Skip the store-bought granola and whip some up at home using ingredients already in your pantry! This healthy homemade granola recipe is quick to prep, super easy, and sweetened naturally!
True life, I’m a speed reader.
The skill was taught to me during an SAT prep course back in High School as a means to help us rock the upcoming exam. I don’t remember my exact score (I tend to block out traumatic life events) but I will never forget the sheer agony of the exam. The test came and went, the twitching subsided, and the skill that was speed reading stayed with me forever.
Or should I say haunted me forever? I have a voracious appetite for books as it is and it’s not lost on me that my mom deemed it my most expensive hobby. I could rarely walk away from a book once it’s binding had been cracked and, as a result, she had to buy me series of books in their entirety, for fear that I would finish one and promptly decide to take my crayons to the walls or something equally as destructive if left alone.
Come on!! It was one time!
I read ALL THE BOOKS. And when that wasn’t enough, I re-read them.
My bibliophile ways have slowed a bit since having the chickpea and I long to tear through books like I used to. Even with my penchant for speed reading, starting a book before bed is a guaranteed all-nighter for me. I tend to slow my reading as a book starts to pick up steam and reveal all it’s delicious plot twists and OMG IS THE SUN SERIOUSLY OUT WHAT ON EARTH TIME IS IT!?
Yeah. That.
So I try to limit myself to the occasional all-nighter while the majority of my reading revolves around Dr. Seuss tongue-twisters and entirely too many Sandra Boynton books of which I’ve committed to memory and recite slam poetry style when I’m bored.
Then there’s Paul who will read kiddie books William Shatner style and leave me writhing on the floor in giggles. My literary dynamic has changed quite a bit but books are still very much a joyous part of my life.
Hi I’m Jenn and I like to ramble! Shall we make some granola today?
Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe
This granola is the most basic of bases, perfect for all your favorite mix-ins. I’m really feeling the simplicity vibes lately. No fuss, no muss, no mile-long grocery list of ingredients. Just good simple granola with a kiss of natural sweetness.
Whip up this tasty granola in advance for all your snacking/toppings needs! It can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks, making it a perfect prep-ahead snack.
Healthy Homemade Granola Recipe
Naturally sweet and gluten-free to boot, this classic granola is sure to be your new breakfast staple!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 TBSP melted coconut oil
- 2 TBSP honey
- 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 cup sliced almonds
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F and move the center rack up a level so it's on the second level/rack from the top.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, honey and salt.
- Add your oats and sliced almonds and fold the mixture together.
- Use a silicone spatula to help pour the granola onto your parchment-paper lined baking pan. If you want large chunks of granola (the best!) flatten the mixture into an even layer with your spatula, adding pressure so the granola is nice and compact.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pan (180 degrees) for even toasting, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden and crispy. I like mine a little more on the golden/crunchy side- YUM! Ovens vary from home to home so just keep an eye on it and yank once it's your degree of golden perfection! NOTE: I don't stir at the halfway mark so I can break it to chunky clusters when it cools - love it like this!
- Once you remove your granola from the oven, allow it to cool on the baking sheet until completely cooled. This will give it some time to get that signature crunch we all know and love! (It won't crisp up until it cools)
Recipe Notes
For this recipe I used an 11x17 rimmed baking pan/sheet and spread the granola over 2/3 of the pan. If using a 13x18 baking sheet, spread granola mixture so it covers only half the pan, then flatten with a spatula.
Granola isn't the quickest recipe due to it's 35-40 minute bake time BUT it's super easy to toss together and very hands off for the most part, making it seem a lot quicker by default. I almost always make mine in advance for the week, feel free to follow suit!
Once you have a big, golden, delicious batch of granola made you can keep it in an airtight container in your pantry for 2 weeks, making these delicious breakfast bowls SUPER speedy and utterly easy to make!
For a burst of tropical goodness and some heart-healthy fiber add some flaked or shredded coconut to the mix after baking.
To ensure this granola is gloriously gluten-free, simply check the label on your oats to ensure they're GF certified.
Nutrition Facts are estimated using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!
Granola bowls FTW!
Top a jumbo scoop or two of your favorite Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and top with as much granola as your heart desires!
ga-ga for granola?
In addition to this healthy homemade granola recipe, here are some of our favorites!
