The Very Best Granola
This delicious healthy granola recipe is the best! It's naturally sweetened with maple syrup (or honey). Just add oats, coconut oil, nuts and dried fruit.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Do you love granola? Me, too! Today, I’m sharing my “basic” granola recipe, which is also the best granola recipe. Granted, I’m partial, but it really is the best and I use that term sparingly. Over two hundred five-star reviews agree!
In fact, I love this recipe so much that I shared it in my cookbook, Love Real Food. This granola makes a wonderful snack or breakfast (add your milk of choice and maybe some fresh fruit). It also stores beautifully, so it makes a great homemade gift.
Once you try homemade granola, you won’t go back to store-bought granola. It’s so much better!
This granola recipe is also a far more healthy granola option, since it’s made with whole grains, unrefined oil and naturally sweetened. You just can’t beat freshly baked granola packed with delicious and good-for-you ingredients.
Plus, homemade granola is super easy to make. You’ll only need one bowl and some basic pantry ingredients. Ready to make some?
Watch How to Make Healthy Granola
Now that you have my base recipe, you can play around with the mix-ins and spices to make it your favorite granola.
By the way, you can preserve that freshly baked flavor by storing this granola in the freezer. Just let it warm to room temperature for a few minutes, and enjoy.
Healthy Granola Ingredients
Oats
Heart-healthy, hearty, whole-grain old-fashioned oats keep their shape during baking. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you need gluten-free granola.
Nuts and/or Seeds
I used pecans and pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) to make this batch. Other options include walnuts, which are rich in Omega-3s, whole or slivered almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds.
Unrefined Oil
Oil helps make this granola crisp and irresistible. I prefer unrefined coconut oil, which is delicious (you can barely taste the coconut, if at all) and produces the perfect texture.
You can use extra-virgin olive oil instead, if you’d like your granola to be a little more on the savory side. If you’re watching your saturated fat intake, olive oil is a better choice!
Natural Sweetener
I love using real maple syrup in my granola. Honey works great, too. As a bonus, these natural sweeteners infuse your granola extra-delicious flavor that sugar would not.
Salt and Spice
For flavorful granola, don’t skip the salt! Too little and your flavors won’t sing. I prefer using fine-grain sea salt in this one (I always cook with fine-grain sea salt), but regular salt will do, too (just use a little less).
I added cinnamon to this batch for some subtle warming spice. Ground ginger (use half as much) and pumpkin spice blends are other options.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit lends some extra sweetness, chewy texture and irresistible fruity flavor. I used dried cranberries for this batch. I also love tart dried cherries, raisins and chopped dried apricots.
Optional Mix-Ins
For fresh citrus flavor, stir fresh citrus zest (up to 2 teaspoons) into the mixture before baking. I love adding orange zest, in particular.
You can add chocolate chips after the granola has completely cooled (otherwise, they’ll melt).
If you’d like to add unsweetened coconut flakes, you can add it halfway through baking for perfectly toasted results (see recipe note).
Chunky Granola Tips
Some of you, like me, love big clumps in your granola. Here are my tips to achieving the best clumps:
- Your oats need to be a little crowded in the pan so they can stick together, but not so crowded that they don’t toast evenly. I recommend using a basic half sheet pan (affiliate link) for this granola recipe. It’s the perfect size and the rimmed edges make sure no granola falls overboard.
- Be sure to line the pan with parchment paper so the sweetener sticks to your oats rather than the pan.
- For maximum clumps, gently press down on the granola with the back of a spatula after stirring the mixture at the half-way baking point. Then put the pan back into the oven to finish baking.
- Don’t bake the granola too long—just until it’s lightly golden on top, as described. It might not seem like it’s done yet, but it will continue to crisp up as it cools. Over-baking the granola seems to break the sugar bonds.
- Lastly, let the granola cool completely before breaking it up. I’ve even left it on the pan overnight, covered.
Even with all those techniques in place, I occasionally end up with a batch of granola that isn’t as clumpy as my others, for reasons that I can’t explain. It’s always delicious, though!
