This easy granola recipe with pecans and cranberries will become your go-to homemade granola recipe – you won’t ever be buying granola from the store again. This is way too easy!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Granola is easy to make and it’s more economical than purchased granola, with a much fresher flavor.
How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large rimmed baking sheet, mixing bowl
Servings: 12
I make granola probably once every other week. If you’re looking for more great breakfast recipes, check out our sister site, Pancake Recipes, and our popular French toast recipe!
Why You’ll Love this easy granola
- Convenient: I wrote this recipe to use one measuring cup (1 cup) and one measuring spoon (1 tablespoon). There’s no need to dirty 4 measuring spoons and 3 measuring cups. That is not what we are going for here. Easy. It does call for ¼ teaspoon salt but if you can just shake a little into your palm and eyeball that. And the nut measurements are ½ cups but you can eyeball those too. This is not an exact science at all; this is a very forgiving recipe.
- Full of Warm Cinnamon: This easy granola recipe is heavy on the cinnamon (the recipe calls for 1 heaping tablespoon, and I’ll admit, sometimes I add even more), but if that sounds a little overwhelming to you, feel free to scale back a bit.
- Versatile: You can add whatever you have on hand. Don’t have dried cranberries? Substitute dried cherries, dried blueberries, or whatever dried fruit you love best. Or leave it out completely. Don’t have pecans? That’s okay! Just bump up the amount of walnuts or almonds. Or leave the nuts out, if you prefer, and add another cup or two of oats.
Coconut side note: I love flaked coconut. I really do. The large-sized flakes are so much more flavorful than shredded coconut and really crisp up in this granola recipe.
After your homemade granola has completely cooled, store it in an airtight container or jar for up to 4 weeks. If the granola is even a little bit warm when you put it into a container, condensation will form and your granola will become soft and may even get moldy.
For longer storage, put the granola into a freezer-safe container or bag. It will keep for a few months.
More Granola Recipes
Easy Granola Recipe with Pecans and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup raw shelled sunflower seeds
- ½ cup chopped raw walnuts (see notes)
- ½ cup chopped raw pecans
- ½ cup sliced raw almonds
- 1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons canola or coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray a sheet pan (rimmed baking sheet) with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, almonds, coconut, flaxseed, wheat germ, ground cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a 2 cup microwave-safe measuring cup (or small bowl), mix oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Heat in microwave for 45 seconds on 50% power. Stir to combine. If using coconut oil, continue to heat in 30 second increments until coconut oil is completely melted. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated. Spread into an even layer on prepared baking sheet.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and dry. If you like big chunks, press down with spatula and let cool completely on pan. If you prefer not to have large chunks, stir 3 to 4 times as granola cools. Stir in cranberries once cooled.
- Completely cool the granola before storing in an airtight container or jar. Makes about 6 cups. It will keep for up to 4 weeks.
Notes
- Don’t underbake the granola. It should look pretty dry and crisp, not wet and sticky.
- You can use any combination of nuts and seeds. It’s best if they are raw, not roasted. If you prefer a nut-free granola, simply use more oats. Just don’t exceed 6 cups of dry ingredients.
- If you prefer, omit the ground flaxseed and/or wheat germ.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Super easy & delicious granola! Based on ingredients I had I subbed cashews for walnuts, hemp hearts for wheat germ, and added about 2 Tbsp puffed quinoa & 1 Tbsp chia seeds. I ended up baking it about 10 min longer to make sure it was cooked. Once I let it cool down it fully crisped up. So great! Thank you for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
I’ve made this recipe many times now and love it! So much better than store bought–the fresh taste of homemade can’t be beat. And the recipe can be tweaked so easily to reflect your own likes and dislikes.
Rachel, It looks fantastic and simple. Going to try this weekend! I like making large batches of everything so we always have it on hand and clean up less often… how long will it keep? Will it go stale or mold over a few months? We can always seal it in jars or vacuum bags I guess?
Thanks, Gina
You’ll definitely want to keep this in a covered container. I’d say it would store for a month or so, maybe more. If you want to extend it and keep the pecans from becoming rancid, you could store it in the fridge. Enjoy!
I just made a double batch of this granola. Scrumptious!!! We use it on yogurt with fruit. I keep a jar of it at work to keep me from going to the vending machine when I want something sweet or crunchy. Thank you for the recipe! I made it exactly as listed except for the wheat germ because we didn’t have any on hand. Thanks!
Comments like yours make me SO happy! I’m so glad you liked the recipe and that it’s crushing those midday cravings! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Ummmm……when do I add the cranberries?
Sorry about that omission! You stir them in after it’s cooled.
looks so good