Homemade Granola With Honey Recipe

It’s so easy to make your own granola at home. With just a few simple ingredients and minimal effort you can enjoy fresh, flavorful granola whenever and however you want. This homemade honey granola with a touch of sweet honey is perfect as part of a complete breakfast, a great snack, or as a topping for a dessert cobbler or ice cream sundae.

Why I Love This Recipe

I love granola. To me, it’s among those perfect foods that can be eaten as a breakfast option, a healthy snack, or even part of a decadent dessert. Perfect. But it can get expensive to buy grocery store granola all the time. Not so perfect.

That’s another reason you’ll love this easy recipe for delicious and amazing homemade granola. Delicious, easy, inexpensive, what’s not to love? And it’s so easily customizable, so you can have a variety of flavors going at once if you want. You might never buy granola again!

Here’s a few other reasons this is my favorite homemade granola recipe.

• No preservatives. Just simple ingredients you probably have on hand already.
• Customizable and can be made healthy, indulgent, or somewhere in-between.
• Perfect for breakfast, morning or afternoon snack or dessert.
• Pairs as well with fruit and yogurt as it does ice cream.
• Everyone in the family loves it because they can have it their way.
• SO easy to make and SO much less expensive than purchasing granola.

Recipe Ingredients for Homemade Granola

You only need a few ingredients to make this healthy granola recipe. 

Oats - use rolled old-fashioned oats for best results. Check the label if you want a GF variety.

Sunflower seeds and peanuts - These can be replaced with different nuts and seeds of your choice. Chop larger nuts into bite size pieces for best results.

Olive oil - You can replace the extra-virgin olive oil with another type of oil such as sunflower or unrefined coconut oil.

Honey and maple syrup - Feel free to increase the amount of either or both for a sweeter end result.

Dried fruit - Any type can be used. Also feel free to mix in chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or baking chip.

Salt - Omit if desired. Salt adds a nice contrast to the sweetness. Use any variety.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Granola with Honey

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Coat lightly with cooking spray. 

Step 2

Combine oats and all other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Make sure the dry ingredients are well incorporated with the wet ingredients.

Step 3

Pour contents evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring twice during the baking process to avoid burning.

Step 4

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Store in airtight containers for up to 3 months.

How to Prep Homemade Granola Ahead of Time

Make the recipe as directed. Allow the granola to cool fully and store in mason jars or airtight containers. Use as needed. 

Optional Add-Ins

Use your favorite mix-ins to add a personal touch to this simple granola recipe. Great options include

• Peanut butter or other nut butters
• Unsweetened coconut flakes
• Chocolate or peanut butter chips
• Dried fruits 
• Nuts and seeds

Recipe Notes

• Make sure you are giving the granola a good stir or two during baking so it doesn’t cook unevenly or spot burn.
• Always allow the granola to cool fully before storing it to avoid any excess moisture from forming.
• Try different dried fruits and seeds in your granola. Pumpkin seeds are a great, tasty addition. Especially for the fall.
• For a vegan option, substitute the honey with agave, coconut sugar, or more maple syrup.

Muesli vs Granola

People often ask what the difference is between granola and muesli or are they the same thing. Let’s start by saying that while similar, they are not the same. Here are a few key differences between the two.

• Muesli generally uses uncooked rolled oats while granola is made with baked oats and has a crunchy texture.
• Muesli is usually sweetened with dried or fresh fruit and other natural sweeteners. Granola, while maybe having some fruit, relies heavily on added sugar, syrup, or honey to sweeten it.
• Granola is higher in fat than muesli because of the oil used to coat the oats for baking the granola mixture.

What To Do With Granola

There are so many great ways to serve your homemade granola. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

• Perfect addition fruit and yogurt parfaits
• Sprinkled on top of ice cream or cobbler
• By the handful on its own for a great snack
• With milk as an alternate cereal option

How to Store Homemade Granola

Let the granola cool completely before storing. 

Store this homemade granola in a well-sealed, airtight container for optimal freshness. 

Store in a pantry or other cool, dark spot away from moisture or heat sources.

Properly stored granola will be at its best for 3-4 months of the date it was made.

Can You Freeze Homemade Granola?

While it’s not recommended to refrigerate granola, you can in fact freeze it! Refrigerating granola allows for a build-up of moisture that can make granola soggy. But freezing the baked oats doesn’t give the moisture time to form but does allow for longer storage. 

• It’s key that you allow the granola to cool completely before adding it to a freezer safe bag or airtight container. This will not introduce any extra moisture to the container.
• If you are using a freezer bag, make sure you remove any excess air from the bag by squeezing the air out gently or sucking it out with a straw.
• If you are using a container, try to fill it as much as possible leaving the least amount of empty space for moisture to form.

Allow granola to thaw at room temperature. Reheat in the oven if needed for extra crisp.

Is Granola Gluten Free?

This is a trickier question than you might think. Oats by themselves are gluten free. However, some oats can be contaminated by other grains as they are processed. If you need GF oats for your granola, it’s best to read the label for certified gluten-free oats.

Store-bought granola can also easily be contaminated on a processing facility. Check the label to ensure the product is indeed GF.

More Granola Recipes

• Greek Yogurt and Granola
• 5-Ingredient Blueberry Granola Bars
• No-Bake Homemade Granola Bars
• Granola with Butter and Leftover Candy