Do you like your Granola loose or clumpy? Either way, you’ll love this – the ultimate healthy Homemade Granola guide! Mix and match, build your own granola by using the ingredients you like and have on hand.
Easy Homemade Granola
I’m going to be honest with you – I didn’t start making making granola because it’s healthier than store bought. I started because it’s cheaper and and I can control how sweet it is (store bought is so sweet!!!). Then it evolved into a bit of a game, trying to come up with cute flavour combinations. Berry Burst, Apple Pie, Apricot Sunrise, Blueberry Pie, Apple Crumble, Peach ‘n Cream, Maple Crunch, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.
You get the picture. Basically, desserts in breakfast form!
I make Homemade Granola – or Muesli as some Aussies know it – using a formula. I could talk you through it, but it’s much easier just to show you. ↓↓↓
This is actually a recipe that I posted yonks and yonks ago, but it’s been tweaked and improved, and plus it seems that back in those days I wasn’t much of a talker because the post had zero chatter in it.
The two main changes made to the recipe are to stir the dried fruit in at the end for the loose granola (because some bits can border on burning) and adding a way to make CLUMPY granola without adding loads and loads of honey / sugar / butter simply by stirring through egg whites. Egg is the ultimate food glue, for everything from cakes to cookies, omelettes to meatballs. And it holds true for granola. 🙂
So the same base “formula” applies to both types of granola, except the steps and cooking method are a little different.
Loose granola is as simple as it gets: Combine Dry ingredients, combine Wet ingredients, combine Wet & Dry, spread on tray, bake, add fruit at end.
Simple, yes?
As for clumpy granola, the order of the steps is a little different. The fruit has to be added in at the beginning because you can’t stir it in at the end. Egg white is added to bind the granola together to form clusters, it’s baked at a lower temperature (which helps to ensure the fruit doesn’t burn) then left to cool in the turned off oven which allows it to finish crisping and for the clusters to set..
Ahh, and the one little strange thing I do because you can’t stir the granola as it bakes (because otherwise you’ll break up the clusters!!) is to spread the granola on the tray with a hole in the middle because even when I’m using a fan forced/convection oven, I can never get the middle to go golden and crispy without the edges burning. 🙂
Looks weird I know. But trust me, it makes all the difference!!
And see? Look how it clusters up!
And have you ever thought about gifting granola?? Thoughtful, GREAT VALUE and totally customisable gift!!
OK, so I have to confess I have never ever gifted Granola before. It’s now officially on my list for Christmas gifts this year….
Homemade Granola has gotten all trendy in the past few years, and you’d have to search hard to find a bistro without granola on the weekend brunch menu. And they charge a small fortune for it too.
And that, my friends, is the beauty of this Homemade Granola “formula” – it’s so cheap to make using leftover bits and bobs. Dig into that pantry of yours and scratch together whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you can find. Get creative with the spices, go wild with flavourings!
And share your Granola flavouring ideas in the comments below to inspire other readers! I have some suggestions in the notes of the recipe – but I bet you can come up with better ones! – Nagi x
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Healthy Homemade Granola recipe video!
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Build Your Own Homemade Granola (Muesli)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 4 cups / 360 g rolled oats (not steel cut or quick cooking)
- 1 cup coconut flakes (or more nuts or oats)
- 1 cup raw nuts (eg. sliced almonds, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
- 1/2 cup dried fruit (eg. chopped apricots, apple, pineapple, raisins)
- 1 tsp your favourite spice (eg. cinnamon, pumpkin spice, gingerbread mix)
- 1 pinch salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup sweetener (eg. honey, maple syrup, agave, see note 2 for Brown Sugar)
- 1/3 cup fat (eg. melted butter, canola oil or coconut oil)
- 1 1/2 tsp flavouring (eg. vanilla, almond essence, orange blossom)
CLUMPY Granola:
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
LOOSE Granola:
- Preheat oven to 150C/300F.
- Combine Dry ingredients, excluding dried fruit.
- Combine Wet ingredients.
- Combine Wet and Dry ingredients. Do a taste test. Adjust to taste - more sweet, more fat etc.
- Spread on baking tray and bake until golden, approximately 35 - 40 minutes, tossing twice.
- Stir through dried fruit. Cool. Store in an airtight container.
CLUMPY Granola:
- Preheat oven to 140C/280F. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine Wet excluding egg whites.
- Combine Dry including dried fruit.
- Whisk egg whites with fork until foamy.
