Granola is the best make-ahead breakfast. It’s full of nuts and whole grains and healthy stuff, with a hint of maple and cinnamon. Pair it with some plain yogurt, milk, or a smoothie. It’s so easy to make! Originally posted October 16, 2014.
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Last week we decorated the house for Halloween with Charlotte for our family night. We finally took down the Valentine’s Day hearts.
Waaaaait! Come back!!
Try not to hate me. Can’t we all just give me a pat on the back for decorating for Valentine’s Day 8 months ago? Every time I see those hearts (pink and red construction paper ones, by the way, hole-punched onto twine), I think to myself, huh, I should probably take those down. But honestly, they are kind of out of sight unless you are looking up, and I just forgot.
That is, until the realtor had to take pictures of our house. Oh, did I forget to tell you that the house we rent was on the market? That’s because I was too depressed to talk about it. We love our house. But, it’s not for sale anymore, so woohoo!
So the realtor comes over a few weeks ago to take pictures, right? I totally whipped our house into shape, if I do say so myself. There were only a few awkward moments, like when the realtor tried to make my dishtowels more presentable (they are old flour sacks that my grandmother embroidered when she was in isolation for tuberculosis when she was 11…they’re sentimental, okay? And kind of ugly, if we’re being honest.)
I didn’t even think about our heart-garland until I saw the photos up online. Turns out when you stand back and take a photo of the whole living room, the hearts are the focal point. “Here, buy this house! It will fill you with love! And maybe even some Valentine confetti!”
Maybe it was enough to deter potential buyers? Hallelujah. Here’s hoping I take our window monsters down before Christmas:
You’ll Love this Pecan Granola with Maple
When you hear the word granola, do you think of a long-haired backpacking hippie type at REI drinking wheatgrass juice, or a crunchy, oaty, sweet, delicious, healthy breakfast? Or maybe both…yeah, maybe both.
Granola is such an easy make-ahead breakfast. There are infinite varieties, but this one is full of nuts, seeds, whole grains, and a hint of maple and cinnamon. You can stash it in your pantry for months or toss a container in your purse for snack emergencies (your toddler’s or your own). For breakfast you can combine it with some plain yogurt, milk, or a smoothie, and you’re good to go. I like making my kids hot oatmeal, but if it’s already 90 degrees outside or it is just too early for cooking, granola is a total lifesaver.
Maple Granola Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
- Rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats)
- Wheat germ
- Oat bran
- Salted sunflower seeds
- Sliced almonds
- Salted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- Pecans
- Olive oil
- Maple syrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup!)
- Honey
- Cinnamon
- Ground cardamom
- Ground cloves
- Ground nutmeg
- Vanilla (or vanilla bean paste)
- Dried cherries
- Dried cranberries
How to make Granola Maple Pecan with Cherries
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this granola; it’s simple, but scroll down to the recipe card below for complete instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pepitas, and pecans.
- Combine oil, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour some of the liquid over the oat mixture and stir. Add the rest gradually until it is all incorporated.
- Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. Divide the granola between the pans and spread evenly.
- Bake, stirring halfway through.
- Let the granola cool. Sprinkle the cherries and cranberries over the granola and mix in.
Homemade Granola Tips
Just make sure you use a rimmed baking sheet or you will end up with burned granola all over the bottom of your oven from stirring. Not that I would know.
Homemade Granola Recipe Substitutions and Variations
Granola is so adaptable it’s ridiculous. You could literally replace almost any ingredient that you wanted. Except maybe the oats…but prove me wrong! Use any combination of nuts that you like. Hazelnuts or cashews would be delicious. If you can’t find oat bran, add a few more shakes of wheat germ, or vice versa. (I found both of those products in the grocery store right by the oats, btw.) You can use pretty much any ratio of maple and honey. Use melted coconut oil instead of olive oil. The possibilities are endless.
Ways to use Maple Granola
This feels like an “open mouth, insert granola” kind of moment. Ha! You can definitely munch on a handful anytime, or get more creative, like this:
- Put it on top of yogurt (with or without fresh fruit).
- Pour some milk on top and eat it as cereal (I mean, it is cereal, right?).
- Add it to a smoothie bowl if you want to feel like an Instagram influencer staying in an overwater bungalow in Bali.
- Sprinkle it on ice cream. Crunchy + creamy = perfect combo.
- Use it as a topping on a salad. Hear me out!! Baby spinach, fresh fruit (like berries), creamy poppyseed dressing or raspberry vinaigrette, and a generous sprinkling of this granola…so good.
