This healthy granola tastes just as delicious as the kind made with refined sugar, but it’s even better because it’s oil-free! It’s the perfect make-ahead breakfast, or crunchy snack.
Healthy Granola Ingredients
How do you make healthy granola from scratch?
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Rolled oats
- Nuts or seeds (I’m partial to pecans or pepitas)
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- Maple syrup
- Cinnamon
Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats, if you need a gluten-free granola recipe.
Variations
Because this granola recipe is so simple to prepare, feel free to change the ingredients you add in, depending on what you have on hand. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Hulled seeds, like sunflower or sesame
- Dried fruit, like raisins or cranberries (add in after baking)
- Mini chocolate chips (add in after baking)
- Other nuts or seeds (chia seeds, flax seeds, pepitas, etc.)
This healthy granola is perfect for busy mornings when you need something that’s quick to prepare, and because it’s shelf-stable, you can also keep a bag of it stashed in your purse or car for an easy snack on the go.
As written, this recipe makes about 3 cups of granola, which is about 6 servings. This amount is great for one or two people, but if you have a larger family of granola-eaters, feel free to double or triple the recipe!
It should keep well for up to a week stored at room temperature, or up to a month or more when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Healthy Granola (Oil-free!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (242 grams; gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 cup shredded coconut (105 grams; unsweetened)
- 1 cup pecans (119 grams; or walnuts or pepitas)
- 3/4 cup maple syrup (255 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (10 grams; or pumpkin pie spice)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (5 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Transfer the mixture to the lined baking sheet and spread it out for even baking. Bake at 350ºF until lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Stir the granola, so it will crisp evenly, then return to the oven for 5 to 8 more minutes, until it's slightly more golden. Don't bake more than 30 minutes, or it may start to burn.
- Allow the granola to cool on the pan completely before removing it. If you'd like to add any dried fruit, now is the time to stir it in. Use your hands to break the granola into smaller pieces and store it in an airtight container until ready to eat.
- Granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or in the fridge for up to a month. Serve with your favorite milk or yogurt, or on its own for a crunchy snack.
Notes
Nutrition
Per serving: Calories: 178, Carbohydrates: 23, Protein: 3, Fat: 8
Recipe Notes:
- For a totally grain-free granola, try my Pumpkin Seed Granola recipe.
As always, if you make any modifications to this recipe, please leave a comment below letting us know how it worked for you. We can all benefit from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite fast breakfast option?
Yes! Finally a simple granola recipe that’s inexpensive to make! This is what I’ve been wanting. I love how flexible it can be too with the other options you mentioned that can be included like raisins, other seeds, nuts, other spices, etc. Thanks for this! I’m making it now. 🙂
I have made this recipe so many times already and my family loves it. It is so simple and easy. Thank you.
Love the simplicity! Do you think I could substitute date paste for the maple syrup?
Maybe? I’ve never tried it, so I’d only worry that the date paste might make it less crunchy, but it’s worth a shot! Please report back if you try it!!
I am new to your site and am just in the process of learning about food combining. It would appear that by using oats and seeds this recipe fudges proper combining a bit, right? if one eats mostly properly combined meals, a little slip now and then is okay, right?
Thanks,
Patti
Best granola I have ever eaten! I substituted honey for maple syrup and tripled the recipe and it made for a softer finish (more crumbly), but still delicious! Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Could I substitute the pumpkin seeds with almonds or pecans?
Hi looks Delicious!
What is one serving? (In grams?)
Love xxxx
Just made this. I used sunflower instead of pumpkin seeds and apple pie spice- since these were my “on hand” ingredients. So Yum. I am a swlf proclaimed coconut hater but i used it and it’s great.
I made this healthy granola for breakfast and my whole family loved it! they even though was too sweet so I will maybe add less maple syrup ;). this is going to be our traditional family granola recipe. We will maybe add more nuts and raisins to experiment with flavor, but the pumpkin spice was fantastic. Please check on my facebook #detoxinistchallenge
I’d love to make this but the ingredient amounts seem off compared to the final product? How does this make 3 cups of granola using only 1 cup of oats, 1/2 cup coconut, and 1/2 cup pepitas? That’s only 2 cups of ingredients. Should it be 2 cups of oats instead?