- Mix Wet and Dry in a large bowl, then mix through egg whites.
- Spread granola on the tray, making a hole in the centre, like a doughnut (see photo in post).
- Bake for 45 minutes - DO NOT STIR - until golden. Check at 35 minutes.
- Then turn the oven off, leave the granola in the oven, and open the oven door open a bit. Leave the granola to cool. The colour will deepen and it will firm up.
- Once cool, break into clusters. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes:
* Apple Pie: As above but use only almonds and dried apples.
* Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: Butter, honey, raisins, vanilla and cinnamon, pinch of All Spice.
* Blueberry Pie: Apple Pie recipe but use dried blueberries instead and skip the cinnamon powder and add a dash of lemon essence.
* Super Berries: Try using dried goji berries!
* Orange Almond: Almonds and orange blossom
* Maple Pecan Pie! Use Pecans, vanilla, butter, maple 2. Brown Sugar: Add this into the Dry Ingredients. 3. Originally published in May 2014, updated with video and improved recipe. Changes include: adding a method to make clumpy granola without adding more sweetener or fat, for the loose granola, adding the dried fruit at the end which ensures none of it burns (sometimes, some fruit on the surface can get a little too brown). All photos were replaced and words were rewritten. 4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 10 servings (about 2/3 cup per serving).
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
He fully understands that he is only permitted on the sheet covered part of the couch.
Absolutely delicious. Made the clumpy granola. It is so good, that I can’t stop eating it. I have added 3 whites instead of 2, to make it more clumpy. Forwarded the recipe to all my friends and family😁. Thank you Nagi, I love your straightforward recipes.
Why do you need to whisk the egg whites?
What exactly is a serving size considered to be? Is it a half cup, quarter? Grams really don’t mean much to me because I don’t weigh food out but I do count calories so I’d like to be as precise as possible. Thank you!!
Hi Monica, It’s all there in note 4 with the nutrition 🙂 N x
Thank you so much! I missed that the first time!
This is definitely a keeper recipe! I’ll add more cinnamon next time though. Nothing artificial about it at all. I love it!
I love this recipe and have made it often, and a lot of it. It is very, very easy. I leave out dried fruit and add in more seeds. Keeps well and is perfect with Greek yoghurt. Absolutely recommend it.
Made this granola and gave as gifts to family & friends for Christmas, they all lived it. About to try the clumpy granola for myself. Thank you for yet again another fantastic recipe with all the extra tips & tricks, I recommend your recipes to everyone, haven’t made one of your recipes I haven’t loved.
I’ve made this multiple times now, and I love it!
I have a few ideas I would like to try, like tropical fruit (dried, of course) pineapple, mango, papaya with coconut treacle or jaggery and coconut oil.
Almonds and almond essence.
Apricots with orange essence.
Pecan, maple, butter.
Oh, and I always add dates!
Thanks, Nagy! And I’ve started gifting them as well! Xx
Wonderful recipe. I have put some dates too and reduced honey. Instead of an egg, I added egg replaced( starch basically) as I don’t consume eggs. Came out perfectly golden, crunchy, and overall tasty! thanks, will be using it again )
Hi Nagi,
Clumpy granola is superb superb. I put 4 egg whites in it forgot to put the hole in the middle and yes, it’s a bit too soft in the centre. Will try it again.Thank you
A great tip to use egg white to form clumpy granola. Thank you.
Hello! I love this recipe, the versatility, and the flavor! I usually make the clumpy version. My one problem is that I can’t get it crunchy. I’ve tried a few different ways but in general I follow the recipe pretty much to a T, I leave the hole in the middle and flatten the rest out around it, and I leave in the oven with the door cracked for at least an hour after turning off. A lot of the clusters break up pretty easily and it never has the crunch that I want – but otherwise is so delicious and I love it!! Any suggestions?
Hi Yasmin, I made this granola and instead of baking it for 45 min at 140C I lowered the temperature to 110C (fan oven) and baked it for about 4 hours (maybe even longer?) to dry out the granola completely. It was then super crunchy. Very yummy recipe!
Hope this helps!
Hi Nagi, thank you for this recipe – I’m making it tomorrow! Does the clumpy version need to be stored in the fridge?
Hi Savannah – store out of the fridge in an airtight container. N x
How long does the granola keep for please? Looking to make it for Christmas gifts!
I have been making this recipe for a couple of years and love it. I often make lemon curd with the leftover egg yolks. (Or my dog gets them as a treat)