggestions
Let your granola recipe cool completely on the baking sheet. Transfer it into an airtight container such as a glass container, jars, or a gallon-size bag. Remove as much air as possible and store it in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks.
Meal Prep
Containers
We love meal prep containers that are all the same size for easy stacking!
Homemade Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats, gluten-free if desired
- 1/2 cup whole, raw almonds
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, craisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a piece of parchment paper.
- Next, add rolled oats, almonds, and pepitas to the baking sheet and toss. Then, season with cinnamon and drizzle with maple syrup and melted coconut oil.
- Toss everything together making sure all ingredients are combined and evenly coated with maple syrup and coconut oil. Spread the granola out on the baking sheet so that it’s an even thickness.
- Bake your granola recipe at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on your granola because it can burn easily. Bake until golden brown.
- Remove granola from the oven and then add dried cranberries and toss. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before eating or storing.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks.
Tips & Notes
- The serving is about 1/4 cup.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Made this today and its sooo tasty! best thing is that it’s healthy at the same time and totally a guilt free snack ♡
i slightly tweaked it and add honey instead of maple syrup and some olive oil. so tasty
Made some pumpkin pie spice granola with raisins and dried apricots.I used the base recipe for this.
I loved it in my cooked steel cut oats,pancakes,scrambled eggs with sausage or bacon.Loved it.
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!
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.
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
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!
can i replace the maple syrup?
You can try it with honey!
What is the nutritional information on this? Thank you.
The nutrition information has been added to the recipe card! Thank you for catching that!
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! :)!