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 love this recipe and vary the nuts and fruit. Love love love it. Yummy way to start the day.
Made this in my air fryer. Awesome
I’m happy it turned out, Sally!
Hey, am I able to make 2 batches and freeze one for a later use? How does it thaw? Would the texture stay good?
Yes! That is a great idea.
The recipe says do not overcook the granola and it’s very easy to do that. I overcooked mine and it wasn’t burned but it wasn’t as good as it could have been. I like the recipe. However I think it’s a little high and sugar from honey or maple syrup and fat from the oil. Coconut oil as high in saturated fat so that may not be a good choice, especially for those with high cholesterol or heart disease. I used canola oil. I am going to try reducing some of the oil and added sugar in the recipe.
Made this granola this morning after a request from my partner for some granola for breakfast. Used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 olive oil, reduced the syrup by a tad, added unsweetened coconut flakes after 10 minutes, baked for about 25 minutes and then added raisins after it cooled for about 20 minutes. Delicious!
Love C+K recipes! Thanks!!
In our house this is “Holly’s Special Granola since we were introduced to it by our younger granddaughter. She’s 7 now and we’re visiting her in MN. Of course we’re making a batch tonight. We got dried cranberries, blueberries, AND cherries so we’re good to go! Maybe Grandma and Papa will get a little to take home to Ohio….
I love that! Thank you for sharing.
I adore this recipe! So delicious and customizable. You can make it your own. Takes just minutes to throw it together. We make parfaits with it. Yogurt, fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.
I was quite skeptical with this recipe as I have tried many other granola recipes in the past. I made this yesterday, and before I knew knew I was eating spoonfuls out of the bowl before it hit the baking sheet. This is the best recipe I have found and is a keeper, all ingredients are awesome together. I added walnuts, pecans, pepitos, coconut and raisins. I was pleasantly surprised these additions didn’t take away the taste but enhanced the flavor. Thank you Kathryn!
Great to hear you loved it, Lisa! I appreciate your comment.
This is the best granola recipe I have ever tried! It turned out so well with the nuts and craisins I had on hand.
Thank you for your review, Amanda!
Hi. This is a lovely granola! My nuts combo was pistachio and pecan. I left the pistachios whole but used a nut chopper on the pecans so they were well mixed in and kind of conjoined with the oats. And I used maple syrup. And it was a real winner! I own a B and B so make a lot of granola from scratch … this one is going to be on the Favorite Recipes list. One thing I will add… I live at sea level in Alaska. I baked this granola initially for about 30 minutes on a rainy day and took it out when it started smelling toasty. It didn’t really crisp up satisfactorily after cooling. So the next day, I put it all back in the oven at 200 degrees F for about an hour and that crisped it right up. Now it is perfect! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
I don’t have a lot of freezer space, so I made just a half batch. It was so quick and easy, won’t be a problem to make more whenever I need it. I went a little light on the oil and maple syrup – I’ll be sure to sure the full amount next time. I should have realized that a recipe on this site would be “just right” exactly as written!
I’m glad it worked for you, Ann! I appreciate your review.
I have never commented before for any recipes but I have to this time. I found your recipe about a month ago a I love it soooo much!! I just want to keep making it to try different variations. :D This recipe is so easy and delicious! My favorite so far is adding orange zest and cranberries. I love to eat it for breakfast with chopped mango and yogurt. I have a batch in the oven right now with pepitas, coconut, walnuts and blueberries. I just can’t stop. haha! Thank you so very much!
I never post recipe reviews but this one is one of my favorites. Great every time and can experiment with different nuts and fruit. Thank you, Kate(and Cookie)!
You’re welcome, Chelse! I appreciate your review.
I made this today and it is delicious! I had trouble waiting for it to cool completely. This is the first granola recipe I’ve made that actually made chunks! Love it!
My biggest complaint… it doesn’t last more than few days in my home… no need to freeze!
This is a firm family favourite now. Absolutely delicious and my family and I thank you for it….
This is sooo good everytime! We prefer using honey over maple syrup (have tried both). I also add in a handful of cacao nibs after baking as it cools. It gives a bitter chocolate flavor to the final granola and doesn’t melt like chips would. And we use usweetened cranberries, it doesn’t need the extra sugar. It’s great without.
Best homemade granola eva lol omg Im so excited..the only thing different is I spread it out on parchment paper bc I was scared I waa going to burn it lol Love it . Thank you lol
Hi from Germany!
Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your recipe and I’ll never go back to store bought granola again. So crunchy and savory. I even converted both my mom and my mom in law into fans. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Valentin! I appreciate your review.
Just made this with all my odds & ends left in the pantry—dried cranberries, pecan bits, slivered almonds, large coconut flakes some whole salted almonds and hemp seeds. It is fabulous! I am in full agreement on the salt—it really puts it into the addictive realm. This will be in regular rotation now, and I look forward to experimenting. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Jennie! I appreciate your review.
This is crazy good!! Thank you !!
Love the recipe and made it few times. Then a friend came and was interested so gave her my recipe.
Can’t seem to print it without having to print 7 pages. How can I just print the recipe without all the extra’s?
Tried to jump to recipe but still 7 pages, only need 1
Thank you!
Hi Ina, Are you using the print button? It will be a condensed version with the recipe card and nutrition information.
Love this recipe. It has become a staple in my house. The only tip I’ll add for people like me who love chunky granola is to soak your dried fruit for a half hour and then you can add it directly to the mix and let it bake with the rest. Then the fruit is incorporated into the chunks without getting hard. It does slightly increase bake time for me though. I do 12 minutes, then stir, then 13 minutes. Great recipe!!!
I started making your granola recipe when I found what was sending me to the store most often was to buy granola. Once I started making your granola, I haven’t bought store bought granola once. We love it and go through it quickly!! I have been wondering if I could get more fiber in our granola by making it with oat bran. Any suggestions of how to modify the recipe with the additional of oat bran? Thanks, Carol
I haven’t tried making it with oat bran, sorry! If you try it, let me know what you think. I appreciate your review.
I’ve made this a couple of times. I use coconut oil. First time I used chopped dried cherries. This time, I added mini butterscotch chips after granola was cool. Used coconut flakes both times. Delish!
Great to hear, Carolyn! I appreciate your review.
Almond flour will make it stick together
Try it 1/2 cup
I usually add my dried cranberries in at the beginning and it’s great. Have you ever tried making this with unsweetened dried cranberries? I’ve been making a double batch every couple weeks for the last few years now and I’d love to lower the sugar amount. Thanks.
You could try it! Let me know what you think when you do.
It occurred to me today as I was making another batch that I have been making your recipe for some time now and never gave you a proper thank you for sharing the recipe. I love being able to adapt the recipe to my own tastes (and make it gluten free!) Best recipe I’ve found and I keep going back to it. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Karen! I appreciate your review.
Made your healthy granola recipe this evening. I used pecans and cashews for the nuts and dried cranberries for fruit. I used coconut oil and maple syrup. It was delicious and just the right amount of crunchiness.
I’m making my third batch in less than 3 weeks. Hubby’s eating it like a sweetie. Forgot I had a fan oven and it was a tad overdone at the edges but lovely. Second time around I lowered the cooking time, mixed it up halfway through, but it was sifter than the first time. Still ate it, but preferred the first effort.
This was so delicious and easy, I will never have store bought again. For my second batch I experimented by adding 1/4 cup extra maple syrup and 1/4 cup extra oil, and tried avocado oil, and I forgot it in the oven and overbaked 10+ minutes, and it was amazing and even more clumps. But my oats were Red Mill’s “extra thick” rolled oats.
I made this granola today……it was excellent!! I did not use coconut or maple syrup (don’t like it) ..but I did soak some dried cranberries in hot water for about 20 minutes and just added it to the mix…
IT IS SO GOOD!!! Thank you for this recipe!
Wonderful to hear, Gayla! I appreciate your review.
Hi
Thanks for the wonderful recipe I madea granola recipe for the first time today using walnuts . It’s Awesome .
I make this granola almost every week. Anytime I am lazy and go store bought I regret it tremendously now. Can’t go back.
I’ve been making and eating granola with yogurt for breakfast for years. The old recipe I used required coconut sugar and honey in addition to maple syrup. I lost the old recipe but I found this one. I just finished baking my granola, using this recipe. I am excited to taste it because this one uses less sugar. I used coconut oil and coconut flakes with a variety of nuts. Sometimes I used frozen fruits instead of dried fruits and that tasted delicious.
I have never made granola before so I followed this recipe very very closely. I must say, although the texture is very nice, it is SOOOO VERY salty! I only used 3/4 tsp of salt as directed and 1 tsp seemed like a lot anyway, but I really think it needs to be reduced to a 1/4 tsp. of salt. It is fine on top of some sweet yogurt with fruit to balance out the saltiness, but I was hoping to use it for simple snacking as well and it’s too salty for that.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it, Donna. I appreciate you sharing your feedback.