Granola Variations
This recipe is my favorite, go-to granola recipe. Over the years, I’ve played around with it to create a bunch of fun variations. Here they are for inspiration:
- Orange and Almond Granola: This recipe includes orange zest (2 teaspoons), whole almonds and golden raisins.
- Triple Coconut Granola: This recipe calls for coconut oil, large coconut flakes and shredded coconut.
- Cranberry Orange Granola: This recipe is quite similar to this one, but a little sweeter and full of vibrant orange flavor.
- Honey Almond Granola: Just what it sounds like, plus chopped dried apricots! Delightful.
- Gingerbread Granola: This granola includes molasses and extra warming spices, plus coconut flakes, dried cranberries and chopped candied ginger.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you and hope this granola recipe becomes your new favorite.
Healthy Granola
This delicious healthy granola recipe is naturally sweetened with maple syrup (or honey). It’s made with oats, coconut oil and your favorite nuts and fruit. Make it your own! Recipe yields about 8 cups granola, enough for about 16 half-cup servings.
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
- 1 ½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup pecans and ½ cup pepitas)
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used dried cranberries)
- Totally optional additional mix-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
- Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
- Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
- Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.
- Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted Meg Gordan’s granola, which I’ve tweaked over the years.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it nut free: Use seeds, like pepitas or sunflower seeds, instead of nuts.
*If you want toasted coconut in your granola: Stir the coconut flakes into the granola halfway through baking. They’ll get nice and toasty that way.
Serving suggestions: This granola is awesome on its own, with milk or yogurt and fresh fruit, and you can even throw a couple handfuls into a salad for granola “croutons.”
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I Made this today. My oven doesn’t go hot enough to meet the guide on here but I still managed to burn it. It didn’t clump together like shop bought granola but that’ll be down to stirring it. I followed recipe exactly and my kids loved it. They had it for lunch as they wanted to try it. 2 had it with milk and 2 had it with low fat Greek yoghurt. In storing the rest away for the rest of the week. I had to take all pecans out as the all literally scolded unfortunately. Next time I’ll put those in last.
You may have done a F and C mixup as every oven will do 350 Fahrenheit. 350 C is 660F…
Agree with Jason’s comment – 350 Fahrenheit, or in my case, 170 Celsius. This is only half of the temp my oven can get to, so may be an error with working our conversions? Hope you try again cos it really is the best granola recipe ☺️
I love this recipe so, so much and have made too many batches to keep count:) Just wanted to drop you a note of appreciation and gratitude for putting this delicious recipe online:D Thanks a million!!! xo Jill
I love the flavor and the crispy chunks of granola, but for me personally, I will cut the oil and maple syrup in half.
Hi Katie! I love this recipe and make it all the time. However, it seems like I can’t bake it past 17 minutes or it starts to burn, yet it’s still more chewy than crunchy? Just wondering if you have any thoughts on why this might be. I always use coconut oil and alternate between honey and maple syrup
Hi Rachel, are you lining the pan with parchment paper? What size pan are you using? These can impact how quickly it cooks and how crispy it gets.
Mine burnt round the edges. I would use a lower oven temperature and use the bottom shelf. I think I would add the nuts halfway through as they always seem to burn
Hi Kate! I absolutely love this granola recipe and have made it countless times. I always use pure maple syrup as the sweetener. Lately I’ve been reading a lot about date syrup. It intrigues me and I’d love to try it in place of the maple syrup, but I hate to mess with a good thing! What are your thoughts? Any other readers out there tried this? Thanks!!
Hi Carrie, I haven’t tried it, but I am interested in how date syrup turns out. If you give it a try, please share the results.
Hi Kate! I absolutely love this granola recipe and have made it countless times. I always use pure maple syrup as the sweetener. Lately I’ve been reading a lot about date syrup. It intrigues me and I’d love to try it in place of the maple syrup, but I hate to mess with a good thing! What are your thoughts? Any other readers out there tried this? Thanks!!
