Start your day on a sweet and crunchy note with this irresistible Maple Honey Granola. This homemade granola is packed with wholesome oats, nuts, coconut, and raisins for a delicious blend of flavors and textures.
If you haven’t made granola from scratch, you’re in for a treat. This Maple Honey Granola is so easy to make and a delicious way to add a healthy dose of whole grains and nuts to your day. It calls for pantry staples and can be stored for a good long time – both big bonuses in my book!
Add milk and berries for a wholesome breakfast, use it to make a yogurt granola parfait, or pack it up in mason jars for gift giving.
Table of contents
The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it consists of ingredients I always stock in my pantry so I can make it at a moments notice.
Ingredient Notes
- Oats: Heart healthy, whole grain old fashioned oats are the best choice for granola.
- Nuts: Raw sliced almonds and raw cashews. I’m so thankful I have a Trader Joe’s nearby. It is THE place to go for nuts. When making granola, it’s best to use raw, unsalted nuts and TJ’s stocks so many varieties.
- Coconut: We like granola with sweetened flaked coconut but you can opt for unsweetened, if you’d like.
- Raisins: I use jumbo raisins and when I can find them, I love the Sunmaid Jumbo Mixed Raisins. They are plump and juicy and the different colors add a nice contrast to the granola.
- Sweeteners: The flavor of this granola is enhanced by natural sweeteners including pure maple syrup and honey. We like a sweet granola so I also add some brown sugar. See the variations below if you want to reduce the sugar.
- Oil: A small amount of vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- Salt: Don’t be tempted to skip the salt. It’s only a small amount and it’s a vital component to the flavor of the granola.
How to Make Maple Honey Granola
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
- Wet ingredients: Combine the oil, honey, maple syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until it just begins to come to a boil, then quickly remove it from the heat.
- Combine: Pour the mixture over the oat mixture and toss to combine well.
- Baking sheets: Pour the granola out evenly on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Don’t be tempted to put the entire amount on one baking sheet because it won’t brown evenly.
- Bake: Bake for in a preheated 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Then, using a wooden spoon, carefully toss and stir the granola. Use the spoon to spread granola out into and even layer and continue to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets.
- Add dried fruit: Add the raisins and transfer the granola to an airtight container.
Tips for the Best Homemade Granola
Use parchment paper: I recommend baking granola on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If you use foil, be aware that the granola will brown more quickly so you’ll need to be vigilant and keep a close eye on it while it bakes. If it appears to be browning too quickly, lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees F and/or stir it more frequently.
Don’t over-bake: The granola will still feel soft to the touch when it’s ready to come out of the oven and will crisp up and harden the correct amount as it cools. Do not try to bake it until it is crisp or you will burn it.
Cool before storing: After the granola has cooled on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, lift up all four corners of the parchment paper and move it over to a large bowl to finish cooling. Some of the granola will stick to the paper and you can just you your hands to scrape it right into the bowl. I find that transferring the granola to a large bowl first makes it easier to later transfer to storage containers.
Store in an airtight container: Once the granola has cooled completely, transfer it to mason jars or other airtight containers. This recipe makes enough granola to fill two quart sized mason jars. If stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry pantry, granola will stay fresh and tasty for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe zippered plastic storage bag for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Lower sugar granola: If you’re watching your sugar intake, you can adjust the amount of brown sugar or eliminate it altogether. It works very well to swap out the brown sugar in recipes like this for a lower glycemic sugar alternative like coconut sugar. I’d also recommend swapping out the sweetened coconut for unsweetened.
- Nuts: Swap out the cashews and almonds for any unsalted raw nuts you love. Great choices include macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pistachios, and sunflower seeds.
- Dried fruit: Replace the raisins with any type of dried fruit you love. The possiblities are endless! Dried cranberries or cherries are perfect for granola. Cut down larger fruit like apriocots, dates or peaches with kitchen shears or a sharp knife.
- Spice: Add some warm spice flavor by adding a touch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the maple syrup mixture.
Serving Suggestions
- Breakfast cereal: Add some milk and fresh berries for a delicious, nutritious start to your day.
- Yogurt parfait: Make it into a yogurt parfait with plain Greek yogurt, berries, and a drizzle of honey.
- Snack time: We have been dipping into this granola for more than just breakfast. The stuff is so irresistible that we’ve been reaching for it to snack on at all times of the day and night.
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Maple Honey Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats, old fashioned oats
- ½ cup sliced almonds, raw and unsalted
- ½ cup cashews, raw and unsalted, chopped
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (if using foil, see notes below.)
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
- In a small saucepan over MEDIUM-LOW heat combine the oil, honey, maple syrup, and salt. Cook until it just begins to come to a boil, then quickly remove from the heat. Pour the mixture over the oat mixture and toss to combine well. Pour the granola out evenly on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 minutes then using a wooden spoon, carefully toss and stir the granola. Use the spoon to spread granola out into and even layer and continue to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Add the raisins and transfer the granola to an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Breakfast Ideas
This post was originally published on March 17, 2014. It has been updated with new text and images.
Valerie, we love the granola so much, I just made it again. Actually it makes sense to me ,when I have all the ingredients out to just double the recipe.
I really like it for a snack, just about 1/4 cup really satisfies me.
Thanks for such a wonderful recipe.
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie! Yay, I’m so glad you guys are enjoying it. We love it for a snack too! I need to get work on another version soon 🙂
Valerie,
I finally made the Maple Honey Granola recipe, today, and we LOVE it!!!
Your Dad needed a bowl 1/2 full just to “taste” it. He will now need lots more. I used Trader Joe’s “Cocoanut organic sugar” instead of the brown sugar. It was lower in sugar and tastes very good .
Thanks for all your help,
Dad & Bonnie
I”m so happy you both liked it! I’ve done it with coconut sugar too and it’s very good. Thanks Bonnie 🙂
mmmmm I love homemade granola and this looks SO tasty and wholesome!
I seriously need to get on this homemade granola train!! I just keep buying them when I`m at Target, because it`s Target…and they tempt you! I need to stop so I can try this. 🙂
Homemade is SO much better than the store bought variety. Try it, Lynna!
I have to start making this! Thanks for the recipe!
Homemade granola is always the best! I have a Trader Joe’s 5 minutes away too. Love that store!
I LOVE homemade granola! Yogurt parfaits are a great way to start the day (esp with Coconut Butter melted over the top like “icing”). I’ve never seen those Coconut Crystals but will for sure check them out. Pinning this to make asap. PS ~ Beautiful photos by the way!
Thank you Kim!
This looks like the perfect start to the day! Thanks for sharing, pinned too!
As a confirmed granola freak, this is as good as it gets. I’ve been blending greek yogurt with maple syrup and topping with a store-bought granola that rhymes with “Scare Bak-ed”, and is pretty good, but this looks way better. Used to make my own granola back in my hippie days, hafta get back into it.
Thanks for the excellent recipe, Val
I’m waaaay overdue for homemade granola. I have been trying to eat healthy (just because I work out regularly) and I must do this! I like your little tips on how to put in jars with parchment paper. Neat trick!