Made with crunchy oats and nuts, naturally sweetened with honey, and jazzed up with warm cinnamon spices, this Healthy Granola recipe unstoppably addictive, easy to make, and even easier to eat!
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Why You’ll Love This Homemade Healthy Granola Recipe
- Healthy Granola That’s Actually Healthy. Store-bought granola is often loaded with unhealthy oils and gobs of sugar. Not this homemade version! It’s sweetened entirely with honey and needs only two tablespoons of coconut oil for the whole batch thanks to my stealthy healthy ingredient, egg white. The egg white also contributes to my homemade granola selling point….
- Crispity-Crunchity. Nothing is more loathsome than a soggy homemade granola recipe. This crunchy granola recipe has a delightfully crisp texture and forms nice chunks, thanks to the egg white.
- Better Than Store-Bought. Compared to store-bought alternatives, making your own homemade granola (or Healthy Granola Bars) is also far less expensive and much better for you too. In my opinion, it is the healthiest granola you can make that still tastes incredibly decadent, and its crunch is truly delightful.
5 Star Review
“I had never made granola before and tried your recipe. Holy smokes is it delicious!”
— Evelynn —
How to Make Healthy Granola
The Ingredients
- Rolled Oats. The base of our granola recipe.
- Raw Almonds. Adds delicious crunch and protein. Feel free to swap in other nuts here if you like.
- Shredded Coconut. Using unsweetened coconut makes the granola taste rich and toasty. The coconut flavor isn’t strong; rather, it gives the granola an extra somethin’ somethin’ to make it particularly addictive. You’ve been warned.
- Flaxseed Meal. A simple, healthy addition.
- Wheat Germ. The super nutritious heart of the wheat berry. Wheat germ is rich in protein, fiber, and minerals (read more about its health benefits here). If you can’t find it, you can swap additional flaxseed meal.
- Cinnamon + Honey + Vanilla. The flavor makers! All three provide cozy goodness, and the honey adds a delightful sweetness. For a vegan healthy granola, swap the honey for pure maple syrup (the maple syrup will brown more quickly, but it won’t taste burnt. It will be delicious!).
- Egg White. One little egg white can moisten and bind the entire batch, and you cannot taste it in the slightest. If you need to make the recipe vegan, you can use 2 additional tablespoons of oil instead of the egg white.
- Mix-ins. Chocolate chips are always a welcomed addition. I also love adding dried apricots, figs, dates, raisins, or dried cranberries.
The Directions
- Combine the Dry Ingredients. Place them all in a large bowl with lots of room for stirring.
- Stir. Pour in the honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and stir.
- Whisk. In another bowl, whisk the egg white until it’s frothy. Stir it into the granola.
- Transfer to Baking Sheet. Spread the granola in an even layer.
- Bake. Bake this healthy granola recipe at 300 degrees F for 20 minutes, then flip the granola, rotate the pan, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until dry to the touch. Cool completely, then eat now or store for later and ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Crock Pot Granola. Set it and forget it!
- Pumpkin Granola. The cozy granola we all need for the fall.
- Gluten Free Granola. A simple recipe for anyone who can’t eat gluten.
- Chocolate Granola. The perfect addition to ice cream.
- Gingerbread Granola. Hello, holiday gifting!
How to Serve Healthy Granola
- By Itself. I love snacking on this healthy granola recipe by the handful.
- With Yogurt. Spruce up your morning routine, and Yogurt Parfait, by topping your favorite yogurt with this granola.
- With Ice Cream. Make dessert more nutritious by scattering some granola on top of ice cream.
- On Pancakes or Waffles. Granola breakfast pancakes or waffles are scrumptious and delightfully crunchy.
- In Cookies. Use it in these healthy Granola Cookies for a perfect, healthy alternative to store-bought granola!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Make Sure Everything Is Evenly Coated. Bits that are dry won’t be delicious and cluster-y. Make sure the honey, oil, extract, and egg white coat every last bit!
- Keep an Eye on It Near the End. During the last few minutes of cooking time this healthy granola recipe can go from golden brown to burnt fast. (While I will eat a lot of things that are burnt, blackened almonds are absolutely foul. Take my word for it!) If your oven runs hot, you may need to take the granola out a bit early.
- Put Your Own Spin On It. Try different spices, nuts, or seeds pre-baking. After baking and cooling, you can add dried fruit, chocolate chip, and other ingredients to the mix if you’d like.
Healthy Granola
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Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats gluten free if needed
- 1 cup raw almonds
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup Bob’s Red Mill Ground Flaxseed Meal do not use whole flaxseed
- ¼ cup wheat germ substitute additional coconut to make gluten free
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup honey* I prefer to use raw honey
- 2 tablespoons melted virgin coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white
- Up to 3/4 cup mix-ins of choice: chocolate chips apricots, figs, dates, craisins, raisins, etc., chopped if large
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, almonds, flaxseed, wheat germ, salt, and cinnamon. Pour in the honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and stir to coat. Taste and add additional honey if you prefer a sweeter granola.
