Want to venture into the world of homemade granola? Start with this super simple, crowd pleasing Vanilla Granola that’s gluten-free, dairy-free and with an easy vegan option.
I love love love homemade granola.
You just can’t beat it. My favorite before-bed snack is a handful… okay, and my favorite morning snack… and evening snack…
Granola doesn’t last long around here.
Between myself, my two kiddos, and my husband’s occasional handfuls, one batch is gone within a week or two usually!
That’s sort of why I started making homemade granola too. Instead of spending extra money on store bought gluten-free granola, making my own was super simple, tasted even better, had less ingredients, and saved me money.
No brainer! Making granola from scratch was a new go-to. And I honestly love it.
With simple and healthy ingredients, in no time you’ll have homemade granola that you won’t be able to stay away from too! 😉
Let’s talk granola basics.
First, you’ll stir together your dry ingredients:
- Rolled oats (certified gluten-free, if necessary)
- Chopped nuts – You can use walnuts, almonds or pecans. You can even use cashews, but I think walnuts, almonds and pecans give the best texture to the granola.
- Cinnamon – Be sure to use a high quality cinnamon for a nice hint of cinnamon flavor.
Then, you’ll take your coconut oil and melt it. You can use a microwave safe bowl and microwave it, or you can melt it on your stovetop. Either way works great.
After your coconut oil is melted, you’ll add your honey, and whisk the two together a bit. Then heat the mixture up again just a tad, so they blend together even better.
If you want to keep this Vanilla Granola vegan, then simply use maple syrup instead of honey. This granola made with maple syrup does crumble a bit more than the granola made with honey. But, you will still get some great granola chunks and perfectly crunchy texture.
Add your vanilla to your coconut oil and honey, and stir together. Then, pour it on top of your dry ingredients and stir them together well, or till the dry ingredients are completely coated by the wet ingredients.
Spread your mixture onto a parchment-paper lined pan in a THIN LAYER, taking up the whole dang pan! 🙂
The granola will bake best in as thin of a layer as possible. Then bake!
Granola still feeling soft to touch after it bakes?
Don’t worry. The granola actually hardens as it cools. So give it a good while to cool completely (about 30 minutes or so).
Then, break your granola up into as many pieces as you’d like. I don’t break mine up as much, because I like thick, crunchy clusters… that are easier to grab and eat! 🙂
This Vanilla Granola is filled with vanilla, honey and a touch of cinnamon flavor. It’s a great neutral topper for yogurt, or other snacks.. Hey, I’ve even put it on top of ice cream before and it’s AMAZING!
It’s my absolute favorite snack and I think one of my best recipes. I hope you enjoy!
Other fun granola flavors to check out: Orange Turmeric Granola, Lemon Honey Granola, Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Nut Granola, Chocolate Coconut Granola, and Chai Granola.
- 2 cups rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
- 2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup, if vegan)
- 1 tbsp vanilla
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To begin, preheat your oven to 300 and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients (oats, nuts, cinnamon) and stir them together.
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In a small, microwave safe bowl, add your coconut oil and microwave till melted (about 1 minute). Add your honey, whisk them together, and microwave them again till they are very warm (about another 30-60 seconds). Add your vanilla and whisk it it.
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Pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients, and stir till all of your oats and nuts are covered entirely. Pour your granola onto your pan and spread it out into one, thin, even layer. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or till the edges are just starting to gain a bit of color. The granola will get crunchy as it cools.
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Let granola cool entirely, before breaking it up into pieces. Devour!
Stored in an airtight container this lasts about a few months.
Hi! Have you ever added any raisins or freeze-dried fruit? If you have, does it change the cooking time or anything?
Hi Alyssa. Yes, you can add either of those things, but AFTER the granola has baked. If you add it before, the oven will turn them into hard little rocks! So just sprinkle them in with your granola after you break it into pieces.
This recipe is so easy to do! I’ve made it three times now! I tweaked the recipe a little by only adding one cup of nuts or seeds. Then I put half maple syrup and half honey for the 1/3 cup part. I also add a pinch of salt since the nuts I have been getting are raw. I love this recipe though it’s so great! My fiancé loves it too!!
