Home > Recipes > > Easy Homemade Granola Recipe
by Michelle
June 24, 2020
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4.46 (11 ratings)Your quest for the best homemade granola can stop right here because I promise this is it! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, this bakes up into crunchy, chunky granola that you can break apart into big or little pieces. I stir in dried fruit at the end (dried cranberries and apricots are my favorites!) but the possibilities with this stellar base granola recipe are absolutely endless. A perfect breakfast on its own or stirred into yogurt or milk.
Homemade granola is something I tried time and again and was wholly unsatisfied with until I landed on this recipe. It had everything I’d ever hoped for and more – perfectly flavored without being cloyingly sweet, endless possibilities for flavors and mix-ins, and, best of all, it was the clumpiest, chunkiest granola I had ever made.
It is, without a doubt, granola perfection.
This basic granola recipe can be customized to your heart’s content based on what you have available or the flavors you’re craving at the moment.
How to Make Granola
This is incredibly easy to make – all you need are a handful of pantry ingredients and a single bowl to mix it all in and you’ll be on your way!
- Combine the wet ingredients – Whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, then whisk in the oil.
- Add the oats and nuts – Stir in the oats and chopped almonds and mix until they are thoroughly combined and coated.
- Press onto the baking sheet – Turn the oat mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and press down with a spatula so it forms an even, compact layer.
- Bake – Until the granola is light golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cool completely, then stir in the dried fruit and serve.
Customize Your Flavors and Mix-Ins
- Nuts and/or Seeds: I love almonds with this combination of flavors, but so many other nuts or seeds could work, too. Try using pepitas, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, pistachios, or peanuts. You can also add flax seeds and chia seeds.
- Oil/Fat: Fat is essential in this recipe to keep the oats from becoming dry and brittle. You can substitute coconut oil for the vegetable oil if you prefer, though some note that the granola doesn’t clump quite as well, but it will still work! Butter will work as well; browned butter will give it a little something extra if you want to go the extra mile.
- Sweeteners: I LOVE the maple in this recipe and beg you to keep it. You can swap in honey for the brown sugar if you want to go the unrefined sugar route. This granola is not exceptionally sweet, but if you prefer a less sweet version or one with less sugar in general, you can reduce the amounts by as much as half.
- Nut Butters: You can swap out half of the oil and add in 1 cup of peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or sunbutter.
- Spices: Cinnamon (about ½ teaspoon) would work really well in this recipe if you want to add a hint of warm spice. You can also use pumpkin pie spice or ground ginger (use ½ as much).
- Extracts: I find vanilla absolutely perfect to balance the flavors, but you could substitute any other extract you’d like for flavor variations. If it’s something particularly strong like almond extract, I would recommend only using half as much.
- Dried Fruit: Dried cranberries and chopped dried apricots are my favorites, but the possibilities are literally endless… cherries, apples, blueberries, pineapple, mango, raisins, or currants would all be wonderful additions, as would banana chips!
- More Mix-Ins: Shredded coconut, unsweetened coconut flakes (sprinkle on top halfway through baking), chocolate chips (milk, semisweet, dark, or white – stir in after baking once cool).
Tips for Achieving Clumpy Granola
I don’t know about you, but the chunkier the granola the better, in my book. I don’t want loose, dry oats; I want big chunks of granola, thank you very much. One of the wonderful things about this recipe is that you can control the size of the chunks you get. Here are a few key tips to ensure you get the wonderfully clumpy granola of your dreams:
- Do not skimp on the fat – The oil in the recipe plays a vital role in coating the oats and allowing them to adhere to one another, as well as the other ingredients. Without it, the oats will become dry and not stick together.
- Use parchment paper – Lining your pan with parchment paper ensures that the oil and sweeteners stick to the ingredients and not the pan.
- Press down HARD – use a super-stiff metal spatula and press the oat mixture into the baking pan to ensure it’s completely compact. You could even cover the oat mixture with parchment and use another baking sheet to press on top, or cover a potato masher with a baggie and use that to press down. You want it as tightly compacted as you can get it before it goes into the oven.
- Do not stir – You’ll rotate the baking pan halfway through the baking time, but you should NOT stir the granola or disturb it in any way while it’s baking.
