This nutty granola is so simple to make, you'll wonder why you didn't try making it sooner! Made of a basic but delicious combination of oats, nuts, and pumpkin seeds and sweetened simply by maple syrup, this recipe can easily be customized to your liking! You'll never want to buy granola ever again!
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Why Make Your Own Granola?
After you make this granola, you'll be asking yourself why you haven't been making it yourself!
There are, obviously, plenty of granola options out there...too many, in fact, where you just feel confused about which one to buy. I have found that, aside from being expensive, store-bought granola often contains a lot of sugar, may contain preservatives, or they simply contain ingredients I don't like (like dried fruit, for example).
This granola uses gluten-free oats, but if you're not gluten-free, you can use regular rolled oats. This recipe keeps it pretty simple, and the best thing is that you can customize it however you'd like!
Ingredients
- Gluten-free rolled oats (regular rolled oats are fine if you are not gluten-free)
- Sliced almonds
- Cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
- Neutral flavored oil (I use extra light olive oil)
- Maple syrup
Instructions
Combine the rolled oats, nuts, and seeds on a baking sheet. If you have whole nuts, chop them into smaller pieces before adding them to the mix.
Add the oil and maple syrup.
Stir the granola with the oil and maple syrup until it is well-mixed. Spread it out evenly on the baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 250F/130C oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring the granola every 15 minutes.
Let the granola cool completely before transferring it to a container.
Variations
Keeping the proportion of 5 cups dry ingredients to ¼ cup oil to ¼ cup liquid sweetener, here are ways you can customize your granola:
- Adjust the 5 cups of dry to be any proportion of oats to nuts. You can have fewer cups of oats and more nuts, you can have all oats and no nuts, or you can make this a nut/seed granola with no oats.
- Nuts that I find work best are almonds (sliced or chopped), cashews, pecans, or walnuts.
- Seeds that work well are pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. You could use flax or chia seeds, but I find that they simply get lost in the granola. Also, flax seeds are best eaten when ground up and added to your granola when you're ready to eat it.
- Any liquid sweetener will work. I like the flavor maple syrup lends to the granola, but you can use honey, agave, etc. You can also do a combination of half liquid sweetener and half brown sugar.
- Add other ingredients like dried cranberries or raisins, chocolate chips or chunks, or coconut flakes.
Commonly Asked Questions
Oats are naturally gluten-free. However, there is a risk of cross-contamination if they are processed in a facility that processes wheat products. If you are on a gluten-free diet, be sure to buy rolled oats that are certified as gluten-free on the packaging.
A batch of this granola will last in a sealed container at room temperature for about a month. However, in my household, this granola always gets eaten up before the month is up!
Instead of stirring the granola every 15 minutes, stir the granola only once halfway through the 1 hour 15 minutes.
Yes! Wait until the baked granola has completely cooled before mixing in chocolate chips or chunks. You can also add some chocolate to the granola about 5 minutes after it has come out of the oven; the chocolate will melt from the residual heat and you'll get chocolate clusters.
I would suggest stirring in dried fruit after pulling the granola out of the oven, or waiting until the granola has completely cooled. Adding the dried fruit for the entire baking time will dry it out and make it tougher to chew.
It's your granola, so if you prefer having whole nuts, go for it! I find it is easier to eat, though, when all the pieces are similar in size, so I prefer to chop them.
I find any neutral flavored oil works best, but you can also use coconut oil, avocado oil, or a nut oil to add another layer of flavor to the granola.
Yes! You can either use half brown sugar and maple syrup, or you can add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in addition to the maple syrup amount in the recipe. If you are using brown sugar, mix it with the oats and nuts before adding the oil and maple syrup.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it with milk, of course! Obviously, this simple nutty granola is perfect for breakfast. I enjoy eating it with really cold milk (not just cold, but REALLY cold!) and I love topping it with fresh blueberries.
Stirred into yogurt: Another way I enjoy eating the granola is to sprinkle some over Greek yogurt. It has just enough sweetness to balance the tartness of the yogurt and the crunch is nice!
Share it with friends and family! The granola makes a great gift! It's easy to make in quantity to make several gifts, and who wouldn't be happy to receive a homemade tasty treat? Pack some in gift bags and seal it with a pretty ribbon or fancy sticker, or gift some in a glass container.
Take it with you! Another idea for the homemade granola? Make a batch, put it all in a resealable bag or container and take it on trips! We have traveled with a big bag of granola (and reusable plastic bowls and spoons!) so we don't have to worry about breakfast. All we need to do is get milk when we get to our destination! A bag of homemade granola would be perfect for camping trips, too!
More Oats and Breakfast Recipes
Here's a cool recipe idea that you've got to consider if you're making this granola! Take the simple nutty granola you've just made and make it portable by turning it into Simple Nutty Granola Bars!
- Gluten- Free Honey Oat Nut Bread - this bread is tender and delicious and it will leave you amazed that it is gluten-free.
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - chewy and delicious, these cookies are perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth.
- Gluten-Free Carrot Pineapple Muffins - moist and delicious, these muffins are great for breakfast or with an afternoon coffee.
Looking for more easy breakfast ideas that don't necessarily use oats? These recipes are definitely worth considering:
- Gluten-Free Buttery Tea Scones - tender and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, they're perfect in the morning of afternoon!
- Ridiculously Easy Homemade Bagels (or Easy Oh-So-Good Gluten-Free Bagels) - if you're a bagel lover, these are super easy to make!
- Mochi Cinnamon Rolls - this is a welcome favorite in my house and is sure to be in yours as well!
- Crazy-Good Gluten-Free Banana Bread - this is also a tried and true favorite and I love it for breakfast, with tea in the afternoon, or even for dessert with some ice cream!
Next time you are in the mood for granola, skip the cereal aisle in the grocery store and pick up some rolled oats, nuts, and maple syrup instead to make your own! You'll love how easy and delicious this simple nutty granola is to make and you'll wonder why you hadn't made it sooner!
~ Lisa.
Recipe
Simple Nutty Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups gluten-free rolled oats (use regular rolled oats if you are not gluten-free)
- 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (I use a combination of sliced almonds and cashews)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
- ¼ cup extra light olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven 250 deg F (125 C).
- If using whole nuts, chop into small pieces.
- On a large baking sheet, add the rolled oats, chopped nuts, and pumpkin seeds and mix.
- Add the oil and maple syrup to the oats, nuts, and seeds and mix well.
- Bake the granola for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- For a nut-free version, replace the 1 cup of nuts with seeds! I have made a version with sunflower seeds and pepitas that is just as good!
- If you want a slightly sweeter granola, stir in 2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar in with the dry ingredients before adding the oil and maple syrup.
- Use any combination of your favorite nuts for this granola. Besides cashews and almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts are all good options.
- Play with the oats to nuts ratio if you prefer a nuttier granola...try 3 cups of oats to 2 cups of chopped nuts.
- If you like dried fruit in your granola, stir them in after you remove the granola out of the oven, or add those as a topping when you eat.
- If you want to add chocolate chips to your granola, add them after the granola comes out of the oven for the last time so that they melt a bit into the granola, or wait until the granola cools completely and stir in the chocolate chips.
Thanks for stopping by! If you make this dish or any of my other recipes, I would love it if you could take the time to comment and rate it below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
**This post was published on January 29th, 2019 and republished January 8th, 2024 with new photos, instructional photos, and updated recipe notes.
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