Sweet, crunchy clusters filled with maple and cinnamon flavors, for a classic and healthy breakfast or snack recipe!
Who likes sweet and crunchy? And healthy breakfast recipes?
ME!!! 🙂
A soft, fresh muffin or slice of banana bread is always a great breakfast. Some mornings though I’m looking for that CRUNCH. Some mornings I CRAVE the crunch… I am a huge texture eater after all.
On those mornings, I grab handfuls of homemade granola, like this Maple Nut Granola. Those same mornings, my kids turn into vultures when they see me with granola! 😉 My toddler daughter in particular is a huge granola fan.
Coated with sweet maple and cinnamon flavors, these crunchy clusters of granola are a texture lovers dream.
Not crazy about Greek yogurt, but wanting to eat it for a little more protein? Try eating Greek yogurt with some granola on top. I also love to add some shredded coconut too (yum!). Weird, but true: granola is also fantastic on top of ice cream. Somehow my husband came up with that genius idea that I thought was super weird at first! But it’s SO good.
Ready for some tricks, to make this gluten-free Maple Nut Granola a winner?
Typically I like to heat up my wet ingredients on the stove, and boil them for a minute, to get an almost caramel-like flavor into my granola.
However, with a granola based so heavily on maple syrup, I like to just microwave my wet ingredients, to make sure the maple syrup doesn’t burn in the pot on the stove.
You’ll also want to carefully watch your granola white it’s baking in the oven. In a matter of one minute, the edges of my granola went from perfect to a little burnt when I made it a few weeks ago! I made it again last week and pulled it out a couple minutes too early and the granola wasn’t quite as crunchy as I would have liked.
My family is currently in a rental, with an oven I’m not used to, so I’d like to blame it on the oven! Or the stress of moving 😉 Either way, lesson learned: watch your granola carefully the last few minutes to ensure the perfect amount of crunchy with no burnt edges.
So, how do you make this healthy Maple Nut Granola?
To begin, preheat your oven to 300 and line a pan with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, add your oats, almonds, and cinnamon and stir together till the oats and nuts are completely coated in cinnamon.
In a microwaveable bowl, add your coconut oil and microwave until it is melted (mine took about 30 seconds). Now, add your maple syrup, and microwave again, so the entire mixture is hot (maybe about another 30 seconds).
Remove your wet ingredients from the oven, add your vanilla, stir it all together and pour it over your dry ingredients.
Spread your wet granola mixture out into a thin, even layer on your pan and bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes, carefully watching it the last few minutes so you don’t wind up with burnt edges!
Let your granola cool entirely and then break it up into your desired size of chunks! Want bigger clusters? Only break your granola up a little. I’m a big fan of big clusters! 🙂
Oh, and by the way, the maple syrup and cinnamon combined smells like absolute Heaven in the oven 🙂
Need more granola flavor ideas? Check out my gluten-free Lemon Honey Granola or gluten-free Orange Turmeric Granola.
- 2 cups rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
- 2 cups almonds, chopped (or other nuts)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
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Preheat your oven to 300 and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
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In a medium sized mixing bowl, add your oats, almonds and cinnamon and stir them together till the cinnamon has entirely coated the mixture.
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In a small, microwaveable bowl, add the coconut oil and microwave till it has melted. Now, add your maple syrup, and microwave again (in 30 second increments) till the mixture is lightly boiling. Add your vanilla to the mixture and stir to combine.
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Pour your wet ingredients on top of your dry ingredients and stir until everything is evenly coated. Pour your granola onto the pan and spread out into a thin, even layer.
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Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes, or till the edges of the granola are just starting to gain some color (but not burning!).
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As your granola cools it will become crunchy. Let cool for about 30 minutes, or till the granola has cooled entirely. Then gently break the granola into pieces, however large or small you would like.
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Devour!
how would you alter the recipe of you didn’t want nuts? my son won’t eat almonds and I’m allergic to the other kinds! would i just put another cup of oatmeal?
