Healthy Pumpkin Granola

This healthy pumpkin granola is vegan and tastes of fall with pumpkin pie spices, maple syrup, and real pumpkin! It's the perfect addition to your morning yogurt, oats, smoothie, or even to top baked fall fruit. With sweet maple-y oat clusters, pecans, pepitas, walnuts, and almonds, this granola is energizing and delicious.

this recipe

When it comes to fall, we are not above pumpkin *everything*, and today we're saying, "Never enough!" as we bring you a delicious and healthy pumpkin granola! It's got ALL the granola goodies: sweetened naturally with maple syrup, bursting with pumpkin pie spice flavors, and packed with oat clusters, crunchy pecans, pepitas, walnuts, and almonds.

We're obsessed with topping Greek yogurt (hello, apple pie yogurt parfaits), but we also love that it's a completely plant-based granola, so topping baked fall fruit (apples, pears) makes a perfect plant-based fall dessert. Same goes for smoothies with plant-based protein & milk... or just snacking on it by the handful!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions & Variations
• Storage
• Top Tip
• FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

For this healthy pumpkin granola, you need:

• Whole rolled oats
• White whole wheat flour (or whole wheat)
• Fine sea salt
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Extra virgin coconut oil
• Pure maple syrup
• Canned pumpkin
• Vanilla extract
• Any combination of pecans, pepitas, walnuts, and/or almonds

Instructions

To make healthy pumpkin granola, first you'll preheat your oven to 300 degrees and lne a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Then, combine the oats, white whole wheat flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in one bowl. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, pumpkin, and vanilla extract. Heat this mixture in the microwave for about one minute (or until the coconut oil is complete melted), then whisk everything together until smooth.

Next, pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix together until well combined. Add in the nuts and stir to evenly distribute. You want the oats and nuts to be well-coated in that pumpkin-maple-coconut oil goodness!

Once you've made your granola mixture, spread it evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 300 degrees for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before stirring. Gently stir the granola to break up the larger clusters, then serve!

Hint: Allowing the granola to cool is an important step, as it helps the ingredients stick together so we get those wonderful clusters. Cooling also allows the granola to crisp up after being fresh out of the oven. Before storing the granola, make sure it has completely cooled.

Substitutions & Variations

Below are some substitutions or variations on healthy pumpkin granola that will work if you're out of some ingredients.

• Pumpkin pie spice - If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute in 1 teaspoon cinnamon + ½ teaspoon allspice + ¼ teaspoon ground ginger + ¼ teaspoon nutmeg + ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
• Nuts - You can use any combination of nuts or seeds. I used pecans, pepitas, almonds, and walnuts because I happened to have them all on hand, but just one or couple of these would be just as delicious.
• Gluten free - To make this recipe completely gluten free, make sure your oats are certified gluten free, and sub the white whole wheat flour for gluten free flour at a 1:1 ratio.
• Chocolate - Add ½ cup of dark, milk, or white chocolate chips after the granola has cooled for a chocolatey twist that's reminiscent of pumpkin chocolate chip bread (drool).
• Dried fruit - Dried cranberries would also be a delicious addition to this granola. Stir in any dried fruits after baking the granola.
• Yogurt Parfait - Make an incredible yogurt parfait with either Greek or plant-based yogurt! If you're feeling extra pumpkin-y, you can even whip some pumpkin into the yogurt with cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup. OR, take a shortcut and try some Siggi's pumpkin spice yogurt (one of our favorites!). Layer yogurt, granola, yogurt, granola, and boom, yogurt parfait.

For other granola recipes, check out my maple cranberry almond granola or simple coconut chia granola!

Storage

After letting the granola cool completely, store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (like your pantry) for up to three months. I do not recommend refrigerating granola as it will quickly turn soft. For pantry storage, I love using airtight glass storage jars (affiliate link) with flip-top or bamboo lids!

You can also freeze this granola by placing it into an airtight container or bag (leaving as little space as possible in the container -- pack it full with granola!) and storing it in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw on the countertop then use as normal! For freezing, I prefer to use reusable freezer bags (affiliate link) or glass storage containers (affiliate link).

Top Tip

Be absolutely sure to allow your granola to cool completely before storing or freezing it! If condensation is created within the container, the granola will become soft at room temperature storage. Likewise, the frozen granola will get freezer burned much more easily when water droplets form and freeze inside its container.

FAQs