Danielle Kennedy
I make this every weekend. I have been giving a small jar to my in-laws and they have been loving it so much I may have to start making two batches a weekend! Thank you for the easy and oh-so-good recipe! I have tried to add cinnamon to it… it doesn’t seem to crisp up as well with the cinnamon. Any recommendations or thoughts? I put it over my goat whole yogurt with almond butter and a dash more honey! THANK YOU!
—
Danielle
Jenn
Aw I’m smiling so big right now! I’m so glad you and your fam are enjoying the granola, Danielle! Thank you!
For the cinnamon, have you tried adding it after it comes out from the oven while it’s still warm and crisping on the tray? Or maybe the granola can be tossed in it or lightly dusted after reaching desired crispiness?
Laura
Love this granola! Its perfect amount of sweetness and crunch plus easy to make. No more paying more for gluten free option granola in the store. Extra bonus is your house smells amazing while the granola is in the oven! Thanks for sharing this recipe 💙
Leslie Napoleone
Best granola and so simple to make!
Thank you for the recipe!
Leslie Napoleone
My favorite homemade granola recipe! It is the perfect about of crunch and sweetness!
Jenn
Oh yay!! I’m so glad you’ve been loving the recipe. Thanks Leslie!
Debbie Timen
I love this recipe. I cut down on maple syrup and used more honey. First time used quick oats and it came out nice and crunchy. Second time used whole oats, not crunchy, more sticky. Any suggestions?
Jenn
Hi Debbie! I haven’t experimented with quick oats (which I believe are just coarsely ground oats right?) but I’m glad they worked!
For the whole oats, they should for sure should be crispy. Did you check the expiration date on the canister? Make any other changes the second time around? More honey will for sure lead to a stickier granola and may take longer to cool/crisp or even require a bake time/temp adjustment. The ratio in the recipe pretty exact for liquid to oats so more adjustment to get closer to that might be needed when making tweaks. I’ll be here to help figure it out! xo
jane
Question: I see it makes 8 servings. Can you tell me about how much a serving is – half cup?
Jenn
Hi Jane! Typical serving size for granola is 1/2 a cup but for some reason my calculator has it as seven 1/2 cup servings instead of 8 which would make each serving slightly under 1/2 cup but not quite 1/3 cup each. I can recalculate if if you need me to! xo
CToth
A++ This granola is excellent, not too sweet, just right! I added a tsp of both chia seeds and cinnamon. Used half pecans/half almonds. Added the coconut at the half way point of baking. Excellent. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe.
Much Gratitude
Jackie Rackley
Wonderful granola recipe! Whole family loves it!!
Jackie Rackley
Had this at my daughter’s home and my husband LOVED it! I just made some and it is soooo easy and delicious! Thanks for a recipe that makes our good yogurt even BETTER!
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets
Fox in socks leaves my tongue in Knox (er…knots). Sandra Boyton and I could be besties now. Last you’ve inspired me to make some granola. It’s Brenner far tooooo long.
Jenn
Yeah girl! Get your granola on!
Karen Becker
I just made this tonight, added a half cup of flaked coconut after it cooled down and it was delicious. I will definitely be making this granola again ?
Melanie
Yummy!!! Loved this with Greek yogurt or alone! Easy snack!!
Christine
LOVE this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! Just curious if the coconut oil measurement is before it’s melted or after. Thanks!
Jenn
Thank you Christine – so glad you’re loving it! I measure it before melting but here in FL mine is never very rock solid – it’s always kind of in this in between state of melted and solid, lol!
Jane
This granola is so easy to make, and so delicious! It’s perfect on top of my plain yogurt in the morning. I love that you can simply adjust the maple syrup if you need to reduce sugar content.
Barb
I have made this 3 times love it. I add sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Wonder how many calories in the basic recipe. Thanks
Jenn
Hey Barb! Love the addition of sunflower and pumpkin seeds – so yummy! 🙂 If you divide the base recipe into 8 servings there are approx. 261 calories per serving or less if you stretch it to 10 or more portions.
Dava
Do you have nutritional information, i.e. sugar and carb totals for 1/2 cup serving. My husband needs both to be pretty low because he mixes it with honey bunches of oats too. Thank you.
Jenn
Hi Dava! My recipe widget doesn’t have a nutrition calculator but if you plug the recipe in to myfitnesspal.com or your favorite service it will give you a pretty good breakdown of calories/sugar/carbs! 🙂
Bobbie
Do you happen to have the calories for this recipe?
