Homemade Granola Recipe
This Homemade Granola Recipe is crunchy and crispy, with bites of chewy dried fruit. Enjoy it sprinkled over yogurt, in a bowl with milk, or by the handful straight from the jar! Or, make a batch to share as gifts – it keeps for several weeks.
Easy Granola Recipe
When the fall season rolls around, I feel the pull to make homemade granola. Maybe it’s the warm cinnamon scent as it bakes, or the fact that it’s super easy, or maybe I just feel extra wholesome when the leaves change – whatever it is, I highly recommend trying it if you want to feel the fall vibes in your kitchen.
It’s such a fun project, really easy to do, and so much better than store-bought granola. This recipe has all the great textures – it’s crunchy, crispy, and chewy – and you can customize it however you like. Once you know how to make the base recipe, adding your own special twist is easy to do.
Plus, it keeps for quite a while – two to three weeks! So, save it all for yourself or spread some good fall vibes and hand it out as gifts.
Ingredients
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Rice Krispies cereal
- Quick-cooking oats
- Sliced almonds
- Dried fruit
Sweetener: Brown sugar is a must, but you can swap the honey for maple syrup for a different taste.
Spices: Cinnamon is a classic, but ground nutmeg works great, too. Or do a mix of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger – you just need one teaspoon total. If you have some pumpkin pie spice on hand, use that instead.
Nuts: I love almonds, but chopped walnuts, pecans, or cashews would be delicious, too. Or try mixing up a few different kinds of nuts. As long as it’s 1/2 cup total, you’re good.
Dried fruit: I like raisins and cranberries – they’re already bite-sized, so you can just toss them right in. Other dried fruits like apricots, apples, or cherries work, too – just be sure to cut them into bite-sized pieces first.
How to Make It
First, melt the butter in a saucepan and then add the brown sugar and honey. While whisking continuously, bring the mixture to a low boil.
After it’s boiled for about a minute or so, it will be nice and smooth. Take it off the heat and whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon.
Mix up the cereal, nuts, and oatmeal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until it’s all combined.
Spread the granola mixture on a large baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes. Give it a stir and bake it for ten minutes longer or until it’s golden and toasty.
Leave the granola on the sheet pan to cool. Once it’s at room temperature (after about 30 minutes or so), mix in the dried fruit. At this point, you can break up any larger granola clusters and transfer it all to an airtight container for storage.
Recipe Tips
When you cook the butter and sugar mixture, be sure to boil it until the sugar is completely dissolved. It shouldn’t take long if you are whisking continuously.
If you’re not into dried fruit, feel free to leave it out or substitute another mix-in that you like. Chocolate chips, toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or other baking chips would all work well.
I love granola as a sweet snack, but it’s also great with Greek yogurt, or serve it in a bowl with milk and fresh fruit.
How to Store Granola
For the best results, be sure to let the granola cool to room temperature before you store it. If it’s even a little warm when you put it in a container, the heat will cause it to soften, and it won’t keep for nearly as long. It can keep for up to two to three weeks as long as it’s properly stored in airtight containers at room temperature.
It makes a great gift! Scoop it into mason jars or other cute airtight containers and add a ribbon and a tag.
Give this easy homemade granola recipe a try, won’t you? Once you do, I think it’ll be your go-to recipe.
Happy baking,
More Recipes to Try
📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe, along with your recipe star rating.
PrintHomemade Granola
This Homemade Granola Recipe is crunchy and crispy, with bites of chewy dried fruit. Enjoy it sprinkled over yogurt, in a bowl with milk, or by the handful straight from the jar! Or, make a batch to share as gifts – it keeps for several weeks.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup butter
- ½ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 4 cups quick oats
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup dried fruit (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 13×18″ sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the sugar and honey. While whisking, bring the mixture to a low boil. Whisk continuously for 1 to 2 minutes or until all of the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon. Set the pan aside.
- Combine the oats, cereal, and almonds in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the oats and cereal and mix until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.
- Spread the granola on a large sheet pan and bake it for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, stir the granola on the sheet pan and then bake it for 10 minutes more.
- Leave the granola on the sheet pan to cool for 30 minutes. Add the dried fruit and break up any large pieces of the granola.
- Store the granola in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for two to three weeks.
Notes
Use salted butter for this recipe. If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the sugar mixture when you cook it.
Raisins and dried cranberries work great in this granola. Or you can use other kinds of dried fruit, but if they are larger pieces, be sure to chop them into bite-sized pieces. You can also add other mix-ins like chocolate chips or other baking chips.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 242
- Sugar: 21.2g
- Sodium: 69.9mg
- Fat: 7.7g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.1g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 41.2g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 4.3g
- Cholesterol: 10.2mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.