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This homemade granola recipe comes out irresistibly crispy! Here are the tricks to how to make granola at home.

There’s nothing quite like the spiced crunch of a great granola recipe. The sweetness of the oats, the lightly fruity notes of hidden coconut, the gems of sweet raisin or cranberry…it’s both cozy and fresh, all once. Of course, the store-bought stuff can’t compare to homemade. Here’s our favorite homemade granola recipe: it’s sweet, perfectly spiced and ultra crispy, baked a low temperature until it’s got just the right fluffy texture.

Want a quick granola? Go to Peanut Butter Granola instead. Want a healthy granola? Go to Healthy Granola.

Ingredients in homemade granola

Sure, you can put just about anything in homemade granola. (And we’ll get to the variations. Trust us!) But we wanted to make ultra crispy granola: the kind that tastes luxuriously light and crunchy. Here’s what we found was the best combination of ingredients and flavors:

Neutral oil (or olive oil)
Maple syrup (or honey)
Peanut butter (or any nut butter; use sunflower butter or tahini for nut free)
Brown sugar
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Old Fashioned rolled oats
Slivered almonds
Shredded coconut (unsweetened)
Raisins

Not a coconut fan? The coconut is barely perceptible here: it just adds a nice nuance to the background flavor. We recommend giving it a try! (We tested without it and it wasn’t nearly as tasty.)

How to make granola

Many granola recipes use an oven heat you’d use for baking cakes or cookies: around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. But the crispiest homemade granola recipe is baked at low heat for longer. Here’s how we make ours (or jump to the recipe below):

Preheat to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Low oven temp makes extra crispy granola.
Mix the wet ingredients, then the dries. Mix until fully combined. (See below for the ingredient list!)
Bake 1 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and give a little stir at 30 minutes and 1 hour.
Cool completely! This is the important part. This extra step dries out the granola and takes it from damp to crispy. Don’t skip this!

Flavor variations & alternate methods

There are a few other ways to make homemade granola: and of course, you can swap in all sorts of ingredients for the nuts and fruit! Here are a few ideas for other methods and additional flavor combinations:

Quick, clumpy granola: Try this Peanut Butter Granola if you’re into bigger clumps; it bakes in 20 minutes
Healthy granola: Want a healthier option? Try Healthy Maple Pecan Granola.
Dried fruits can stand in for raisins, like cranberries, cherries, apricots, blueberries, and so forth (you can also add additional fruit)
Other nuts like pecans, sliced almonds, hazelnuts, or cashews work well
Seeds like pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or chia seeds also work
Chocolate chips are a great addition!

Homemade granola storage

How long can you store homemade granola? First, make sure it’s cooled fully before you store it. You’ll want at least 45 minutes once it’s out of the oven. Then place it in a jar and store for up to 1 month. However, you’ll likely eat it much faster than that!

Ways to serve homemade granola

There are so many ways to serve granola: most of which you already know! But here are a few fun ways:

Yogurt parfait: Layer it with Greek yogurt and berries in a Yogurt Parfait
Smoothie bowls: Sprinkle it on an Acai Bowl or Easy Smoothie Bowl
Protein bowls: Add it to post-workout Protein Bowls or Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls

More granola recipes

Once you’ve made homemade granola…you’ve got to try granola bars! These aren’t made with granola, by the way: so you can skip making this recipe first. Here are a few more must-make granola recipes:

This homemade granola recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.