Hi Carrie, I have not tried it yet but the idea intrigues me too. If you try it do share how it turns out, because I know lots of readers will be interested!
This is my breakfast every morning. It’s the best!
I love this recipe and always make it with maple syrup. Has anyone ever used date syrup? Would love some feedback before trying!
I made the delicious granola for Diwali as a healthy option. One batch I kept as clusters to add into yogurt or cereals the second I made into squares for snacking on. Oh, I did share with family.
This is a good recipe, best not to go past the cooking time as the crunch is severe .
I made two months worth . Froze most of it . Came out of the freezer quite nicely .
Christine B
I make this granola all the time- I love using walnuts, pepitas, and dried cranberries- my family loves it, friends love it, and I even gift it!
Just the best; thank you!!
I have made this recipe numerous times now and I still think it’s great. Just one thing to note. In the information with the title it says this yields 8 cups. Really it might be just over 4 cups. In future I plan to double it.
Absolutely gorgeous easy recipe.
I made this for my husband and he’s obsessed.
He does like it when I burn it a little.
Loved it! So good and easy to make!
I’m making your granola for the third time. I share it with my family and they love it. I like to add the coconut halfway through the baking. so far, I have just been topping off my yogurt with this delicious granola.
I make this all the time since discovering it over a year ago. It is so versatile and easy to mix up with different nuts and dried fruits. Cut up apricots are a new favourite dried fruit I tried! I also enjoy the smell of it cooking.
This is delicious! I used Coconut Oil. Put in pecans, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, and chia seeds. Used 1/2 honey and 1/2 Mapel syrup. Yum!
This is absolutely delicious and so easy! Will male again and again and for gifts around the holidays. I misread the instructions and added the cranberries and raisins with the nuts to bake all together but it turned out OK. A keeper for sure. Thank you!
Made the original recipe and it was fantastic! Unfortunately my husband pigged out on it and it only lasted 4 days. I just made another batched and made the variation with molasses – I think I love it more than the original! Now I just have to hide it well!
This is a great recipe, takes about 25 mins at 180 deg C, be careful as it burns easily and ensure your turn over the mix half way.
I used dried blueberries and added some dates and prunes, it is the best tasting granola, thank you!
I used this recipe and really appreciated the extra tips you gave! The granola turned out perfect, simply delicious and had chunks sticking together too which is how I like it! This will the recipe I use from now on. Thanks so much!!
No clumps just really loose granola, tried so many recipes
This is the best! I make a new batch every two weeks or so. I have it and yogurt every morning for breakfast, thank you!
I’ve been on a yogurt parfait kick lately- I made this to go with my yogurt and chia seed jam (also from your recipes!). I used sliced raw almonds and pepitas, coconut oil, and honey as the sweetener. I cooked it for the full 24 mins (stirring and pressing down half way, then just keeping an eye on hit for the last 3 mins to be safe). Turned out perfect! It is sooooooo good! I made sure to give it the full 45 mins to cool down in the pan and it really crisped up and broke apart into chunks nicely! People who have tried it keep asking me for the recipe! Such a winner and absolute keeper!
I’ve been using this recipe for years and years, almost 10 I think ! What I love about it is that it’s a great base for making it your own too. I’m currently adding chia seeds as well as powdered flax seeds to add more fiber.
Flax seeds as powder are much easier to digest.
So many of your recipes became instant classics in my household. Thank you :)
I wish you would do the recipe in grams/ ounces and not cups. Different countries do different cups.
Hi Mark, thanks for the suggestion.
I’ve made this many times, and it is my favorite gift to give for thank yous, holidays and special occasions. I bought some paper cookie bags from Amazon and everyone says it’s the most amazing granola! Usually I make the standard recipe, adding sour dried cherries, which I cut in half, but I also make orange zest cranberry pecan and it’s similarly fantastic. I bake for 12 minutes at 350, turn and stir the mix, then another 12 and it turns out perfect.
Hi Teak, it’s such a special treat to give as a gift! The dried cherries and the orange, cranberry, and pecan varieties all sound great.