Jenn
Hey Bobbie! I don’t have it calculated out, but if you want to plug it into myfitnessplanner.com you’ll get a pretty good calculation with all the nutrition facts and calories! I was trying to do it myself for you just now but my 3 year old is legit up my booty at the moment asking to be held and read to so I have to run (eek!) Let me know if you get a chance to calculate it! xoxo
Donna
I love a cinnamon/almond taste! Have you ever tried adding cinnamon to it?
Jenn
You know what, I bet this granola would be AMAZING with a kiss of cinnamon Donna! Let me know if you try it — I think I’ll try it with cinnamon too!
Danielle
I have been making it with cinnamon and OO-LA-LA! We are loving it!
Elizabeth
I loved this recipe and how simple it was was mind blowing!!! Turned out perfect and my kids, husband and I love it! Definitely a remake in my book. Thank you:)
Jenn
So super happy to hear it! 🙂
Rhonda Harvell
I am going to make a batch at 300 degrees (my oven runs hot too), but I was wondering what is a serving size? 1/4 cup? 1/2 cup? Thanks for any info you can give!
Jenn
Hi Rhonda! Typical serving size for granola is a 1/2 cup portion 🙂 Hope you love the granola as much as we do! xoxo
Lucy Dwyer
I made this and baked for 40 min exactly at 300 degrees and it came out incredibly burnt — inedible!
What happened?
Jenn
Oh no!!! So so sorry to hear it Lucy! My oven runs hot to begin with, I wonder if yours is even more intense than mine? (or could it be an altitude thing? I’ve always lived at sea level) I’ve made the granola a dozen times, as have friends of mine, and it always comes out perfectly golden so I’m a bit stumped. Do foods tend to cook a lot quicker in your oven when you’re making recipes? Did you rotate the sheet halfway through? (just wondering for troubleshooting) – let me know as I’d love to help! Thanks for reaching out! xoxo
Haley
Same here. Not burnt exactly but quite dark.
Jenn
Hey Haley! I’m so sorry to hear that! Lucy hasn’t answered so can I pick your brain? I’ve made this recipe several times and it always works so I’m trying to troubleshoot. I have a batch in the oven right now and another ready to go behind it to test just in case so I can evaluate them both. Did you make any changes or swaps when you made the recipe? Any different ingredients or maybe a change in bake temp (350 vs 300) or skip rotating the granola? I’d love to know, thank you!
Jenn
Hookay so my stressed out self just ran into the kitchen to make two more batches and I really prefer it baked at 300 degrees F to the 35-40 minute mark (rotating after 20 min) so it’s crispy and golden, but far from burnt. My toddler and husband love this version best too. I tried baking it for 15 minutes, rotating, then an additional 10 minutes and it was softer and chewy – almost like a granola bar. This was delicious too but not quite the crisp-ity nutty granola I was looking for. I know all ovens are different in temperament (some run hotter than others, some uneven, some cooler) so I’m adding a note to the recipe about it for sure. Chat soon! xo
Emily
This looks great! Do you have a recommendation for how much coconut I should add? I love it!
Jenn
Hey Emily! Thanks! I would say add a cup of coconut if you’re coconut crazy! 🙂 Unsweetened flake coconut works best for tossing it in with the granola itself and you can even use shredded coconut bits too. Add the coconut in at the halfway mark when you go to turn your baking dish-o-granola (sometimes when you add it right off the bat with the oats it gets overly toasted, at least I find it too toasty to cook for the full time) and mix it all in or you can even lightly toast it stove-top in a skillet with a spritz of coconut oil and then mix it in with the granola after it has cooked and cooled. Both work great though I usually do the latter so I don’t have to re-mix my granola when it’s hot. Hopefully this ramble makes sense b/c holy cow am I sleepy! Peace, love, and coconut! <3
Christina @ montessoriishmom.com
The first time I made granola, I was so surprised at how simple it was – why oh why is store bought granola so expensive when the main ingredient is oats? I never buy granola now, and love experimenting with different add-ins. This looks like a great recipe!
Jenn
Thanks Christina, I’m totally with you! I couldn’t get over how something so ridiculously simple and easy costs so much at the store. In college I LIVED off of bagged granola as a snack but now nothing beats fresh 🙂
kim
I love granola and will have to try this. Thanks!
Jenn
Thanks Kim! Hope you adore it!
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