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.
Love it …made several times simple to make …I know all thumbs in the kitchen
My grandson found your recipe and prepared it all by himself.
It has become a must have in our homes and a proud share with family and friends.
It’s a fun time together Family activity with his little brother and parents in shopping for the ingredients and preparation.
Thank you.
I make this granola every two weeks! It is the best. All of my friends and co-workers ask me to make it for them. Thanks for sharing such a simple but tasty recipe. I add craisins, high quality choc chips, and coconut flakes.
I love to hear that, Meg! Thank you for your review.
Soooo delicious and crunchy. Will be perfect with my morning yoghurt. Next time I may add extra cinnamon.
Today I used coconut oil, 1/2 maple syrup and 1/2 honey for the 1/2 cup sweetener, and after baking added dried cherries, blueberries and raisins and the smell is devine! I think I’ve made 3 batches before today and we love it and so does everyone, who tries it! Not to see if I can stay out of it, while it cools!
Tastes great, but even after 24 hours it’s still tacky. I failed to notice that convection setting was recommended. At this point the fruit has been added. I’m making an assumption that it’s ok to bake a while longer on convection?
This is my favorite granola recipe. It is crunchy with a great balance of flavors. I like that it is not too sweet and the salt is essential!
Burnt it as 20 min is waaay too long. Glad turned up in the kitchen 7 min earlier
Hi Oly, I’m sorry to hear you had issues. Are you using a conventional oven? That is what this recipe was designed for.
Love love love this and many of your recipes. Sometimes now instead of just searching for a particular type of recipe, I will add Cookie and Kate to my search. :)
This recipie for granola is amazing. So much healthier than store bought that’s full of sugar. I use very little honey just for a little flavor. Thank you for sharing.
I can see why this recipe is highly rated on google. I’d given up on making granola because I’d tried so many recipes online and they were just sub par.
This recipe was so easy to make (I’m not good at multi tasking) yet I made this for the first time while on the phone and it came out beautiful. Hands down best granola recipe. Definitely making again. Thank you so much.
I used avocado oil and it worked perfectly.
I’ve made this recipe maybe 10 times now and it’s genuinely amazing. I like to add a touch extra cinnamon but even without extra, it’s so moreish. I find that when I do a single batch it’s always cooked perfectly after 24 mins in my oven but with 2 or 3x the recipe I have a hard time getting it to cook evenly even when measuring the gram amount in each pan. I feel like I should be adjusting the time and temp somehow but I have yet to figure that out. Suggestions? With a double batch I end up having to bake longer but then the edges slightly overcook in order to have the granola break apart rather than bend.
Thank you for sharing, Lara!
Amazing! Perfect sweetness & easy!
Used almonds, sunflower seeds, maple syrup, coconut flakes and lots of cinnamon.
So grateful for this recipe! Will never buy storebought again!
I love this recipe and have been making it for almost a year now. What do you think of adding a handful of Musili to the oats? Thank you.
If you try it, let me know what you think!
This is the BEST granola I have ever had. So addicting! I made it when my parents were in town and we all kept sneaking bites all weekend. I discovered it in the Love Real Food cookbook. So many amazing recipes, thank you!
I meant to eat the whole batch over the course of 2 weeks. I finished it off in about 4 days … I LOVE this recipe. Maybe too much ♀️. But I’m putting together my 2nd batch right now the same exact way, with mini chocolate chips and dried cranraisins. God help me.
Thank you!!
Hello! I love this recipe! It makes the best cycling snack..thank you! I hope you don’t mind, I’ve copied the recipe with credits to you and a link to your website to my Substack post which will be here. If you mind, shout and I’ll take it down! It’s such a good recipe! Thank you!
https://francesrawson.substack.com/
Hello, be sure to follow my Photo and Recipe Sharing Policy
This is such an amazing recipe! So easy and delicious. I love the pecans and pepitas combo.
Delicious!! I made mine with cashes, almonds and raisins. My whole family loved this recipe. I will definitely be making this again!
Can the granola be made into granola bars? I have your trail mix bar recipe but I don’t care for nut butters.
Excellent thank you!
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing! ❤️
I’m never buying granola again! This was so easy and gratifying. And if course delicious. Thank you
The best recipe! I made mine with flaxseeds, chia seeds, sliced almonds and olive oil. Prefect blend of savroy and sweet!
This granola recipe is my new addiction!! It is so easy to make and store and it’s a delicious healthy snack or breakfast. Even my 6 year old who is a fussy eater loves this granola with yoghurt and honey. I have shared to so many friends the recipe who love it!
What is a substitute for oats?
I don’t have one, sorry! This may not be the recipe for you.
Was delicious thank you
I made this granola at least 20 times now! It’s really delicious. I found that the best flavor comes using organic Jumbo oats and pure extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil has sort of an off-putting smell for me). To make sure it’s crunchy, make sure to add at least a big spoon of honey, as maple syrup alone does not crunch up the same way. Addictive!
Hello, I’m wondering how the choc chips stick if u put them on totally cooled granola?