- Don’t overbake it – The top should only be lightly browned (not golden) and it should still look a little underdone when removed from the oven. It will finish cooking as it cools.
- Cool completely – While the granola is cooling, it’s binding together. Wait until it’s completely cool before breaking it apart.
Ways to use the granola
Whether you grab a handful as you’re walking through the kitchen or stash a baggie of it in your car for emergencies, there really isn’t a wrong way to enjoy granola, but here are some of my favorites:
- Serve with yogurt (add more fresh fruit if you’d like!)
- Layer it with yogurt in a jar for a homemade yogurt parfait
- Add milk to eat it like cereal or let it soak in the milk for about 10 minutes for muesli
- Sprinkle it on top of ice cream
Storing granola
The granola can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
You can also freeze the granola in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before eating to allow the dried fruit to thaw.
More Delicious Granola and Granola Bar Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Granola
- No-Bake 5-Ingredient Granola Bars
- Chewy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Crunchy Good-For-You Granola Bars
If you make this recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Easy Homemade Granola Recipe
Yield: 18 servings (9 cups)
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 45 minutes mins
Total Time: 55 minutes mins
This easy homemade granola is the best! Sweetened with maple syrup (or honey), mixed with almonds and dried fruit, it's chunky and perfect for breakfast.
4.46 (11 ratings)
Print Pin Rate
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (0.02 ml) pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup (73.33 g) light brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (109 ml) vegetable oil
- 5 cups (405 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups (286 g) whole raw almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (121.21 g) dried cranberries
- 1 cup (130 g) chopped dried apricots
Instructions
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk in the vegetable oil to combine. Add the oats and almonds and fold the mixture together with a rubber spatula until all of the oats and almonds are thoroughly coated.
Turn the oat mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a thin, even layer. Using a stiff metal spatula, compress the oat mixture until very compact.
Bake until the top is lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Remove the granola from the oven and let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break the cooled granola into pieces as large or as small as you like. Stir in the dried cranberries and dried apricots. The granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick-cooking oats are not recommended; they have too fine a texture for this recipe.
- Almonds: I like the texture of chopped whole almonds the best, but you can substitute an equal amount of sliced or slivered almonds.
- Nuts and/or Seeds: You can mix and match pepitas, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, or peanuts. You can also add flax seeds or chia seeds.
- Oil/Fat: You can substitute coconut oil or butter for the vegetable oil if you prefer, though some note that the granola doesn't clump quite as well with coconut oil, but it will still work!
- Sweeteners: You can swap in honey for the brown sugar. This granola is not exceptionally sweet, but if you prefer a less sweet version or one with less sugar in general, you can reduce the amounts by as much as half.
- Nut Butters: You can swap out half of the oil and add in 1 cup of peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or sunbutter.
- Spices: Cinnamon (about ½ teaspoon) would work really well in this recipe if you want to add a hint of warm spice. You can also use pumpkin pie spice or ground ginger (use ½ as much).
- Extracts: I find vanilla absolutely perfect to balance the flavors, but you could substitute any other extract you'd like for flavor variations. If it's something particularly strong like almond extract, I would recommend only using half as much.
- Dried Fruit: Dried cherries, apples, blueberries, pineapple, mango, raisins, or currants would all be wonderful additions, as would banana chips!
- More Mix-Ins: Shredded coconut, unsweetened coconut flakes (sprinkle on top halfway through baking), or chocolate chips (milk, semisweet, dark, or white - stir in after baking once cool) all work well.
- For Extra Clumpy Granola: Press down as much as possible on the granola before baking, do not touch while baking, and cool completely.
- Serving Suggestions: Plain on its own, with yogurt, in a yogurt parfait, served with milk or soaked in milk like muesli.
- Freezing: The granola can be frozen in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Calories: 301kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Sodium: 69mg, Potassium: 299mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 260IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Author: Michelle
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
(Recipe from The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2013)
[Photography byAri of Well Seasoned]
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49 Comments on “Easy Homemade Granola Recipe”
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Jessica — Reply
This was amazing! I’m never buying it from the store again. I actually detest the vanilla flavoring and it’s in all the store bought products it so I just deleted it from this recipe and had it my way. I am making it again but decreased each sugar to 1/4 cup as I disagree with the author that this is not a sweet granola. Probably less sugar than the store bought kind but still very sweet. Anyway : Loved it so much!
