This homemade Lemon Honey Granola is zippy and bright from the lemon, sweet with a bit of chew from the honey, and full of crunchy clusters of oats and nuts. Gluten-free and easily dairy-free too!
A few years ago, I realized how incredibly easy it was to make granola.
Once I started eating granola daily, I realized that I could potentially ruin my grocery budget by buying it so often, and figured I could probably make it better myself anyway (I’m a DIY queen!).
So I started looking for some more affordable homemade options. Turns out, making your own granola is cheaper, healthier, and so simple. The steps are easy, it’s basically:
- Mix your dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Mix your wet ingredients together in a pot.
- Pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients.
- Bake.
There is a tiny bit more to this recipe (lemon zesting, spreading, etc.) but that’s the main idea.
So I tried a few different recipes and pieced together my favorite parts to create my own favorite Vanilla Granola.
From there, I’ve made several different granola flavors, like this Lemon Honey Granola, Chocolate Coconut Granola, Maple Nut Granola, Orange Turmeric Granola, and Chai-Spiced Granola, to name a few!
Every different season of the year now I look forward to the different flavors of granola that I’ll make. For summertime, this Lemon Honey Granola is the perfect yogurt or smoothie bowl topping, or just grab a handful for a snack!
If you haven’t ever made your own granola.. now is the time, my friend! 🙂
Time for a few notes…
First, if you’re gluten-free then you’ll need to use certified gluten-free oats to keep your granola gluten-free.
Next, you can use whatever nuts you prefer in this recipe, really any of them work. I like almonds and walnuts best, but I usually just use whatever I have on hand. I’ve also used cashews and pumpkin seeds and love them too, they just give you a different texture.
If you can’t have coconut oil (or prefer not to use it), butter or vegetable oil should work just as well too.
To keep the lemon flavor strong, I recommend using the zest of at least 3-4 small lemons (or 2 large lemons). The zest is REALLY where you get your lemon flavor, so don’t skimp out on it!
And why not just use honey? Adding a little coconut sugar in the mix adds a little extra crunch to the granola. Too much honey will make the granola too chewy, and the sugar helps to break that up. If you prefer you can use white sugar instead of coconut sugar.
Most importantly, be sure to spread your granola out as thin as possible on a large baking sheet. If your granola is spread too thick you’ll end up with chewy clumps instead of crunchy clusters!
Other than these details, the rest of this recipe should be pretty easy. If you have any questions, ask me in the comments below. 🙂
So, tell me, have you ever made homemade granola? If you haven’t, what’s stopping you?
Filled with zippy lemon flavor, sweet honey, crunchy oats and nuts, this Lemon Honey Granola is the best Summer granola recipe!
If you want more lemon-flavored goodness, check out my gluten-free Lemon Loaf, Lemon Chia Breakfast Cookies, Lemon Snack Balls, Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles, and Paleo Lemon Cookies.

- 2 cups oats (certified gluten-free)
- 2 cups nuts, chopped (almonds, walnuts, cashews)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or white sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- zest of 2 large lemons (or 3-4 small lemons)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
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Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your oats and nuts. Stir until well combined.
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In a medium sized pot, over medium heat, add your coconut oil, honey and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and remove from the heat (Alternatively you can heat your ingredients up in the microwave). Add in your vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
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Pour the wet ingredients from your pot over the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir until everything is blended well together.
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Spread out in a thin, even layer on your baking pan.
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Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or till the edges are just starting to get a little color.
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While the granola is cooling it will get crunchy, so don't be worried if it comes out and doesn't look crunchy yet. Let it cool for about 30 minutes, and devour!
Stored in an airtight container this will last for several months.
I don’t have any nuts, could I replace the nuts with more oats? I’d love to make this with some nuts but I don’t have any and I would like to know if I like the recipe before buying nuts because they’re expensive. thank you in advance!
Hi Katie. Yes, you can just make this with all oats, replacing the nuts with them entirely (with the same amount).
Mine did not come out in big clusters… should I add more honey? It has good flavor though
Hi there. I’m sorry to hear you didn’t get the large chunky clusters that you should have. Did you maybe spread it out too thin on your pan? Did you let it cool entirely? And after it cooled, did it break up to easily?