So great to hear Lauren thank you for the sweet comment!
I don’t have coconut oil in my pantry. Can I use vegetable oil instead?
Yes! That will work just fine.
Easy recipe. I added dried blueberries and sunflower seeds. I didn’t have coconut oil so I used lemon infused olive oil and about 1 Tbs of butter. ( we love the combination of lemon and blueberries so I knew my family would like this) It turned out great!!! My family loves it. I will definitely make again and tweak depending on what I have on hand.
Awesome, Sam! Love hearing that. And lemon blueberry sounds delicious too!
Hello! Is there a way to make this nut free? How can I sub out that volume?
Oh never mind! Someone else asked and you already gave the answer! Thank you!!
Hi Chelsea,
Thanks for sharing your great recipe. It was the first time I made granola and it was a huge hit! I varied my ingredients, substituting the coconut for butter and using barberine as my fruit. Worked a treat. I wanted to tag you in my Instagram post but couldn’t find your handle.
Hi Hope. Great to hear!! I’m here: https://www.instagram.com/milehighmitts
Hi! I absolutely love this simple and sweet recipe! I know you get 16 servings out of the recipe but how big is a suggested serving size? Just wanting to know for tracking purposes. Thank you!!
Hi Katy. I did 16 servings of 1/4 cup each. Hope this helps!
It is vanilla extract?
Yes!
How much is considered a serving trying to be mindful of calories
Hi Kathy. I did 16 servings of 1/4 cup each.
Curious… do you stir the granola halfway into the 30 minute cooking time or do you leave it alone until it’s done baking?
Hi Joshua. You can stir it if you like in between but it’s not necessary – and you won’t get as big of crunchy clusters if you do stir it. Instead it will be more like confetti granola.
What temperature do you bake the granola at?
300
I’ve tried several granola recipes and this was THE ONE! Just the right combination of sweetness, crunch and flavor. I used maple syrup and instead of 2 cups oatmeal and 2 cups nuts, I used 3 cups of oatmeal and 1 cup of nuts. Turned out just fine. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s perfect! 💗
So great to hear Heidi! Thank you for the comment 🙂
Chelsea, I made this for the first time and it just did not have any clusters.
I did use a mat instead of parchment paper. Do you think that made a difference?
It is still yummy, but I’d like to try it again and get the clusters.
It did seem like I didn’t have enough honey/oil mixture, but I guess it shouldn’t be saturated, either ?
Can you think of anything else I might have messed up on?
Hi Connie. I would not recommend using a mat. I’ve had inconsistent results with using a mat, so I’ve ditched mine! I would recommend parchment paper instead. You should at least have small clusters, and the oats/nuts should be lightly covered in the honey/oil mixture prior to baking. It doesn’t sound like you messed anything up from what you’ve told me. Hopefully it works for you without the mat!
Hi! My hubby got quick oats instead of rolled. Will it still work?
Thanks!
Hi Carla. I haven’t ever made granola with quick cooking oats before, and I’d be concerned that it would turn out too soft and won’t have enough of the crunch that granola should have. I don’t think the quick cooking oats would hold up well, sorry! But, you could always give it a shot, and maybe only make 1/2 a recipe just in case it doesn’t turn out well.
Hi! I’m back to report that it turned out great! I added shredded coconut and baked it for a bit longer and it is crunchy and sooooo good!
Hi there. This looks absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to try it out. Just curious how necessary the sweetening agent is? I’m low FODMAP so no honey and would like to try and watch other sugar intake as suspected pre diabetic (I know, right. 2020 blah).
Tia
Hi Lucie. Great question! Unfortunately, this granola really needs the honey or maple syrup to make it the right texture, for it to stick together. If you’re looking for a totally sugar-free recipe, I’d recommend checking out something like this: https://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes/healthy-sugar-free-granola-recipe/ It uses egg whites instead of a sticky sugar.
