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.
Last night I made the clumpy version and it turned out quite well. In the past, I used butter as the fat, but this time used canola oil in order to cut down on saturated fat. The flavor difference was only slight.
I made this to gift for my husband’s boss and reception staff. Super easy and tastes delicious. Can’t wait to see their reaction.
Thank you …. Again …. This is made every couple of weeks for our house and as gifts. Everyone loves “my granola” and even eat it as snacks Our Labrador Izzy enjoys the egg yolks left over from using the whites to clump the granola. Winner in everyone’s books
I made the clumpy granola again after a failed first attempt. I added the egg white to the wet ingredients by mistake. This time it worked perfectly, absolutely delicious and so much better than shop bought. I used chunky cut almonds and dried cranberries with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Used rice malt syrup too. Love your work Nagi! Kids bought me your book for Mother’s day!
I am not allowed to make granola any other way. Just use what I have.
10/10 Nagi. Love love love 😁
Does it need to be refrigerated when the egg white version is used?
Hi Nagi We’ve been making your granola for a few years now! Absolutely delicious! For the fat, my husband always puts in honey only. I could eat it all day.
Best wishes to you and Dozer.
I just made this and it is the first time I have ever made granola. It turned out fantastic! Thank you Nagi, for the recipe! I used almonds,,pecans, and walnuts plus cranberries and coconut. Went heavy on the cinnamon cause I love it. Turned out wonderfully crunchy. It crisps up nicely as it cools. I eat granola on my homemade yogurt. I will be making lots more of your granola in the future!
Delicious. Good to be able to make gluten free and fruit free options. Thanks Nagy!
So good. I know exactly what’s in it. I used macadamia, almond , dried apple and cranberry, cinnamon and coconut oil, I added the fruit half way through baking and the apple goes crunchy! I did turn it more often until it was golden. Also divided into two trays in oven. My adult kids are now getting some as part of a home made Xmas hamper.
Definitely the best homemade granola!
Delicious!
Nagi, I’d be really grateful of you could list ingredients such as honey, syrup, butter etc in weight rather than cups, please!… so much easier just weighing to items in compared to using measuring cups!
How could I use this recipe to make granola bars?
Janice there is a Granola bar recipe..
I’ve used a lot of granola recipes and this one is similar and a nice granola. I am commenting as I tried the cluster version and abandoned it at 40 mins as it wasn’t even close to sticking sticking together, although this usually happens in cooling process with mine and I break it apart to put add ins in. I had put in all of my add ins and they were overcooking. I salvaged it as a normal granola, stirring every 5 mins to get the oats to cook and the add ins on top to not burn, however the add ins are bordering on overcooked and not as nice. I usually add the add ins to my granola after the cooking process for this reason. So great granola, but since the add ins are expensive and time consuming drying my own fruit, I think it’s worth noting my experience. I’ve had other granolas cluster just on their own and they’ve been much wetter with more honey and coconut oil to begin with and set upon cooling. This one didn’t seem wet enough from the beginning, but I really wanted to give it a try as I had never tried with egg whites. For me it didn’t work.
Hi Naji, Your recipes are foolproof,I love them,however this granola recipe has failed me…..in oven at 140c for 20 mins and it’s all burnt… 🙁
Great recipe – thank you. Easy to make and tastes delicious.
Yummy. I made the crunchy version and it turned out great. Its a good way to make it with egg whites instead of more added sugar and fat. Would recommend this recipe to anyone wanting a yummy gronala. It tastes nice with unsweetened yogurt because the sweetness goes into the yogurt.
I love this recipe! It’s my go-to reference for making granola in my household. We add toasted walnuts and blueberry raisins in ours typically.
Any suggestions on how to adapt this with peanut butter? I imagine you’d use less fat, but I don’t think it’d spread/mix as well without some kind of liquid.
Hello! Just thought I’d jump in to say that I have done this successfully and you were on the right track!
Nut butters are predominately fats and oils and so, you can fairly safely sub in almond or peanut butter in some of that fat content.
When I made this last time, I measured out 1 part coconut oil, 1 part vegan butter (this is what we use in our house but regular butter would work), 1 part almond butter.
While last time I made this, I used the original recipe of 1/3 cup each sweeteners and fats, tonight I will be going for half a cup as I found that some of my additions (chia seeds) soaked up more of the wet ingredients and made it slightly drier than I’d like.
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s intended to be played with ☺️🙌
Substitute egg yolks for flaxseed meal, 2 tbspns to 2 tbspns water for a vegan friendly option
If making this recipe clumpy using the egg whites where would I store it? Fridge? And how long would it last?
I store mine in a glass jar. It should keep for a while, if it lasts that long. I have also frozen my granola. Super delicious
The best recipe ever!!!! Now I can enjoy my healthy and crunchy granola.
Thank you !!!