This Gluten-Free Maple Granola is full of cozy spices, whole food ingredients, and is incredibly easy to make! It’s made with oats, pecans, coconut, spices, and real maple syrup and comes together in just 30 minutes, from start to finish! This granola tastes – and smells – like warm, spiced oatmeal cookies.
I originally published this recipe in April of 2017, but just updated it with new photos. The recipe hasn’t changed!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Real Maple Flavor – This maple granola is made with real maple syrup, so the maple flavor is legit! The other ingredients balance the maple to give this recipe just the right amount of sweetness.
- Naturally Gluten-Free – This homemade granola recipe is naturally gluten-free! Just be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you have celiac disease, as the non certified kind have a chance of cross contamination.
- Easy Recipe – Homemade granola is incredibly easy to make, and uses simple ingredients. Once you’ve done it, you’ll never go back to store-bought granola!
- Crunchy Clusters – This granola is full of delicious spiced crunchy granola clusters!
The coziest, warmest, most comforting smell wafts out of your oven as the granola bakes. It’s nutty, warm, maple-goodness basically tastes like a spiced oatmeal cookie, but made with healthy ingredients. Are we ready to make the best gluten-free granola recipe ever? I think so!
Ingredient Overview
- Oats – Oats provide healthy whole grains in this recipe. Use whole rolled oats, and be sure to use certified gluten-free oats when needed.
- Pecans – When you buy pecans, they’ll come in a bag called “pecan halves”, and then you’ll want to chop those up a bit more for this recipe.
- Shredded Coconut – You can use sweetened or unsweetened. This is sometimes called desiccated coconut in the grocery store.
- Pure Maple Syrup – Use real maple syrup for best results.
- Olive Oil – This is just one of the healthy fats found in this recipe!
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Nuts – You can swap the pecans for almonds or walnuts if you prefer, or you can omit them entirely.
- Dairy-free – This recipe makes a dairy-free and vegan granola as written!
- Nut Allergy – Omit the nuts and swap the almond butter for sunflower butter, or omit it entirely.
How to Make this Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Combine Dry Ingredients. Stir together the oats, pecans, coconut, spices, and a pinch of salt.
Step 2: Add Wet Ingredients. Pour in the olive oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and almond butter. Stir until well combined. If there are a few clumps, that’s fine – they’ll be extra fun to bite into later!
Step 3: Spread on a Pan and Bake. Spread the granola into an even layer on a lined baking sheet and bake as directed in the recipe card below.
And now, the hardest part – waiting for it to cool. If you let it cool completely before digging in, you’ll have more clumps. If you don’t care about that, feel free to dig in as soon as you like.
You’ll feel like a kitchen rockstar after making this homemade granola – and it can be your little secret just how easy it was to whip up! This is the kind of recipe we love and memorize and make on repeat.
Serve this with greek yogurt or almond milk for a healthy breakfast, or with fresh fruit over ice cream for a lighter dessert. I love topping smoothie bowls with this granola!
Expert Success Tips:
- Clumps – As I mentioned earlier, letting the granola cool completely without disturbing it is key to getting those larger clumps!
Recipe Variations:
- Nuts – You can omit the nuts if needed, or swap for another type.
- Dried Fruit – Feel free to add 1/3 cup of your favorite dried fruit like cranberries or cherries. If you want to use something larger like dried apricots, chop them up first.
- Other Mix-Ins – Feel free to add any other mix ins you like! Try adding 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or chia seeds in place of (or with!) the nuts. You can even add a few handfuls of chocolate chips in the last 3-4 minutes of bake time, so they melt just enough to stick to the granola, without melting too much. Add 1-2 tbsp flax seeds for extra fiber and protein.
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Store cooled granola in an airtight container or mason jars for up to 2 months.
Special Tools:
- Baking Sheets – These are my favorite cookie sheets!
More Breakfast Recipes to Love:
- Healthy Banana Chocolate Muffins
- Bakery-Style Jumbo Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- One-Bowl Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Caramelized Pear Oatmeal Bowls
- Healthy Cookie Dough Energy Bites
- Chocolate Granola
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Granola
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
The Best Gluten-Free Maple Granola
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup whole rolled oats Use certified gluten-free if needed.
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut I used sweetened, but unsweetened works too
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract optional
- 2 tbsp almond butter
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 325° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the Granola: In a medium mixing bowl, add the oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, shredded coconut, and pecans. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Pour in the olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and stir to combine well. Add the almond butter last, and stir to combine. If it clumps in some areas that's fine – clumps in granola are the best!
- Bake: Spread the granola in an even layer on your lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. After the time is up, stir the granola on the pan, making sure to move the bits on the edges to the inside of the pan, so they don't burn. Bake for 13-19 more minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
- Serve + Store: Let granola cool completely before putting into a storage container. This will ensure you have nice crunchy clumps. If you don't want lots of clumps, you can stir it around earlier, or break them up as you transfer to a container. Store at room temp in an airtight container for 1-2 months.
Nutrition
Donna says
This has become a new staple in our household. Easy and delicious. Thank you!
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad to hear that, Donna!
Lauren says
I double batch it, because it’s so good! Husband loves it as a snack, and I love it with sliced banana and plant milk. So delicious! I’ll be bringing this on a camping trip.
Lauren says
I also forgot to mention that I sub the nuts for raw pumpkin seeds because that’s all I have at the moment. I’m sure it’s lovely either way.
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad you loved this granola, Lauren!
Kelly says
The absolute best granola. Easy to make and fabulous! My favorite part is the pillowy pieces of peanut butter through out. Yum & Yum!