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Karmica.in — Reply
To increase the nutritional and protein value of granola I always try to add as many dryfruit as possible. When we bake granola at home, the greatest thing is that we can flavour it and design it according to our preferred choice. What are your favourite dry fruits? Feel free to add them in your granola, all the will do it only increase the flavour and texture. Most importantly, dry fruit increase in Nutritional value of granola.
Now, you can also try and soaked almonds. Actually they are my first preference. -
Jamie — Reply
Hello!! This looks delish, how do you control the moisture from the dried fruit making the granola soft?
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Moi Bride — Reply
Thank you! It’s just perfect for my breakfast!
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Jan Gavaletz — Reply
Made this over the weekend precisely as directed. Tastes
fabulous (I used a cranberry/golden raisin/dried cherry blend and almonds & walnuts). Wondering what may have caused it not to be as sticky and chunky as I’d hoped for. Maybe baked too long? No worries though – the results will be devoured! Any suggestions are welcome! -
Lisa — Reply
This recipe is a great starting off point to adjust for your own taste!
I made it originally as stated, only changing the mix ins, but it was nowhere near sweet enough (and I’m not that much of a sweet tooth). I swapped the amounts for the maple syrup and vegetable oil (ie, I used 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/3 cup vegetable oil) and it was PERFECT.
My favorite combination for mixins is almonds, dried unsweetened coconut, and chopped dried mango. The mango I mix once the granola is cooled, but the almonds and coconut get toasted. Yum!!
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Lisa — Reply
I’m totally going to make this for our weeklong anniversary trip to Montreal next week! This will be great to make into 10 portions and divide in plastic bags for when we need a nosh on the go.
I think I’ll sub out the apricots and craisins for dried cherries and banana chips! Yum.
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Amy Sterchi — Reply
Truly the best granola. I love everything about it. Just finishing up another batch to send to my son. He’s in the Army and the granola is quite the hit! We love it here, too. My favorite before-bed snack with some hemp milk. I’m so glad I found this recipe!
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Lee — Reply
I saw this recipe on TV and found it here — now I can’t get enough of this stuff!! An easy variation is to add a few handfuls of Archer Farms (Target) Sunny Cranberry trail mix, which contains dried cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds and pumpkin seeds. A batch of this would make a great Christmas gift!
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Jo — Reply
I just made this after seeing it on the show. I agree that the taste is great. However, they promised it would stay crunchy in milk and it doesn’t! :-( But definitely great to snack on dry. I tried making a recipe with applesauce instead of oil, but it came out hard as a rock and not very tasty. If only fat didn’t make everything better.
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Regina — Reply
Hi, jus made these awesome granola with walnuts, cranberries & apricots. They are just lovely and delicious! Thanks for the wonderful recipe ;-))
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Amy — Reply
I’m curious what you mean by rotate in the oven–just turn the pan around 180? I can usually follow recipes just fine–just wanted to make sure I understood!
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Amy, Yes, you’re correct – turn the pan around 180 degrees.
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Maryann — Reply
This is hands down the BEST granola I’ve ever had, let alone made! Thanks so much – I don’t think I’ll ever buy from the store again.
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Bethany — Reply
Wow! I followed it exactly and love it!!! I might add coconut flakes and chchips. Next time. Thanks!
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Hannah — Reply
I made this with honey instead of maple syrup and cut down the oats to 4 1/2 cups. It was sooooo good! This is the perfect recipe I’ve been looking for. Thank you so much for posting. I actually cut half of the recipe into bars which worked wonderfully.
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Mini Sanabria — Reply
I just made it yesterday, and is the best granola ever! My kids loves it, although they requested chocolate chips instead of nuts, due to nut allergies at their school, so I added the very small kind plus lots or dried cherries and cranberries. They love the combination! I can’t have enough with my homemade yogurt. Please keep posting t jus awesome yet simple recipes.
