This warming, delicious maple pecan granola recipe is so easy to whip up! With simple ingredients and no refined sugars, it's perfect for a healthy snack or topping for yogurt, overnight oats, warm oatmeal, or smoothies.
Are we people who get excited for fall?? ...I think we are. Speaking for myself, fall is my favorite season, and this granola gives all those fall vibes: cozy, warming, maple-y, cinnamon-y, and makes your house smell AMAZING. (Still get those fall candles, though, obviously).
If you're a granola fan, you'll love this maple pecan granola. It's simple as far as add-ins go, but maple and pecan is a classic flavor combo that you can always add more to (suggestions below). Most importantly of all? The maple syrup and cinnamon are going to sink into the pecan ridges and get nice and caramelized in the oven--yes, please. Let's go make this and just be in our cozy fall breakfast havens.
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Ingredients
Just like my other granola recipes, this one is oat-based with maple flavor (very similar to maple cinnamon walnut granola), but pecans are the primary add-in this time. Below is everything you'll need!
- Whole rolled oats - Oats will be the main ingredient in this granola (careful not to use quick oats or steel cut).
- Whole wheat flour - I always add a small amount of flour to my granola to help granola clusters form. Spelt, white whole wheat, oat, or a gluten free flour would work as well!
- Salt - To balance out sweetness and enhance flavor.
- Cinnamon - Tastes incredible with maple and pecan flavors.
- Coconut oil - I use organic extra virgin. Fat adds incredible flavor and keeps the granola from burning.
- Maple syrup - Our flavor of choice and sweetener for this granola.
- Vanilla extract - Good ol' vanilla extract is here to level up our flavor.
- Raw pecans - I recommend using raw because we'll be flavoring and toasting the pecans while cooking the granola.
Substitutions & Variations
If you need some kitchen-tested adaptations, below are some ideas that'll work. My personal favorite is adding in coconut to this granola... OMG so good.
- Nut free - To make a nut free variation, use the same amount of pepitas instead of pecans.
- Gluten free - To make this granola gluten free, make sure your oats are labeled as certified gluten free and swap the flour for a ¼ cup gluten free flour or flax seed meal.
- Coconut - I love adding coconut flakes to any kind of granola (you'll have to check my coconut chia granola recipe sometime). For adding coconut to this recipe, you can reduce the oats by ½ cup (for 3 cups total) and added 1 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes. So good!
- Maple syrup - You could use the same amount of honey or agave, but note that it would take the maple out of maple pecan granola (though it would still be delish).
- Coconut oil - If you don't have coconut oil, try using the same amount of avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil.
How to Make Maple Pecan Granola
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and if desired, line with parchment paper. Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, and pecans in a large bowl and stir everything together to evenly distribute.
Step 2: Next, heat the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it starts to bubble. Whisk to combine, then remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla extract.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients from the saucepan into the dry ingredients and stir to thoroughly coat. I like to use a rubber spatula to get every last drop out of the saucepan.
Step 4: Spread the granola mixture onto your parchment-lined sheet pan in an even, thick layer.
Step 5: Bake at 300 degrees for 30-35 minutes, gently stirring halfway through to ensure it bakes evenly. Allow to cool in sheet pan for 10 minutes, then break apart into clusters (best part!).
Step 6: Bask in the delicious smells and enjoy your delicious granola creation! Enjoy with fruit (raw or baked), yogurt (these apple pie yogurt bowls are a perfect match), overnight oats, and as a stand-alone snack. Yummy!
Top Tips for the Best Granola
- Skip convection! If your oven has a convection setting, I recommend not using it for homemade granola. While all ovens are different, the convection setting on my oven consistently - and unevenly - overcooks our granola, so I always use a regular bake setting for the best results.
- Granola clusters. To get beautiful clusters, let the granola cool completely before stirring it after taking it out of the oven. This allows the large clusters to form, and you can break them into whatever size you want!
Pecan Granola FAQs
Homemade granola will be a little soft immediately out of the oven and crunches up after it cools. If yours is still soft even after cooling, it may need more time in the oven. No need to overdo it u002du002d simply put back into a 300 or 275 degree oven for 5 more minutes to reduce some moisture.
This cozy granola flavor goes really well with most fruits, vanilla or plain yogurt, or other foods with warming cinnamon vibes (sautéed apples, anyone?). These peach pie yogurt bowls are one of my favorite ways to use maple pecan granola - they're a perfect match!
Store your delicious homemade granola in an airtight container for up to a month, or freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. I love to use jars with airtight lids or any airtight glass container.
📖 Recipe
Cozy Maple Pecan Granola
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: ~4.5 cups
Description
This maple pecan granola is delicious and made without refined sugars! It's easy to whip up a batch for snacking or topping yogurt, overnight oats, and oatmeal.
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups whole rolled oats
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour (or spelt, white whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, and pecans.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a small saucepan, combine coconut oil and maple syrup. Heat over medium until fully melted and just starting to bubbling. Immediately remove from heat and stir to combine. Add vanilla extract and stir.
- Combine. Pour the wet mixture from the saucepan into the dry ingredients, scraping out every last bit (love me a rubber spatula for this).
- Bake. Bake the granola at 300 degrees for 30-35 minutes, gently stirring one time halfway through to ensure even baking.
Notes
- Storage Instructions. Store completely cooled granola in any airtight container at room temperature. If you don't think you'll eat it up in a few months, you can also freeze in an airtight container or sealable bag for up to three months.
- Granola clusters. The key to getting large granola clusters is to allow the granola to fully bake and cool with minimal stirring. The granola will cook together in its layer, and once it cools you can break it into clusters of your desired size.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 65.7 mg
- Fat: 8.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.5 g
- Fiber: 2.8 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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