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 ☺️
Never made granola before and came across your recipe. I used a mix of nuts and half real maple syrup and half bourbon real maple syrup
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.
I had the same issue! I’m using a small combination oven, parchment paper, dark nonstick baking pan. My oven is in *C so I set it to 180 (a little higher than 350F).
On the next try maybe I’ll lower
it to the equivalent of 325 F and see what happens. Might be an oven issue.
Hi Nina, it does sound like your oven. I would lower the temperature and see if that helps.
I love this granola recipe so much but wondered if there’s any recommendations to make it oil free or lower oil?
Hi Ben, I recommend the recipe as written. You can try and reduce the amount of oil, but it needs some to toast the oats and nuts.
I have made other granolas before, but not this one yet. All I have in the house is steel-cut oats. Do you think that would work, or do I need to buy the old-fashioned oats?
Hi Alice, this works best with old-fashioned oats. I have a few steel cut oats recipes on my website if you are looking for inspiration to use those up!
Thank you, I will! I just popped out to buy some old-fashioned oats, so now I am fully-stocked with oats! Will be making this recipe shortly!
Made it, very good! I had no problems with sticking or burning. I thought the maple flavor was a little too subtle, may use honey next time. I tossed toasted coconut chips rather than shredded coconut on after cooling for a different color and texture.
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 just made it with date syrup today. It came out really good. I haven’t made it with the maple syrup though so I don’t have anything to compare it to. This is the first time I’ve made it.
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
I had that problem once or twice and discovered the key is to press the granola down firmly with a big spatula after stirring it at the midpoint, then when you take it out of the oven, leave it for an hour or more without touching it at all (I know, it’s a lesson in resisting temptation). It’s perfectly clumpy!
I get clumps every time! Make sure you follow the directions for “extra clumps” – the gentle pressing seems to be the key. I make this weekly.
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!
Really nice recipe, I love how mine turned out even though I had no nuts at home and used only oats (I put more oats instead). The only thing I’d change is less salt. I had to add extra honey to neutralize the salt. Other than than, it’s perfect!
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!
Hey I’m a beekeeper and was looking forward to using honey as well but then I learned that honey loses ALL the benefits when heated past 104F. Which is barely warm at all!
So I no longer add it to hot tea either. Instead I have a spoon of honey on another small place that I lick throughout enjoying my tea.
Look up “Ayurvedic Principles Regarding Honey Toxicity”. Which goes back 5000 years.
All this to say that I use maple syrup instead of honey.
The more you know!
Thank you for sharing.
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.
Yes, please
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.
Love it!
Hi. How long will this last if vaccum packed and stored outside the refrigerator? Want to make it for my daughter for college!
Thanks!
Hi Shibani, I haven’t tested the freshness for vacuum sealing, but I imagine it would extend the shelf life to 1-2 months at room temperature. If the product you use to vacuum seal has guidelines.
Love this recipe and it’s amazing every time! Thanks!
I made batch 1 two weeks ago. It was great but a little loose which was my fault. Batch 2 last week (halved the quantity); still fantastic taste and much more crunchy. Today batch 3 is best yet (full qty). I’ve added almonds, hazelnuts and mixed seeds plus dried cranberries, sultanas and some dried ginger. I make my own yoghurt that mixed with berries and this granola…. I am struggling not to eat this for every meal!!! (I’m still experimenting with the cinnamon). For reference following the recipe with my add-ons yields about 700g!
Love this recipe! My granola turns out a bit less crunchy, a bit more chewy? I used recipe as directed, with maple syrup and honey 1/4 cup each, baked and cooled as directed. Is there a trick to a crunchy granola? My nuts are great, but my oats are more chewy. Thank you!
Hi Deb, make sure you toss halfway, and press it back down, then cool completely. It should break into crunchy chunks.
Idid it today. EASY and delicious.
Very nice loved the seeds that were added and the sweetness of the oats I was very happy to see how it turned out.
I’ve been making this recipe every two weeks for years. It is simply the best and most versatile template for granola deliciousness I have found. Thank you!
Still my favorite granola recipe. I dehydrated a bunch of apple rings and added those to my current double batch, seasoned with apple pie spice. It’s perfect for fall breakfasts.
my granola didn’t clump and its not crunchy at all? what did I do wrong? I did bake it longer than indicated
an additional comment: I used agave syrup instead of honey or maple syrup as I read in another recipe that granola crumps better with Agave. Do you think the agave syrup kept it soggy?
Hi Jeanette, I haven’t tried this with agave because I think the recipe needs the flavor of maple syrup or honey. Letting it cool for the full time undisturbed helps it clump.
I haven’t made this yet but planning on this weekend. I like my granola a little bit more chewy than crispy. Can I just cut down on the baking time? Thanks for the help
Hi Deena, yes, you can shorten baking time just a bit and that should leave it chewier.
I make this granola every week and eat it with yogurt and berries almost every morning. Pecans, pepitas, maple syrup, yum! Most of the time I reduce amounts to 1/3 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup of good maple syrup (for lower calories) and it still turns out beautifully! Thank you for this!
I used a silicone baking mat instead of parchment, and the granola turned out perfect! Thank you for this healthy and delicious recipe!
Can I use something other than coconut oil or olive oil? Would canola or melted butter work?
Hi Peggy, I recommend the recipe as written, but if you want to substitute I would choose canola over melted butter.
Will this work with sprouted oats?
Hi Teera, I recommend the recipe as written, but if you try it, please share the results.
I made this yesterday and every time I walk into the kitchen it’s a struggle not to eat a bit. So delicious!
I have tried several granola recipes over the years ~ this is by far the BEST. One of the comments mentioned how she “managed to burn it”. I did the same thing; now I make it in my dehydrator and it’s works out fine even though it takes a few hours.
I make a batch of this granola every 1-2 weeks since finding the recipe and my toddler twins eat it almost daily with Greek yogurt and fruit with their breakfast. I use coconut oil, both honey and syrup, change up the nuts (today was almonds and pepitas), and add coconut. Thank you for my stand-by granola recipe! I made sure to finally leave a comment because at this point I know it by heart ❤️
I love this recipe so thank you!! I really want to make this again but wanted to know if you can use quick oats instead of old fashioned? I want to use organic oats next time and that is the only kind I found so hoping it will taste as good!
Thank you so much for your help!!
Hi Juliet, I recommend old-fashioned or rolled oats for this recipe.
First off, I want to say how much I enjoy making this recipe. It is super easy and very delicious. Sometime ago I used to recipe to make a big batch of granola. At the time I used the 3x variant of the recipe. There was a button above the recipe to give you the correct proportions. I came back to this website to make a big batch again, only to find that the 3x button is gone. Would it be appropriate to just multiply the ingredients by 3? Or would there be a way to get the proportions for the 3x portions? Thank you again for making these recipes available.
Hi Kevin, yes you can simply multiply all the ingredients by 3. The plug-in that scaled the recipe was unreliable, so I disabled it. I’m still looking for a functional replacement.
Thank you for this! I appreciate it! I’m making thank you bags for those who helped me through an event and so this is why I am making this recipe in large scale. Thank you again for your reply!
Should have read the comments first! Yes mine burnt even after stirring halfway through and reducing temp at time of stirring. Texture seems a bit loose but might glue together once cooled. If not then I would probably up oil and honey just a bit, so it’s less dry to begin with. Maybe my oats were a little dusty and sucked up the moisture?