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Mini Sanabria — Reply
I must tell you, I made it yesterday and never thought it was going to be this good. Now my kids are addicted to it, alrhough they requested chocolate chips and cranberries. I don’t care about the chocolate, I use a little bit less than a 1/2 cup of the tiny ones and added lots of dried cherries and cranberries. My whole family love it! Thank you for the recipe.
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Tracey — Reply
Tangerine! It’s so awesome. And I’d make the dairy-free pumpkin roll that my husband thought he’d never get to have again (developed a dairy allergy, poor thing).
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Lorr — Reply
As a person who is not very fond of maple flavor, would another flavored syrup work in this recipe?
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Lorr, I would probably try substituting honey.
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Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen — Reply
Love granola for both snacking and breakfast. Recently posted my pumpkin granola using Pecan Pumpkin Butter by Muirhead (sold thru Williams-Sonoma). I could eat granola daily! Love it in chilled almond milk and I cannot wait to try your recipe, Michelle. Thanks for sharing!
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Bake Play Smile — Reply
I love making granola! I’m looking forward to trying it out! :-) Yummmo
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Beth — Reply
This looks SO GOOD! Will definitely have to introduce the italians to granola!
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Laura (Tutti Dolci) — Reply
I’m a snacker too, I’d absolutely reach for this granola!
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Paula — Reply
You and I appear to have the same eating habits! This granola looks so crunchy and tasty. I wish I had a jar of it right now, it would be my midnight snack in about 25 minutes!
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Tracey — Reply
I’m the same way, always snacking! This granola is definitely a much healthier choice than my recent go-tos (mostly Oreos) :)
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The Twilight Chef — Reply
This looks great – can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
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Laura Dembowski — Reply
I’m not a snacker, but granola is my favorite breakfast. Love granola you can break into chunks. Can’t wait to try this!
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Maggie @Maggiecooks — Reply
This is what i’d like to have for breakfast every morning!!!
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Marnie — Reply
Mine is in the oven right now! (but I’m using pecans, not almonds)
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Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl — Reply
I love snacks so this granola looks like it would hit the right spot!
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Heather — Reply
I also tend to prefer snacks to meals, so this looks amazing!
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SF — Reply
I will try it with coconut oil instead of veggie oil.
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Marcie @ flavor the moments — Reply
I’ve been in a granola mood, so now I really am. This looks so delicious! It would be a nice break from my morning oatmeal.
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Vicki @ WITK — Reply
I love making granola at home! This looks so good with its big crunchy bits!
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Lisa — Reply
I’m addicted to this recipe, I love it. After making it several times, I’ve cut the oateal down to 4 1/2 cups, I like it a a bit more chunky. I sprinkle it over yogurt almost every morning, awesome breakfast.
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Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction — Reply
Maple is one of my favorite flavors in the fall! Love that you put it in one of my favorite snacks!
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I’m a horrible snacker! I could skip meals and just snack! sigh!!! :) I LOVE your granola! It’s the perfect afternoon pick me up!!
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marie @ little kitchie — Reply
Looks like a delicious snack!
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — Reply
This looks truly perfect – I love granola!
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Johlene — Reply
This looks really appetixing and the best is that it´s healthy!!!
Thanks for sharing!Johlene
Flavours&Frosting
Xx -
Laura — Reply
Love new granola recipes :)
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Rochelle @ Oh So Sweet Baker — Reply
I love granola and the colours in this granola so pretty and autumnal
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Becca @ Crumbs — Reply
I LOVE the look of this! I’ve been searching for a great granola recipe without loads and loads of ingredients and I think I have definitely found it now – thanks!
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ThisBakerGirlBlogs — Reply
I’m a snackaholic too and this would be perfect to keep me going till my next meal. I love all things maple and this looks delicious :)
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Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes — Reply
I love snacks…I snack all day long. I NEED to make this! Buying granola can get pretty expensive and my husband goes through so much of it each week. He’d love this!
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Averie @ Averie Cooks — Reply
I’m a snacker, too. Snacks as meals, yep. And crunchy snacks with tons of textures and various flavors – this is totally my kinda snack. And maple in granola is heavenly!
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Olivia at ohmy Olivia — Reply
This looks SO tasty! And a good dorm room snack too! xo
