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!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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.
Hi Nagy,
Great recipe. Easy to make and tastes delicious. I love it!
Greetings, Angela
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the great review Angela! N xx
Hello
If I add the dry fruit into the mixture to bake it will not burn?
Some recipes tell you add dry fruit after the granola comes out of the oven?
Thanks
Hi Krista! I haven’t had a problem with that 🙂
Great recipe! I love fruit, nuts, vanilla, and cinnamon so I doubled them. I also doubled the coconut oil. Turned out delicious! Thanks!!! : )
Pleased to hear you enjoyed it Sandra, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Hi
I want to try this recipe…can steel cut oats be substituted for the rolled oats? Or must they be cooked differently?
I’m sorry I don’t know Tracie, we don’t have steel cut oats here! 🙂 N xx
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out great! Used hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, cranberries and raisins. Also chose coconut oil and honey. Next time I will increase wet ingredients to get a chunkier result.
I love to have my granola with yogurt for breakfast.
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe!!!
Great to hear Carmen! Thank you for coming back to let me know! N xx
I love this recipe! What do I need to add so that I can turn these same recipe into granola bars?
Hi Mercedes! I’ll share a bars recipe soon!
Hi nagi.
I have just made this and it’s gone down a treat :). What do you think the calorie count is per portion?
Thanks
Meena
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Meena! Hmm, I should do a calculator of this using various combinations. Bear with me, I’ll add it to my list!
This is my go-to recipe and I haven’t looked for another recipe for granola since I found this! I love how you laid out the options (wet/dry) so you can make it however you want it. I usually use honey and coconut oil and it makes me feel good with such healthy ingredients. Thank you!
I’m so glad you find this useful Sara! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Nagi, I just made this and it was so simple and amazingly delicious thank you for your brilliant and easy to follow recipe xxx
Woo hoo! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it Dayna, thanks for letting me know! N x
Thank you for the great recipe! I was wondering, for how long can you keep the granola? In a closed jar?
Many thanks:)
Hi! I keep my for up to 1 month but I have it in a very airtight canister! 🙂
Does it need to be refrigerated? I just made it and it’s delicious! Hopefully it’s a hit on Mothers Day. Thanks for awesome recipe?
I never do! 🙂
Thank you so much for specifying US/non-US measurements and for testing with both standards! I grew up in London and Tokyo, lived in Sydney at one point, now I live in Los Angeles — it drives me bonkers that a lot of people don’t understand how the different measurements can really screw up baked goods. I had to learn the hard way – after a few not-so-great baked goodies using US measuring cups with Japanese/British recipes, I realised that the cups are different in the US….
Anyway thank you so much for the great recipe.
Oh I hear your pain….I’ve had some epic disasters!!! 🙂
I don’t seem to get clumps which I prefer but rather bowl of oats, any suggestions? Double wet ingredients?
Hi De! yes increase the wet by 50% 🙂
I made this granola as something yummy to try and I wrote about my experience on my blog. Spoiler alert: I LOVED IT! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Thank you so much Endia! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Hello Nagi! I was wondering if there is a rule that says that you always have to put 1 cup of raw nuts and seeds per 4 cups of oats?
Hi Fernanda! Nope, no rule as such! It is just the ratio that I like to use 🙂 N x
I make this all the time and love it! I will never buy granola the store again! I love that it’s so versitle & sometimes I add a smashed ripe banana to give it a nice flavor. You don’t happen to know the estimated nutritional value do you? Thanks for a great recipe!
Oooh! I love that idea Melanie, a smashed banana!!! I must try that!
Hi Nagi, I see you are from Sydney, Australia. I am from Brisbane but now living in Las Vegas, USA. I love your recipes but I am curious when you are using cup/spoon measurements are they US cup/spoon or are they Australian cup/spoon. I have a set of both so I just need to know which I should use when making your recipes. I know you have weight measurements as well but my scales are terrible.
Hi Joanne! I use Australia cups/spoons etc but when I test baking recipes where exact measurements are required, I testing using both. So you can use Australian measures! If exact measurements are required, I will specify exactly what spoons to use or I go by weight for accuracy. 🙂
Do you have any suggested variations for granola bars?
Sorry Missy, I haven’t tried that yet? 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’ve just made it and the result is sooo good! 🙂
I’ll add some to my yoghurt tomorrow for breakfast.
And oh, I also eat them in front of television instead of crisps. 😉
ME TOO!!! My hand is always in my granola jar!!!
This is the ultimate wake up treat. I like to have a granola bar first thing in the morning even before I get out of bed. I take my vitamins eat a granola bar and drink 50oz of lukewarm water before I get out of bed. So my question is: If I take one out of the freezer at night and place it in plastic wrap and ziplock bag will it be ok to consume it in the morning if it’s been on my nightstand all night.
I am sure it will be! 🙂
I have been using this recipe for several months now. I have played around with the fat and sugar measurements as it wasn’t crunchy as I wanted. I found i prefer the original fat amount , but I increase my sugar (honey) by just a couple of tablespoons, and bake at 325º to get the crunchiness I prefer. My favourite combo so far is pumpkin seeds and Cranberries. Great recipe, thank you!!
I am enjoying reading your other recipes, too! Looking forward to trying more of them. Cheers!