- In a small bowl, briskly whisk the egg white until it is frothy. Stir into the granola mixture, doing your best to evenly incorporate it throughout.
- Spread the granola in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the sheet from the oven and with a large spatula, carefully flip large sections of the granola over, doing your best to keep them intact (this is what forms the granola chunks.) Rotate the pan 180 degrees, return it to the oven, then bake for 15-20 additional minutes, until the granola is golden brown and feels almost dry to the touch (it will continue to crisp as well it cools). Watch it carefully towards the end, as honey tends to quickly brown.
- Remove from the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack, then let the granola cool completely on the pan. Break granola into chunks of your desired size, then carefully mix in the dried fruit. Enjoy with milk, yogurt, or on its own as a snack.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Keep leftover granola in an airtight storage container at room temperature for up to 1 to 2 weeks.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze granola in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
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Oats are high in fiber and satisfaction, making them one of my go-to ingredients for a healthy breakfast! Here are some more recipes to try:
I decided I HAD to come back and give this 5 stars because I can not leave it alone! I’ m not sure why? Perhaps it is the perfect balance of flavors, none of which stands out as a solo flavor but harmonize together in the best possible way. Shhhh. I am going to make another batch tomorrow while my husband is away so he doesn’t notice how much I ate. So delicious, Erin!!
Hi Pam! That makes me so happy to hear! So glad you enjoyed the granola! Thank you for this kind review!
I have to admit I was never a huge fan of granola, but I decided to make this recipe – one of my first after coming across your amazing site. This is so easy to make and so delicious, I’m surprised by how much I like it. I’m now on my second batch!
Hi Judith! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This is fabulous! Crunchy, full of good-for-you ingredients and not overly sweet.
Fair warning – it is absolutely addictive.
I followed the recipe as written with the change of slivered blanched almonds instead of whole and added dried cherries as a mix-in.
Great with milk or yogurt but my favorite way is just a handful(?) for a mid afternoon snack.
I froze half of the batch and found it is perfect right out of the freezer.
Hi Judith! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Your granola is so delicious! I made the one in the cookbook with the quinoa and that added a wonderful crunch. Every other recipe I have tried has always burned or in some other way not turned out. But your granola recipes work great. Thanks so much. It’s sooooo much better than the bagged stuff in the supermarket. Better tasting and better for you.
So happy to hear this Lisa! Thank you!
I followed this recipe to the letter, granola never formed, I think recipe uses too much oatmeal I baked it extra time it still didn’t form, and taste was ok despite adding extra cinnamon. It would be ok in a bowl of milk but I won’t be making it again, sorry!
I’m sorry you to hear had trouble with the recipe! I know it’s frustrating to try a new recipe and not have it turn out. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed them, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too! It’s hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you.
Love this!
Hi JG! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
My search for a delicious, not too sweet granola recipe is over……this is perfect.
So glad to hear Judith!
This is so good with raisins and dried cranberries as mix-ins!
Hi! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Really good flavor and texture and not too sweet. Served it at a quilt retreat and it disappeared quickly.
That’s great, Christine!
I love this recipe!
So glad, thank you!
As I was looking for granola for my yogurt parfait this morning I noticed I was out so I went right to your website and found this. I cut back on the honey a bit but it was still delicious! My husband doesn’t even like granola but kept grabbing handfuls every time he came into the kitchen:)
A good quality store bought granola is not inexpensive and this recipe will last me awhile so it’s cost effective as well as tasty. Thanks for another great recipe Erin!
Glad you enjoyed it, LR!
Hey Erin, I have a question! If I use refined coconut oil instead, would it just affect the taste?
Hi Liz, with the virgin oil it does have a more tropical coconut scent and flavor compared to refined having a more neutral scent and flavor. Said that, I think it would still taste good either way. Enjoy!
thanks Erin! :)
This was amazing! Followed the recipe exactly except for adding extra cinnamon. I’ll be making this again and again!
Great to hear, Liz!
I’m totally Obsessed with this granola. This is so insanely good! I was a little worried about the volume being a bit too much for me, but now I’m just eating it straight out of the storage jar!
Thank you Eunice!
I am very happy to have found such a healthy and absolutely delicious recipe for granola! I LOVE the amount of cinnamon in it. Just had some mixed into vanilla Greek yogurt for breakfast, and it was AMAZING! Thanks so much!!
Thanks so much Athena!
Excellent, healthy and super easy! I actually added some unsweetened shredded coconut before baking and love the toasted flavor. Double the amount of cinnamon as I love it. Will definitely make it often. Thanks!
Thank you Janella!