Absolutely the best recipe..its delicious. What I did was I set the oven on 125C for 25mins and then added 10more, and then 5 more in 150C.
I also added 1teaspoon of nutmeg, chia seeds and mini dark chocolate. 😋
Awesome! Thanks for the sweet comment Joy. And yum, mini dark chocolate sounds delish with the granola!
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe but I was wondering if you could add dried fruit to it, like cranberries?? Thank you!
Hi Jenn. Yes, but only after you bake it. After it’s baked and cooled, and you break it into pieces, you can sprinkle the cranberries in along with it. Hope you love it!
Hi there. Can I ask why you can’t bake with the dried fruit?
They get really hard after baking! It’s best to just sprinkle them in after.
If I add more nuts and dried fruit in addition to the original ingredients should I increase the oil and honey? Also, when should the fruit be added?
Hi Judy. I wouldn’t add any more nuts to the batch itself, unless you want to change the ratio of oats/nuts and do less oats (then you could do, for example, 1 cup of oats and 3 cups of nuts). Then, you can add the dried fruit after the granola has baked and cooled and stir it into the mix. I hope this helps and you enjoy it!
Do you have nutritional info for this? Like net carbs?
Yes, there’s about 16 servings (1/4 cup each) and it comes out to about 175 calories each serving.
My granola is getting soft right after being cooked. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Zarnab. I’m sorry to hear that, that definitely shouldn’t be happening. Are you sure you are spreading your granola out into one thin even layer? Did you bake it for the full 30 minutes? And did you use honey or maple syrup?
Hey thanks for getting back to me!
Do I get a an email notification if you reply to queries or is it just to keep checking this space.
I really like your recipe. It’s definitely worth saving.
So what I did was as that put the granola in ziplock bags and put it in the fridge. Next day it was crunchy and crisp!
I am baking it at 125 C for a bit longer. Seems to be working better for me! Any higher the temp, the granola burns to quickly.
Thanks
Yes, you should be getting an e-mail I believe when I respond!
Hey 🙂
Would love to try this, what kind of Vanilla do you use ?
Hi there. Any vanilla extract will do! I like to buy large bottles off amazon because I bake so often.
is there a calorie count for this???
Hi Hannah. Yes, for 1/4 cup its about 175 calories.
Fantastic recipe!! I make it each week. I use grass fed butter instead of coconut oil and tend to add TJ’s pumpkin spice seasoning every now and again to switch it up. SO GOOD. Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks for the sweet comment Marissa!
What can you substitute the nuts for? I really want to try this, but am allergic to tree nuts (no almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts or hazelnuts). I CAN eat peanuts and pine nuts. Add seeds?
Thanks!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie. You could just use just oats (4 cups total) instead of oats and nuts. Peanuts would be good still, but they would change the flavor a bit of course. I would think pine nuts would be okay too, just a different texture. So really, either of those nuts or just more oats would work depending on your preference. Hope this helps!
Hmmmm….seeds? Pumpkin, sunflower, hemp? That might taste good and add some good protein! I’m going to try that as my kids can’t have bits at school!
Hi Stephanie,
I use oats, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and a little chopped walnuts for a nice crunch. Very tasty!
This is a great granola recipe. For the last half of the baking, I added in raisins.
Thank you for this easy delicious recipe! I will note that the bake time listed was off. The first time I made this it burned at 25 minutes, this time I baked it only 15 minutes at it is perfect. Super easy and yummy!!
I love this recipe so much! It is absolutely delicious and I added raisins to mine and it was delicious! I definitely recommend
Great to hear, thanks Madi!
None of my baked together in clusters..maybe my layer was somehow too spread out? I will have to give it another try some other time. I like having big clusters
Hi Ashley. I’m sorry you didn’t get the large chunky clusters. I agree with you, maybe you spread the granola out too thin and far apart. The oats & nuts should all be touching, but not in too thick of a layer, or the honey won’t cook through well and you’ll have chewy granola instead of crunchy. Hope this helps!
i’ve never made granola before, and tried this recipe (didn’t have coconut oil so used olive oil instead) and it was DELICIOUS. left it in for about 40 minutes stirring it every so often and they turned out absolutely delectable. thank you!
