Do you love making granola at home? I love it, and since I discovered how easy it is to make, I’ve always had a batch of my homemade maple granola in the pantry.
Love making your own granola? Try these honey granola clusters and this chocolate granola too.
This is my favourite, basic homemade granola recipe. Bites of crunchy oats and nuts, chewy dried fruit, sweet enough without being too sweet this one is a winner, so make sure to bookmark this recipe. When I feel like a chunky version, I have these Honey Granola Clusters.
Granola vs Muesli
Granola and muesli are essentially the same thing. While granola is generally always cooked, muesli comes in two forms – raw and toasted. Hence, toasted muesli and granola are just two different names for the same delicious snack.
Granola ingredients
Granola / toasted muesli recipes traditionally start with oats. Some kind of fat and sweetener are added, along with a myriad of possible mix-ins – nuts for crunch and fruit for chew and extra natural sweetness. This means the options to customise your granola recipe are endless.
- Oats: Use regular rolled oats / old fashioned oats for granola and, if you want gluten free granola make sure to use oats that are certified gluten free.
- Nuts and seeds: Get creative, using your favourite nuts and seeds. In this version I’ve used almonds and pistachios, but I often love using pepitas, sunflower or chia seeds as well. Pecans, walnuts, cashews … the list goes on.
- Spices: A little salt is always a good idea and brings out the flavour of everything. Other than that warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, all spice, clove all work really well.
- Sweetener: I most often use maple syrup to naturally sweeten my granola but you can also use honey, rice malt syrup or agave for natural options. You can also use regular sugar or monk fruit sweetener too.
- Oil: I use coconut oil in this version but other vegetable oils work well too. Try not to pick anything with a very strong flavour. Rice bran oil also works well.
- Dried fruit: Often added at the end, I actually like to add my go-to sultanas or cranberries for the last 10 minutes of baking. Others you can add right at the end, like dried blueberries, goji berries chopped dried apricots or figs.
- Other Add-ins: Other popular mix ins are chocolate chips and coconut flakes. You can add the coconut for the last 10 minutes of baking to toast it a little.
As with many granola recipes yet completely accidentally, this is a vegan granola too. In fact its very easy to keep granola vegan purely due to the nature of this yummy snack.
How to make granola at home
In just 3 simple steps, you can make your own granola at home.
- Mix ingredients in a bowl until everything is well combined then tip it onto a baking tray into an even layer
- Bake it for about 25 minutes, giving it a good mix around at the 15 minute mark.
- Let it cool, then add in any mix-ins you like.
You can add your dried fruit or coconut in with 5-10 minutes baking left to go and it caramelises and toasts them nicely.
How long does granola keep?
Granola keeps really well in an airtight container in the pantry for 4-6 weeks. Any longer than that and it may begin to stale a little.
You can freeze granola too if you need to keep it longer. Make sure to double-bag it or keep it in a bag, in an airtight container to keep it well protected.
Ways to use granola
Granola is far more versatile than just a breakfast food. It’s lovely on it’s own with milk, or used to top things like pancakes for a bit of crunch. I love it as an afternoon snack with a little yoghurt, honey and berries. You can also add it to the top of muffins before baking or use it in salads to add crunch – so, so good.
Now you have all the tips you need to make this delicious and healthy granola at home and customise it to your hearts content.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats (180g)
- ⅔ cup mixed nuts & seeds (I used almonds & pistachios) (90g)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (notes)
- ¼ cup sultanas (or other dried fruit)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine all ingredients, except the sultanas in a medium bowl and mix it together well until all fully combined and coated.
- Spread the mix out onto the baking tray in an even layer. If you want some chunky bits, press it down flat with the spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes then give it a mix, moving all the edge bits into the middle so that it’s all browning evenly. You can add the sultanas now to toast them a little too or just add them at the end.
- Bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let it cool on the tray before transferring to an airtight container.
Notes
- This recipe makes about 3 cups of granola.
- Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to
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2 Comments on “Easy Homemade Maple Granola”
I make this every few weeks and love it everytime! The simplicity means it’s easy to adjust to suit your tastes or cupboard availability! Sometimes if I don’t have quite enough maple syrup then I’ll use honey. A great wholesome recipe 😊
Thanks Jasmine. So happy you’ve found your go-to recipoe.