WE LOVE chunky granola here in this household! A long time ago I started making my own homemade granola. Once I discovered making granola is easy peasy (you only need one bowl and some basic pantry ingredients) I never went back to store bought. It is also a far more healthy option. You just can’t beat freshly baked granola packed with delicious and good-for-you ingredients. And the bonus? Your whole house will smell delicious!

As I said we eat chunky homemade granola on a daily base here; most mornings for breakfast with yogurt and fresh fruit. The kids love to snack on it too (especially when I make a batch with dark chocolate chunks in it!) and they like to help me combine all the ingredients and stir when I bake a batch. This is actually a great recipe for (young) children to start helping out in the kitchen. So are you ready to make some (together with your kids)?

HEALTHY GRANOLA INGREDIENTS

oats

Heart-healthy, hearty, whole grain old-fashioned oats keep their shape during baking. They play a key role in this chunky granola.

nuts and/or seeds

I used just walnuts (because rich in Omega-3s!) and pepitas to make this chunky granola. Other options include pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios, macadamia nuts or any other nut. For seeds you can go for pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and/or sunflower seeds. Nuts add to the chunkiness of this homemade granola.

unrefined oil

Oil helps make this chunky granola crisp and irresistible. I prefer unrefined coconut oil, which is delicious (you can barely taste the coconut, if at all) and produces the perfect texture, but you can use extra-virgin olive oil as well, if you’d like your granola to be a little more on the savory side. If you’re watching your saturated fat intake, olive oil is a better choice.

natural sweetener

I prefer using raw honey in my homemade granola since we have a great farm here that produces and sells it. Real maple syrup is equally great especially if you eat vegan, but just not easy to get here in Nicaragua. As a bonus, these natural sweeteners infuse your granola with extra flavor that sugar would not.

honey poured on oats and nuts mixture to make chunky granola

salt and spice

For flavorful granola, don’t skip the salt! Too little and your flavors won’t sing. I prefer using fine grain sea salt, but regular salt will do too (just use a little less). I added cinnamon to this batch for some subtle warming spice. Ground ginger (use half as much), gingerbread- and pumpkin spice blends are other options.

dried fruit

Dried fruit lends some extra sweetness, chewy texture and irresistible fruity flavor to this healthy granola. I used dried cranberries for this batch. I also love raisins and chopped dried apricots.

Optional mix-ins

Baked oats, nuts and seeds on baking sheet

Orange flavored granola

For fresh citrus flavor, stir fresh citrus zest (1-2 teaspoons) into the mixture before baking the granola. I love adding orange zest, in particular.

Coconut granola

For a more tropical flavor, add unsweetened coconut flakes to the granola, halfway through baking (so after you have baked it the first time) for perfectly toasted results.

Chocolate espresso granola

I add 3-4 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. And instead of water I add strong espresso to the wet ingredients. After that I continue as per the original recipe, but I leave out the dried fruit (and sometimes even the nuts and seeds). Optionally, I add some cocoa nibs to the cooled off chocolate granola.

I love big chunks in my granola. If you are a fan too….

Here are my tips to achieve the best clumps:

Your oats need to be a little crowded in the pan so they can stick together, but not so crowded that they don’t toast evenly. I recommend using a basic half sheet pan. The rimmed edges make sure no granola falls overboard.
Be sure to line the pan with parchment paper so the sweetener sticks to your oats rather than the pan.
For maximum clumps, gently press down on the granola with the back of a spatula. Drizzle with some more honey before putting it in the oven.
Don’t bake the granola too long (just until it’s lightly golden on top). It might not seem like it’s done yet, but it will continue to crisp up as it cools. Over-baking the granola seems to break the sugar bonds.
Lastly, let the granola cool completely before breaking it up, tossing it, adding the remaining 1/3 of the honey and putting it back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes. This ensures crispy chunky granola!

I really hope everyone in your family will like this homemade granola. We sure do! It is

crunchy – chunky -naturally sweet – wholesome – great to snack on – easy to make – & so delicious

This would make the perfect quick weekday breakfast or on-the-go snack. I love adding this granola to some coconut yogurt and freshly cut up fruit. Here are some of my other breakfast or on-the-go snack recipes: apple oatmeal muffins, carrot cake muffins, healthy homemade granola bars. All of these make a great healthy desserts for the kids on a weekday as well!

Need more breakfast inspiration? Look no further! My 8 favorite healthy, easy and quick breakfast recipes gives you all the inspiration you need!

Chunky homemade granola

This chunky granola recipe is naturally sweetened. It is made with oats, coconut oil and my favorite nuts and dried fruit. Try it! Recipe yields about 8 cups of granola.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Resting time 20

Total Time 55

Course Breakfast, Snack

Servings 16 1/2 cup servings

Calories 101 kcal

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup oat flour
2 cups raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup of pecans and 1 cup of walnuts. I use pepitas a lot too)
1 tsp fine grain sea salt (if you are using table salt scale back to 3/4 tsp)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (or olive oil)
3/4 cup honey (or maple syrup if vegan) (divided)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (optional, but makes your granola crunchier) (or sub brown sugar)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used dried cranberries, but apricots are lovely too)
1/8 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
Line a large, rimmed baking tray with parchment paper or a large baking mat.
To a large mixing bowl, add all oats, oat flour, nuts (and/or seeds), salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
In a bowl mix coconut oil, 1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup, brown sugar and vanilla. Here in our jungle the coconut oil is already liquid, if yours is not you can quickly heat it all up until melted.
Add your wet ingredients, include the 1/8 cup of water, to your dry ingredients and mix until evenly coated.
Scoop the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of honey.
Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
Let the granola cool completely (for about 20-30 minutes). Now break it into large chunks and gently toss the chunks with a spatula so the sides that aren’t golden brown are now on top. Drizzle with the remaining 1/4 cup of honey and add your dried fruits. Put the tray back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 or 2 weeks.

Notes

To make it gluten free, make sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
To make it nut free, use seeds (pepitas, sunflower seeds) instead of nuts. To keep the granola vegan, use maple syrup instead of honey

Nutritional information:

the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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