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Kelly! Glad you love this as much as we do in my house. 🙂
Willow says
So delicious. Make it every week! Occasionally I will add tiny freeze dried marshmallows and cacao nibs for a s’mores naughty version (for my husband mostly!)
Stephanie Simmons says
You just made my day, Willow! and I love that s’mores version – so fun!
John says
I’ve loved granola most all of my life. I just turned 60 and I can honestly say, I’ve never once tried making my own until tonight. Followed your recipe with the exception of the almond butter, only had peanut. Made a x3 batch and I just gotta say, I can’t believe I’ve waited this long but I sure am glad I found your recipe, excellent! Look forward to playing with this and making it my own, thank you for sharing it !
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi John! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe – and thanks for your kind comment! Happy baking!
Stephanie says
I tried this without the almond butter and coconut, and used different nuts. I like mine sweet and salty so I used 1/4 tsp of salt. This is a great recipe to make your own. It came out so good!
Lauren says
Delicious!!
Lee says
I really love this granola! I used walnuts instead of pecans. It stays crunchy even after storing for a few days! I have been eating it with vanilla almond milk yogurt and blueberries and it is so delicious
Stephanie Simmons says
Sounds like a delicious breakfast! Glad you loved this granola. 🙂
Lisa says
Great recipe. I increase the cinnamon, vanilla and nuts. A combo of hazelnuts and almonds is great too. I also found that the nut butter doesn’t really mix in that well and didn’t make that much difference in the end product, so I left it out the second time and it’s fab.
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad you loved this granola, Lisa! 🙂
Sirena says
Just stumbled across this recipe yesterday, was out of almond butter, so I doubled the olive oil and added chia seeds. All around win and my super picky DH loves it!
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad you loved my granola! 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment.
Bri says
This was absolutely delicious!!! I love the flavor nutmeg adds!
A different spin on granola. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad you liked this granola, Bri! 🙂
Arlene says
I didn’t have pecans or coconut but I just added some ground flax and more oats and this recipe was perfect! I did 12 minutes, flipped the granola, and 11 more minutes in the oven.
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad you enjoyed this granola, Arlene! 🙂 It is one of our favorites.
Ivy says
Late to the game, but does this recipe NEED the nut butter? No allergies, but I don’t have any almond butter on hand and peanut butter seems too strong a flavor. Looks great otherwise!
Stephanie Simmons says
I think it would be ok without the nut butter but I haven’t tried it! I wonder if coconut butter would work. Let me know how it goes, either way! 🙂
Christina C Komer says
I tried this recipe after a search on Pinterest. I am so glad I found it! My house smelled AHHmazing while baking the granola. The best part is my 4 year old ate almost a cup of it, for dessert! He added it to his ice cream, and later asked for yogurt so he can have some more. Not to mention the little handfuls in between.
April says
What type of oats work best? Old fashioned ?
Stephanie Simmons says
Yes! Old fashioned rolled oats. 🙂 Sorry that wasn’t clear!
Barb says
Delicious granola! Made it recently and it was gone in no time! Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe. It is definitely a favorite!
Stephanie Simmons says
So glad to hear that, Barb! Thank YOU for making the recipe! ❤️❤️
Barb says
This granola is delicious! Definitely a favorite! Thank you for this wonderful recipe?
Stephanie Simmons says
Thanks so much Barb! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Claire says
I made this at the weekend and it was lovely.
I served it crumbled over vanilla ice cream and the kids just loved it!!!
Such a great way to dress up store bought ice cream.
Thank you for a great recipe.
Stephanie Simmons says
I’m so glad to hear that, Claire! I need to make some more now and have it with my ice cream!! ❤️❤️
Jessica says
The aroma of maple is havenly. What a fabulous on-the-go snack I don’t have to feel guilty about.
Stephanie Simmons says
It definitely is!!
Samantha H. says
I LOVE homemade granola, and the maple syrup sounds amazing. It always reminds me of vacation because there’s a resort we go to with great homemade granola. This with vanilla greek yogurt would be perfect for breakfast.
Stephanie Simmons says
That’s so awesome! Yes, I love to have this with greek yogurt!
Anna says
I always thought home-made granola sounded complicated but you’ve really de-mystified it for me. This sounds very do-able and I love that it can be easily customized to suit our own (and kids!) tastes!
Stephanie Simmons says
I’m so glad to hear that, Anna!! ❤️ Enjoy!
Tori says
yummmmmm! I actually posted a pretty similar recipe on my blog not too long ago, but you gave me some great ideas to try! I never thought to add nut butter to mine or nutmeg! That’s why we love granola, so flexible and easy to “shake it up” with the recipe.
Stephanie Simmons says
Absolutely! ❤️
Makenzie says
This looks so delicious! Definitely have to give it a try!
Stephanie Simmons says
Enjoy! ❤️
Camila Hurst says
Delicious granola!! I literally love all of the ingredients here. I love making my own granola, so I love seeing ideas about how to make different variations!
Stephanie Simmons says
Awesome!! I love it too ❤️
Lisa says
I love granola and this recipe looks so good! I’ll have to try it soon!
Stephanie Simmons says
Let me know how it goes!
Haley Kottra says
Definitely going to try this!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Yay!! ❤️
Amanda says
I’m a huge granola fan, and store-bought can be so pricey. Can’t wait to make this homemade version!
Stephanie Simmons says
Oh totally! Homemade is the way to go here ?
sondria Harp says
I actually have friend visiting soon who loves to have granola for breakfast. This recipe is a perfect reason to make it for her when she visits. Thank you for the recipe.
Stephanie Simmons says
Thank you so much! Let me know how it goes!
Nellie says
Nothing better than a great homemade granola recipe – thank you!!
Stephanie Simmons says
Absolutely! And you’re welcome!