My family LOVES thsi granola. I make it every week, if not sooner! Love the simple ingredients and that I can send it to school (schools are nut-free). Thank you!
My whole family loves this granola (especially my 8 year old, who asks for it regularly when we run out). Thank you!
Thanks Megan for sharing all of these wonderful recipes!!!
How much is in a serving? Sorry to ask, love this granola, and am going to start having it on hand and I figured I’d better know what a serving looks like. Like as in 1/2 cups or tablespoons or whatever. Thank you so much, this is the best granola recipe in my opinion.
The easiest, most delicious granola! I’ve been quadrupling the recipe and sharing with family and friends. Can’t make enough!
Thank you for your amazing recipes.
I added some vanilla and brown sugar to the maple syrup mix and it turned out great. I also used sunflower seeds to go with the pepitas instead of coconut.
Can I use quick oats instead?
I did!
Great
Has anyone substituted the coconut? I am not fond of coconut.
Delicious and so easy! Saving to my personal recipe collection.
Coconut is a nut! This is not a nut free recipe
Coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut.
https://acaai.org › types-food-
If you have a nut allergy, odds are that coconut will also cause a reaction. This iss not really but free.
Is the pumpkin spice really strong? Can I omit it altogether or substitute with something different.
I don’t think it’s that strong, but you can always use less or just use what you like!
Just made this for first time & it’s delicious! Followed recipe exactly this time.
I’ve been making this recipe for a a couple years and it never disappoints! I double it because we are granola lovers.
My sister shared this with me and it is the best granola recipe I have found/used to date! We both like to add a bit of cinnamon and use pumpkin as well as sunflower and chia seeds; also hemp hearts. I welcome other addition ideas. Enjoy, thank you!
This is absolutely delicious. I´m not much of a fan of pumpkin seeds but I needed to try this and it tastes fantastic.
Thanks for another great recipe! Yummy–I substituted cashews and sunflower seeds for the pumpkin seeds. I also substituted ginger and cinnamon for the pumpkin spice. Wish I hadn’t put in the salt called for in the recipe—will omit it next time–that will make it 5 stars!
hi! i baked the granola for 20 minutes as it said in the recipe, however it turned out undercooked for some reason (i could see that some oats were still raw), do you have any idea why could that be?
Sorry to hear that! My best guess is that the oven temperature is off? I keep 2 extra thermometers in my oven to make sure mine are correct for writing recipes, and they usually read 25 degrees lower than what my oven says until it’s been preheated for over 30 minutes. But, you can always bake it longer until it’s as crispy as you’d like it to be!
This granola is delicious!
This quickly became my favorite granola. I try and make a batch every Sunday to have on hand for yogurt parfaits. It’s so easy to make! I made a few batches and gifted them to family for Christmas. Everyone loved!
This is really good. I do have another go to granola recipe that I adore, but I was looking for something oil free. First of all usually I don’t like pepitas in granola and also I don’t like pumpkin spice anything but Knowing that Megan recipes are almost ALWAYS a hit, I decide to trust her…… and I was amazed. This flavor is delicious, sweet enough and perfectly season. I love the small batch. Definitely this is a keeper. Thanks Megan
This is such a winner! So simple and fun for the kids to make. We buy a large box of oats at Costco, so we always have the ingredients on hand. I ordered a 2nd baking pan just so that I can double this recipe.
I didn’t know that granola could be made without oil until I tried this recipe. I had two home made recipes for my kids to choose from, one with oil and this being the other….this was the winner! I love this. Thanks Megan!
Just made this & topped with an apple & some almond milk- SO GOOD!!
This was sooo easy and fantastic! Thank you for a great oil free granola!
Tastes amazing even before baking it! Then after baking, comes out crunchy, just the way I like it. The flavor reminds me of candied nuts.
I love the taste of this granola and how easy it is to make-but the macros are deceiving. I’ve made it several times and today I finally tracked the entire batch and the macros are WAY off. They are much higher than what it listed. I know using different products can change macros-but these are pretty simple ingredients and shouldn’t be this ‘off’-they are very skewed.