Yes, just use oats in place of all nuts (4 cups of oats total). Hope you enjoy!
Hi! Just a suggestion- I use seeds – help, sunflower, pumpkin, a nice substitute.
Just made a “version” of this, looks & smells awesome! I make granola often with a very similar recipe, so I adjusted using a couple ingredients I wanted to use up; 1/4 c melted butter for the oil, +extra vanilla, (forgot to microwave butter & syrup mixture, just added to the dry ingredients & baked! 🙂
This is my go to granola recipe. It’s brilliant!
how much is a serving size! very good love it.
I account for 1/4 cup of granola for a serving size.
Can sourdough discard be used in this recipe?
Hi Jodie. I have been making a lot of sourdough recipes lately, and one I’ve made is sourdough granola. But, I haven’t been happy with the texture it gives the granola. I really don’t think it’s worth it. If you have extra discard you can check out my pancake recipe, or google for a gluten-free sourdough cracker recipe.
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post this link or not, but this is the sourdough granola recipe i use and we love it
https://madeinmotherhood.com/sourdough-granola/?fbclid=IwAR0PvlFCfCKWwmdq3SQUfL2VbNPxHshkVJERUBbPhu7piCLGl6qnQhMF_WQ_aem_AYB5dKwIcek2-iA5cnBSr0XgyF6tEmdmjxpK0kF2Oi-IYHWjd4McOeAoFQn3OcObCnI#wpzoom-premium-recipe-card
Such a great recipe! So delicious & easy to adapt to what you have on hand (I used olive oil & walnuts) homemade granola is the best!
Best granola ever!!! I never buying one in stores. So easy to make and so delicious. I added butter instead of oil and did add dried cranberries after it cooked. Sharing this recipe with all my friends and family.
This granola is sooooo much better than store bought and so easy to make. I did use butter instead of coconut oil. And did add dried cranberries after granola cooled down. This is hands down my go to recipe for granola. No more buying it -EVER!
This is by far the best and easiest granola recipe that I have found. I usually use pecans and walnuts and a little less pure maple syrup. We all love it from grandparents to grandchildren! Delicious! I highly recommend this recipe!
Tried this with pecans and used butter to replace the coconut oil. Came out super yummy!
Fabulous! I used butter instead of coconut oil & used maple extract instead of the vanilla. What a great snack. I love to grab a handful to nibble on or top yogurt & ice cream with it.
Amazing!
This granola is the best I have ever had 👍 And the first kinda that doesn’t hurt my tummy. I suffer from IBS and its a awesome recipe to make especially cause I know what is in it, that’s a plus. Also i use avocado oil instead of coconut oil and it is so….. good I will be making this recipe again and again thank you for posting this recipe.
I just made this going in the oven now. I didn’t have any coconut oil so after I googled it I substituted it with butter because we’re not vegan so I went for it. I also added some cashews, walnuts and coconut adding up to the 2 cups. Looks good hopefully it’s a hit!!
Does this require refrigeration?
No it’s shelf stable in an airtight container.
The recipe was great! I added a little more cinnamon and added some maple extract. My friend doesn’t really like granola but she was crazy about this! Thanks a bunch!
I’m don’t care for coconut oil. Is there another oil that would work?
Yes, any other neutral flavored oil will work, like vegetable oil or olive oil.
This is my go to recipe for granola. I mix it up with different kinds of nuts cranberries and chocolate at times.
I’ve even thrown in some butterscot chips as well. Simple and reliable recipe!
Just made this, a double batch. Its very loose, didn’t get any clumps. Has great flavor though.
I just made this. Dee-lish! I only had one cup of chopped almonds but substituted the other cup with chopped pecans. So good. Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks Teresa for leaving the comment!
Looks so yummy. So happy to have landed on your blog. Subscribed right away 🙂
Thank you so much!! I’m glad you found me and that you subscribed 🙂