Homemade granola made with a delicious mix of oats, pecans, walnuts, honey, cinnamon, and cranberries. This healthy granola recipe is so easy and is great to top off a parfait, mix in cereal, or package it up for a fun homemade gift idea!

granola on a baking sheet

EMAIL ME THE RECIPE!

Enter your email below and we'll send this recipe to your inbox. Plus, enjoy exclusive content!

My Favorite Homemade Granola

WARNING: this homemade granola is super addicting! It tastes absolutely amazing with sweet, warm, toasty flavors. As an added plus, it stays super crunchy in milk or yogurt without getting soggy. That’s how you know you’ve got some darn good granola.

When baking this granola recipe, you’ll know it’s done when it gets nice and golden brown. It may still appear to be soft, but once it cools completely, it’ll be the most wonderful texture – crunchy and chewy with clusters throughout (or break them up completely if that’s what you want!). So perfect for an on-the-go breakfast or snack for the kiddos before or after school!

Once you give this homemade granola a try, you’ll never want store-bought granola again. This is waaaay better!

granola in a jar near Christmas ornaments

Gifting Granola

I love packaging up decorated jars of granola as gifts around the holidays (or really, any time of year!) for teachers, neighbors, family, and friends. I must say that such gifts are always well received and, more often than not, result in at least a few recipe requests!

It’s easy to make a big batch of this granola to divide up between several gifts. I typically package it in clear cellophane bags or glass jars. Then simply fancy up your gift with some ribbon or twine, and don’t forget to add a cute gift tag!

granola in a glass jar

Ingredients

This simple homemade granola is chock-full of healthy fats, fiber, vitamins & minerals for the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack. Here’s what you need to make it:

  • Olive oil. Adding a bit of oil to granola helps it to bake up nice and golden brown. You can use melted coconut oil or butter to switch things up.
  • Honey. To perfectly sweeten the granola. Maple syrup is also a wonderful choice and would keep the granola vegan.
  • Cinnamon. Just a touch of ground cinnamon for a warm and cozy flavor!
  • Salt. A hint of salt is a must in homemade granola to balance out the sweetness.
  • Oats. Use rolled or “old-fashioned” oats. This variety of oats has the best texture for granola.
  • Pecans + walnuts. Pecans and walnuts are my favorite nuts in granola! I love how they get golden, crunchy and toasted when baked up. Feel free to use your favorite kind of nuts in this recipe. You could even add in some seeds, like pepitas, sunflower seeds or chia seeds.
  • Cranberries. You’re going to love the chewy bites of sweetness! Feel free to swap out the cranberries for raisins or another preferred dried fruit.
mixing oats, nuts and oil for granola recipe

How to make homemade granola

This homemade granola recipe comes together quick and easy!

  1. Preheat oven and prepare pan.
  2. Combine oil, honey, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir in oats and nuts.
  3. Spread mixture in an even layer onto a lined sheet pan and bake.
  4. Remove from oven and mix in dried fruit.
  5. Cool completely before packaging up and storing or gifting.
granola on a baking sheet near ingredients

Tips

This granola recipe really could not be easier, but here are a few tips and tricks, so that your snack is super simple and turns out absolutely perfect!

  • To get the maple syrup or honey to easily come out of the measuring cup, try spraying the measuring cup with cooking spray before adding in the honey or maple syrup. It will pour right out and into your bowl!
  • For chunkier granola, use your hands to make small clumps, just before baking. While the granola is baking, don’t mix it at the halfway mark. After cooking and cooling, you can break it into granola chunks.
  • Cook granola at a low temperature. This granola cooks at 325ºF to ensure that it does not burn, but gets golden brown with a nice toasty flavor.
  • Cool granola for maximum crunchiness. When the granola first comes out of the oven, it may be a bit soft. Once it’s cool, it will have that perfect crunch.

Ways to use homemade granola

I personally love to just grab handfuls of granola for a quick snack, but there are so many ways to enjoy it. Here are some delicious ideas:

  • Serve it cereal-style, in a bowl with milk.
  • Use it as a topping for overnight oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream, smoothies or pancakes.
  • On apple slices. Dip a slices of apple in peanut or almond butter and then dip each slice in this granola.
  • Mix it up with chocolate chips, cereal, and M&Ms for a tasty trail mix.
  • Stuffed in apples. Make granola stuffed apples.
  • Check out this post for even more ideas for serving homemade granola!
homemade granola in a glass jar

Variations

This is a pretty basic granola recipe. Feel free to change it up and make it your own with all of the ingredients that you love the most.

  • Nuts + seeds. I used pecans and walnuts to make this batch. Other options include almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
  • Dried fruits. The options are endless! Try subbing any favorite dried fruit for the dried cranberries. Chopped dried apricots, chopped dates, blueberries, cherries, or raisins are all tasty choices!
  • Other add-ins. So many fun choices to experiment with! Once the granola has completely cooled, stir in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips. Toasted coconut would also be delicious!
  • Spices. Cinnamon is my favorite spice to use in pretty much any baked good. For extra flavor, you could add about 1/4 teaspoon ginger or try using pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon.

Storage

Once the granola has completely cooled, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about 4 weeks. For longer storage, you can freeze it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, let the granola come to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

granola in a glass jar wrapped with twine

More breakfast favorites

Looking for more breakfast recipes? Give these family favs a try:

If you try this homemade granola recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.

Homemade Granola

Homemade granola made with a delicious mix of oats, pecans, walnuts, honey, cinnamon, and cranberries. This healthy granola recipe is so easy and is great to top off a parfait, mix in cereal, or package it up for a fun homemade gift idea!
Author: Kim

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions 

  • Heat the oven to 325 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add oil, honey, cinnamon, and salt to a bowl; whisk. Add oats and nuts. Stir well. Spread evenly onto parchment on baking sheet, pressing flat into pan.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, stirring the oats at 10 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, add cranberries, and cool. (Press into clusters if you want snacking size.)
  • Cool before packing into containers.
  • Place into small glass canning jars, wrap lid with parchment paper square, tie with twine and add a gift tag, if gifting.

Notes

Storage: Once completely cooled, store granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about 4 weeks. For longer storage, you can freeze in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, let the granola come to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Gluten Free: To make this granola gluten free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
Serving: 0.25cup, Calories: 653kcal, Carbohydrates: 71g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 40g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 199mg, Potassium: 294mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 38g, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 3mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @kimscravings on Instagram and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!