I laugh every time I read step 6, where you explain how to keep this granola fresh for a couple of weeks. I don’t think it’s ever lasted past 36 hours at my house! My teens LOVE it! The adults do, too, but we are slow enough that we miss most of it.
That’s great to hear it was a hit, Lauri! Thank you for you review.
My first attempt and I was very pleased. Simple recipe with tons of options to play around with. My husband likes it! AND it uses ingredients I have in the cupboard.
Made a 2nd batch using your basics! First batch a few weeks ago was more spread out over two sheet pans, and I baked it with the dried fruit and cacao nibs from the beginning. It was different, then I grew to love it with some Oat Milk! This batch, I followed more closely, and got the chunkies!!! Gave 1/2 to my neighbors! Makes my digestion for the day all calmed down! Thank you. I’m 68 & live on the Oregon Coast.
A recent blood panel flagged me as high cholesterol despite a trlatively healthy diet (no red meat at all)! I changed my breakfast to 1/3 cup of this recipe, 1/3 cup non fat plain greek yogurt, half a banana and whatever berries I felt like for 5 meals a week and literally lowered my cholesterol almost 100 points, raised my good cholesterol too! With no otter changes, I am THRILLED. Thank you! (Lol I even made it chocolate chips AND intead of “or”) coconut flakes lol).
Just made the granola and it can out chunky and yummy. Added pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds.
Great to hear you loved it, Suja! I appreciate your review.
So I was really wanting some Granola and feeling lazy, I did not want to go to the store. I came across the recipe and had everything I would need for a basic Granola. I WILL NEVER BUY GRANOLA AGAIN! So good and easy!
Excellent recipe, thank you Kate!
One observation: Do not use covection oven or, if you do so, do not cook for 24 minutes or your granola will be somewhat …dark!
I love this recipe! I will never buy cereal again! My only adjustment is avoiding coconut oil. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, it raises bad cholesterol. You can check this fact with Mayoclinic.org or Harvard School of Medicine. Use Canola and/or Olive oil instead. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe!
Hey!
I’ve been having an allergy spell the last week. I took a food sensitivity test in Feb of this year and thing I need to make some food habits changes.
I’m allergic to chocolate and sensitive and have symptoms to soy, wheat (but I’m okay with gluten), rye, spelt, coconut, etc.
Most vegetable oils have some form of soy or soy lecithin in them. I don’t like Olive Oil, just the smell alone makes me yak.
Could the oil be corn oil? Would that be an okay substitute?
Also, would it be weird to add sunflower seeds and walnuts?
I like them both, but never had them combined in a food that I can think of.
I just think I would enjoy it over the pecan and pumpkin seeds.
I’ve actually never tried pumpkin seeds, so that’s on my list to try.
Thanks I’m advance.
Hi Jenna, I’m sorry to hear about your allergy issues. I really don’t think you can taste the olive oil once mixed with the sweetener. I wouldn’t suggest corn oil here. Have you tried coconut oil?
I love this recipe, it comes out great every time, is so easy and the fact that you can freeze batches makes it even more convenient.
I’m glad you love it, Amy! Thank you for your review.
Best recipe! 350’ for 20 minutes….perfect
Thank you for the recipe!
To make it easy for me to remember (especially when I’m at the market) I round up a few of the ingredients.
I baked mine at 300 degrees, stirring it every 15 minutes. I makes for a more crunchy granola. Otherwise the recipe is perfect! Thank you again!
PS leaving in the oven overnight (turning off the oven of course) helps with the crunch!
You’re welcome, Candy!
I’ve been experimenting with different ways to utilize spent grains from brewing beer. I’ve made a couple types of bread, and I’ve also developed a recipe for granola bars. I found this recipe, looking to make some granola with a recent batch of grains and made a very simple substitution of grains for oats, and the result is very tasty! I’ll probably do some further experimentation as per usual (likely just trying to reduce the sugar, though certainly it can’t be eliminated), but this is a very good start.
This was awesome and so easy to make! Used maple syrup and coconut per instructions. I used walnuts and almonds and in addition to the vanilla added a little orange green xtract! Thanks for the healthy option!
Making this for second time cut back on the maple syrup a bit but delicious. We love the buttery flavor have to seekl up half in freezer before it disappears!!lol
I’m glad you love it, Deb!