This crunchy granola recipe is one of the best. If you’re looking for a low sugar (but sweet enough!) easy granola recipe with lots of nuts and seeds, this is the one for you! This granola makes a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of quality thick Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, making a delicious (and nutritious) homemade breakfast or yogurt parfait for dessert. It can also easily be made gluten free!

Since granola is easily one of my favorite things, I’m so excited to share this recipe with you!

How to make homemade granola

Making granola from scratch is one of the easiest processes, and if this is your first time, I’m so glad you are here! This recipe is so quick to throw together, costs a lot less than to buy it pre-made, and is so rewarding to make on your own. Here’s how it’s done.

1. Measure the dry ingredients
2. Cook/melt the liquid ingredients
3. Mix them together
4. Bake in an even layer at a low temperature until crunchy 

That’s literally all there is to it! If you’ve wondered if making your own granola is worth the effort, today I hope to assure you that it absolutely is (and once you start, I think you’ll be making this much more often!). 

Why you’ll love this recipe

This might be my favorite granola recipe (at the moment it’s a toss up between this one and my Fruit and Nut Granola). There are several reasons for this:

• Homemade 
  Using a homemade granola recipe is so much better because you know exactly what’s going in to your body (no preservatives), and you get to enjoy the deep satisfaction of having made it yourself. Also, homemade food just tastes better!
• Easy
  There is really nothing hard about following this recipe, which makes it fun, fast, and easy to make.
• Made with honey (not sugar)
  This recipe is made with just a touch of molasses (which does come from sugar), but primarily it is sweetened with honey, which is a much better way to go!
• Easy to adjust the recipe
  I’ll give some examples below, but this recipe is so easy to adjust to your taste and preference! There are many ways to make this taste the way you like it, and I’ve got some great ideas for you later on in this post.
• Peanut free
  A lot of delicious granola recipes have peanut butter in them, which is totally delicious; however, since my son has a peanut allergy, this is something I have to watch out for! As a result, this recipe is peanut-free, which means my whole family can enjoy it.
• Gluten free
  If you make this recipe with certified gluten-free oats, this recipe is also gluten free! I have some family with gluten intolerance, and others with celiac disease. That said, this recipe, when made with the right ingredients, is perfect to share with them as well.
• Long shelf life
  This granola will last easily for several weeks in an airtight container in the cupboard. I love having this on hand for a quick breakfast or snack!

Granola ingredient substitutes and additions

Granola is one of the easiest things to make substitutes in the recipe without messing it up. The only thing I would caution is adding too much *extra* stuff; you want to keep the ratio of dry to wet ingredients the same if you possibly can. Here are some simple substitutions and additions that you can use for this making this basic recipe even better.

Substitutes:

• Honey: You can sub the honey for maple syrup or, in a pinch, brown sugar 
• Olive oil: Use unrefined coconut oil (or virgin coconut oil) as a perfect substitute for olive oil in this recipe. You can also use unsalted butter if you prefer. 
• Pumpkin seeds: Any type of nuts would make a good substitute for pumpkin seeds.
• Sunflower seeds: Try subbing extra pumpkin seeds, nuts, or a mix of chia seeds and ground flax seeds
• Unsweetened coconut: You can sub the unsweetened coconut for sweetened coconut (which will make the granola sweeter), with old-fashioned oats, or with any type of other nut

Additions (Try adding any of the following, without adjusting the recipe in any other way):

• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup wheat germ*

*The addition of wheat germ will make this recipe no longer gluten free.

Favorite Mix-Ins:

• 1 cup dried fruit (currants, raisins, chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, dried blueberries, or dried cranberries)*
• 1 cup chocolate chips*

*Dried fruit or chocolate chips can be stirred into the granola after it has been baked and thoroughly cooled.

How to make chunky, crunchy granola

One question that I think a lot of people want to know the answer to is this: how do you get those wonderful crunchy granola clusters to stick together? After all, the best granola (in my opinion), is the stuff with a crunchy texture and huge delicious clusters of rolled oats and nuts.

There are three main things you need to do to make chunky, crunchy granola:

1. Bake the granola long enough
   If your granola is underbaked, it will not retain that crunchy, oven dried texture.
2. Allow the granola to cool completely before disturbing it to put it away.
   This allows the oats and other ingredients to settle and stick together as they cool, making for those chunks of honey-glued goodness!
3. Use the addition of ground flax seeds or wheat germ to make the granola more chunky
   Adding ground flax seeds or wheat germ* mixes with the wet ingredients and almost creates a “Cement” that glues the chunks together. Since those ingredients are not often in my cupboards, this recipe does without; however, if you can get your hands on them, try adding one of those ingredients to get the best chunky granola! 
   
   *Granola made with wheat germ is not gluten free.

Is this granola gluten free?

Yes! I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, but if you’re making gluten free granola, all you have to do is make sure that the oats you are using in this recipe are certified gluten free. This is because oats are often processed with wheat; so, while they are naturally gluten free, they often contain wheat when you buy oats that are not labeled gluten free.

Again, just to be thorough, I’ll note: If you decide to add wheat germ to this recipe, it will no longer be gluten free.

Tips for making perfect granola

Honestly, there isn’t much to it more than just following the recipe carefully! As I said, making your own granola is one of the easiest things, and I really mean that! There are a few things I can recommend to look out for, but overall the process is pretty simple.

• Use rolled oats (not quick oats)
• Bring the liquid ingredients to a boil before using them
• Mix the granola thoroughly
• Follow the baking instructions
• Cool on a sheet pan undisturbed (so that the granola can stick together)

The main thing I would emphasize is that you want to make sure your granola doesn’t bake too long because at some point, it will burn. Just follow the baking time as as directed until it is golden brown, and then let the granola cool completely before putting it away.

Keeping it fresh: how to store granola

I like to store my granola in a large glass jar or 1/2 gallon mason jar. You can also store it in an airtight container, or even a ziploc bag. 

I do not recommend making large batches of this recipe (do not double or triple it) unless you know that you will use it within 4-6 weeks. The reason for this is that eventually, nuts and seeds will go rancid, and if you make a lot (to keep for a long time), your granola may not last. 

How to package granola for gifts 

Granola makes such a fun gift, and it is so easy to package to make it pretty. Here are a few ways that you can package a small amount of granola for a friend:

• Cellophane bags (with ribbon)
  Cellophane bags are actually great for keeping things fresh, and you can see through the package to exactly what you are getting! For something like granola, I recommend getting some skinny long bags, and then tying them shut with a tie twist and some ribbon.
• Kraft window bags
  These bags are so classy looking, and they make a great gift option. I like the window bags because again, you can see what’s inside!
• Mason jars (with ribbon)
  I always secretly rejoice when a friend gifts me with something in a mason jar; I use my jars for canning food, storing food, drinking water, making iced tea, making lemonade… You get the point. Jars are a great gift!
• Mason jars (with cloth tops and string or ribbon)
  You can cover a mason jar with a 4-inch square of cotton fabric, tied on with some string or a pretty ribbon to make it look like a beautiful old-fashioned gift.

You will need:

• Ingredients (see recipe card)
• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Heat proof spatula
• Small saucepan
• 11×15 cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Cookie lifter
• Storage container or plastic bag

Step-by-Step Pictures:

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

• Fruit and Nut Granola 
• Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie Bowl
• Kiwi Honeydew Smoothie
• Yogurt Breakfast Bowls

That’s all for today! If you like this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below or tag me in your pictures on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. I love to hear from you guys!

Bye for now,

–Naomi

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