They won’t stick, but could be a nice treat!
Thanks for this! I’ve been using the recipe for quite a while because the “just plain” granola my local grocery store discontinued. I found that too many of the fancier granolas add whey. It doesn’t agree with me and my husband has always been allergic to casein so again this recipe is perfect. We love it! Even my husband will forgo his granola bars if I leave some chunky pieces. The only change up I do is halve the coconut oil and use avocado oil (my go to oil) for the other half. I need to copy this to my recipe card so I can quit using so much paper to reprint it. It helps me eat more fruit per day adding blueberries and banana half.
I made the basic granola recipe and it is delicious! I will experiment more to make more clumps.. but it is way better than store bought granola!! Thank you
1 teaspoon of salt was a little too much for me! Will try 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon next time.
I made this granola recipe and it was absolutely delicious! I’m not a great cook. However, this is simple to make and it truly was yhe best granola I’ve had! I used pecans and sliced almonds. And I used maple syrup. I just put a 2nd bath in the oven after eating the 1st batch for breakfast every day with tons of blueberries. I used only a third cup of maple syrup this time to try to reduce the sugar. I’ve been eating boxed cereal every morning for 50+ years. Not any more!
Can this be made using quick oats?
This is best as written.
Best granola ever! I added pecans, pumpkin seeds and almonds for more nuts! I also used almond extract as I didn’t have vanilla and it worked great! This is now a staple for us after 1 day! I added Lillys chocolate chips to 1/2 for a treat for my husband.
I opted for the EVOO and maple syrup
Thank you for sharing, Kirsten!
My favorite, go-to granola recipe!! Simple and easy to make, and you can easily customize it with nuts, raisins, coconut, etc. My family is constantly asking if I can make this. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Nicole!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. It is great, I made my fourth batch today. It is very popular in our household.
Mine has a very slight bitter taste (which doesn’t stop anyone eating it) but could this be from the olive oil that I am using? Would coconut oil change this?
Hi ZM! It could be from the olive oil you are using. I like to use a high quality one. You could also use coconut oil. Be sure to not forget the salt as that can impact results.
This is my go to granola recipe, absolutely love it. Most gluten free commercial granolas are like cardboard but this is yummy. Thank you.
Excellent recipe – thanks! I like to eat it with applesauce – so yum!
I love this granola recipe. I have made it several times and get rave reviews. I try to have it on hand for a healthy snack.
I just baked this granola and could eat the whole tray! I love this on top of Greek Yogurt and fresh berries. Thanks so much for sharing.
You’re welcome, Anne!
Amazing! Such a crowd pleaser with my family of boys!
I love to hear that, Caitlin!
My go to recipe
Love it
I’ve made this granola several times now and make a parfait for my husband every night for him to take to work in the morning with it on top. Absolutely delicious and so good I sneak a few spoonfuls before I bake it.
Highly recommend and lots of ways to make it your own !
Absolutely delicious! Had it with almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
Put it on my acai bowl! You nailed this recipe
Thank you, Bekky!
Your healthy recipes always turn out great. This one is a keeper and I have made it many times exactly as written. Thank you!
I’m addicted to this! I do not buy pre-made cereal at all anymore. The family I nanny for appreciates it and they’ll frequently ask for it if we happen to run out. Double batches happen more often than not and I love any variations of it. I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and I love that it can easily be adapted for any food sensitivities or allergies.
P.S. If you’re a Costco shopper, their One Degree oats, organic maple syrup, avocado oil, and bulk nuts produce about 6 cups of granola for about $7. Sooo healthy and so much yummier than anything store-bought.
Made this recipe with the coconut oil, sunflower seeds, whole almonds, and the rest. It turned out so well! One of the best recipes for granolas!
Those are my FAVORITE oats!! I use a very similar set of items from Costco and love it!!
I LOVE your granola recipe. I’ve made it a few times now. It’s easy to make and sobdelicious. Thank you for sharing it.
Mórag
You’re welcome, Morag!
We love this granola. I use olive oil and add a couple tablespoon more of maple syrup. I use generous 4 cups os oats. Increase cinnamon to a rounded teaspoon and a generous teaspoon of vanilla. Bake a few minutes longer. Use pecans and pepitas. We love it!
Thank you
I have been making this Granola recipe for years and my wife and I love it.
Is it a good or bad idea to use steel cut Oats?
Thank you Doug
Please give Cookie a pet for me.
I don’t think steel cut oats will give you the result you are after, sorry! I hope you make this.
Totally yummy, but must make a note to self not to forget to put the parchment paper on the tray, otherwise have to spend a while chiselling it off! Also, I found baking time for me was about 40 mins
I’ve tried this recipe once before and really liked it. I added mixed raw nuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. I was wondering if there was a way to make this into a homemade granola bar?
I would recommend my No-Bake Granola Bars.
I’ve had multiple issues with this burning, even at 17 mins. Trying to reduce the heat to 325
Hi Hannah, if you are using a fan oven or convection, it will cook hotter/sooner.