- Top your oatmeal with it. Who says you can’t eat two kinds of oats in the same bowl?
- Make apple “nachos” by drizzling thinly sliced apples with warm peanut butter and then sprinkling with granola.
How to store Maple Pecan Granola
Granola is the perfect thing to make a huge batch of. It lasts in a ziplock or a tupperware in the pantry for 6 months! And if you want it to last even longer, you can put it in the freezer and it’ll last 9 months. It’s so great to have on hand for a healthy yogurt topping or quick snack.
Maple Pecan Granola Recipe FAQs
Do you love those nice big granola clusters? Treasure behold!!
Here are three things you can do to get your granola to stick together.
1. Let your granola cool completely on the pan before putting it in another container.
2. Add an egg white to the mixture. You can whisk it up with a fork so it’s nice and frothy and then mix it into the dry ingredients after combining them in step 2.
3. Don’t forget the wheat germ! Wheat germ helps bind the other ingredients together. This recipe includes it for taste and health reasons; this is a hidden bonus.
Yes! Granola is full of fiber, vitamins, and healthy fats from whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and even a small serving can help you feel full for a long time. It does have sugar from the maple syrup and honey and a little fat from the oil, but in moderation it’s a great addition to your diet.
Homemade granola is NOT crunchy the second it comes out of the oven. It needs to cool completely on the pan before it’s crunchy. You can definitely sneak it off the pan warm (I know I can’t resist) but it may still be a little soft.
If your granola is cool, but it isn’t crunchy, you may not have baked it for long enough. If you’re concerned about the granola burning, simply lower the oven temperature (as low as 250 is fine!) and bake it for longer, remembering to stir after 15 minutes.
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Maple Pecan Granola
Ingredients
Dry:
- 8 cups rolled oats
- 1 & 1/2 cups wheat germ
- 1 & 1/2 cups oat bran
- 1 cup salted sunflower seeds
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup salted pepitas, pumkin seeds
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Wet:
- 1 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla, or vanilla bean paste
- 1 & 1/2 cups dried cherries
- 1 & 1/2 cups dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the largest bowl you have, combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pepitas, and pecans.
- In a saucepan, combine oil, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Wait about a minute and then stir in the vanilla (If you do it right away some of it will burn off).
- Slowly pour some of the liquid over the oat mixture and stir. Add the rest in a few increments until it is all incorporated.
- Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. Divide the granola between the pans and spread evenly.
- Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, then stir the pans and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until it’s just starting to brown. (If you are baking both pans at once, rotate the top and bottom pans when you stir.)
- Let the granola cool. Sprinkle the cherries and cranberries over the granola and mix in.
- Store in an airtight container.
This is the most delicious looking granola I’ve ever seen. I think my husband would love it. The spices sound lovely. I will probably add some turmeric to add another healthy spice to the mix. I love getting my cinnamon from a spice purveyor like Penzey’s (they sell 4 different varieties plus their own house blend). My husband adores cinnamon toast, and he’s not easy to buy presents for so a few years ago I bought him the big bags of all the cinnamons Penzey’s sells. He loved experimenting and making his own blends. He also loves granola and would love a really cinnamony granola. So thank you.Â
This granola is delicious! I was trying to replicate granola I had in a coffee shop near Glacier National Park. This recipe hit the mark. It transports me back to that delicious experience every time I eat it. It makes a great gift as well.Â
How fun is this Julie! Don’t you love it when you recreate a recipe and it actually works out and brings back those fun memories? So glad it worked out. I love Glacier. It is so gorgeous up there. Thank you so much for reviewing the granola! Helps me out so much!
This looks fantastic and SO EASY! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks! :)
Wow, this looks awesome!
Having now made it my one suggestion to everyone would be this: if it won’t fit in two pans (it took three, must not have big pans), reduce the time to less than the lowest cooking time. Or reduce the temperature to 325. I did 12 and 11 with two pans and then 10 and 10 with one and both times they came out a little too “done.” :( Still edible and the kids liked it but I was little disappointed with all those ingredients for it to not turn out just right. Who knows, maybe my high altitude has somethings to do with it too.
Oh okay good info Elizabeth, thanks for sharing. Yes, the 2 pans I use for this recipe are the big ol 11×17 jelly roll pans, so 3 might work better if you have small pans. I’m glad the granola was at least still edible! Nothing worse than burnt granola!!