Awesome. Your welcome!
This recipe is delicious. I doubled the recipe and used melted butter and maple syrup.
Best. Granola. Ever. This is seriously the best recipe for granola I’ve found! Thank you so much! Now the hard part…not to eat it all at once!!!
Awesome!! I have that problem too 🙂
I used only 1 cup of walnuts plus a handful of sunflower seeds.
I also only used 1/2 T. vanilla.
In place of honey I used 1/3 cup agave mixed with maple syrup.
It turned out great!!! I tried a different granola recipe a couple of
weeks ago but wasn’t thrilled – so kept looking. Glad I didn’t have to
look too far, this one is perfect!
Awesome!! Happy to hear you’ve found a keeper recipe, Roberta! 🙂
My house smells so good baking this granola… love it and thank you. Never again will I be buying store bought.
Awesome, thanks Tamara! Great to hear that.
Made this granola 4 times now.
It is delicious and healthy. I am gluten free so I am always looking for different recipes, variations of the same product. I used to be a bakery manager in Indiana, so I am no stranger to the kitchen or ovens.
There are so many different ways to change this granola up, dried cherries, dates, almonds, pecans, coconut, any dried fruit.
Thank you much for sharing this recipe with everyone.
No problem, Paul, thanks for the comment! Yes, endless options with granola, that’s one of the reasons I love it so much.
Thank you so much for this recipe! This was my first time making granola since I realized how unhealthy store bought granola is. I made it with maple syrup and cashews and it was delicious!
Happy to hear your first go at homemade granola was a success! Your welcome!
Sounds yummy and I agree that homemade granola is a wonderful treat to have at home, but as a registered dietitian I strongly suggest using vegetable oil NOT coconut oil. Coconut oil is a highly saturated fat and should be avoided in a healthy diet. Nutrition claims made about this fat are not based on good nutritional science.
I have a picky granddaughter and she loves this recipe, I did tweak it a bit I used raw local honey and 1/2 cup dried cherries ????! Thank you for sharing.
Your welcome. That’s great to hear, Michelle, thanks for the comment!
Yum! Thanks so much for the recipe it is so tasty! I was wondering about how much a serving size would be (if I can keep from eating it all at once????)
Hi Katie. I get that! I figured about 16 servings of 1/4 cup each (thinking that’s a good size for on top of yogurt) and that would be about 175 calories.
This is not a vegan option as it has honey, your post is deceiving ????
Hi there. The recipe gives a vegan option by using maple syrup instead of honey.
I’ve been known to pour milk on nature valley gronola bars for breakfast. My mother finally told me to find a granola recipe. And I’m so glad I did! I love this recipe so much! I keep adding more nuts everytime I make it! My only problem is I seem to have two little mice ???? (my parents) that are always happy to help me eat it within the week.
I had to substitute the nuts because of my grandsons allergy. I used 1-1/2 cups of unsalted sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup of flaxseed instead. It’s still held together in clusters and I don’t think it missed the oiliness of the nuts. It was easy and very delicious. The first thing I did was use it in a fruit parfait made with sugar free instant pudding & berries. So easy and very delicious. This recipe is a keeper!
So happy to hear that, Debbie! And that fruit parfait sounds great!
This is my go to recipe, it’s been made many many times in our house.Thank you, we love it! I have on occasion added in ground flax and unsweetened coconut flakes. I always use a cup of slivered almonds and a cup of pecans, we just love it with both types of nuts. We double the recipe over here…it still only lasts about a week in our house with 3 teenagers. I even put it into large mason jars to store it, it looks so pretty. Enjoy!
So fun to hear that, Laura! So happy that one of my recipes has become a family favorite for your family too 🙂
This is delicious! I added some shredded coconut and substituted butter as I didn’t have any coconut oil.
Thanks for the review, Chelsea! Happy to hear that 🙂
Great it turned out amazingly delicious