Once you try this homemade Granola With Cinnamon, you'll never go back to store-bought! Made with nuts, seeds, and a hint of maple syrup, it has a warm, light caramel-like flavor that works just as well on yogurt and smoothie bowls as it does by the handful.
"This is absolutely something I can roll with! Yum looks delicious!" -Daniela
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 1 hour 40 minutes
- 👪Serves: 10
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 245 kcals and 6 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Gluten-free oats, coconut flakes, almonds, almond butter, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and coconut oil.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: This crunchy cinnamon granola is perfectly crisp, lightly sweet, and packed with nuts and seeds for satisfying texture.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
This healthy cinnamon granola recipe is everything store-bought granola wishes it could be. It’s deeply cozy with warm cinnamon, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, and bakes up into big, golden clusters that make your whole kitchen smell unreal. I’ve made a lot of granola over the years (granola cups with yogurt are the kids' favorite!), and this is the one I keep coming back to because it’s perfectly balanced, not too sweet, not too dry, just incredibly delicious.
The real magic is in how it bakes. Pressing the granola firmly into the pan before it goes into the oven is the secret to getting that ultra-crunchy granola texture with big, snackable chunks. I love sprinkling it over a dairy-free yogurt parfait, adding it to a papaya smoothie bowl, or grabbing it by the handful as I do with homemade high protein granola when afternoons hit hard. Once you try it, you’ll honestly wonder why you ever bought granola from the store.
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy to make: Homemade granola is really just mixing everything in a bowl until it's sticky and then baking it low and slow. No major kitchen skills needed.
Allergy-friendly: This cinnamon granola is dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan, making it wonderful for dietary restrictions.
Healthy and flavorful: It has a maple cinnamon flavor that you can't refuse and since you're in control of the amount of sugar in it, it's a healthier option (especially for kids) than regular store-bought granola.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A lot of these ingredients, like the nuts and seeds, can be interchanged with others if you don't have them on hand. So, don't stress and use what you've got.
- Hemp hearts: A crazy dose of healthy fats in a tiny seed! Hemp hearts give a bit of a chewy texture. We make homemade hemp milk with leftovers because it's just so potent.
- Regular oats: Make sure to grab gluten-free oats as needed, and know that quick oats should work in this recipe if you need to swap!
- Large coconut chips: You want to make sure you use the large (unsweetened) chips and not shredded coconut. This is so that you get maximum crunch in the vegan cinnamon granola!
- Coconut oil: This cannot be replaced with other oils. Coconut oil is used because it solidifies at room temperature making the granola crisp up in ways other oils do not.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
Peanut butter: Replace the almond butter with homemade peanut butter for a new taste. It won't be caramel-like, but kiddos go crazy for it.
Dried fruit: Adding half a cup of your favorite dried fruit is a great way to get a pop of freshness into the gluten-free cinnamon granola.
How To Make Granola With Cinnamon
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
Step 3: Whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth. Pour wet into dry and mix until everything is sticky.
Step 4: Press the granola onto a lined baking tray and bake it, stirring halfway through and repressing it.
Expert Tips To Make It
Make sure to use large coconut smiles for the recipe. The thicker the better! I get mine from a local bulk barn. It's these coconut flakes that make the healthy granola recipe extra crunchy.
When you put the cinnamon granola on the baking tray, press it down firmly so that it sticks together. This is what helps make it crunchy! The same applies to this chocolate protein granola.
Make sure to line the baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat, otherwise, the granola recipe is more prone to burning.
For the best caramel-like flavor, use a dark maple syrup.
Storing: Once cooled, store the cinnamon granola in a mason jar with the lid in the fridge. Like this, it will stay fresh for up to two months.
How To Enjoy It
We use the cinnamon granola recipe for just about everything! A few of our house favorites are:
- Put on top of an avocado smoothie bowl
- Eaten as a cereal for breakfast
- Mixed into overnight cookie dough protein oats
- Grabbed by the handful out of the fridge (totally me)
Cinnamon Granola FAQs
There are two reasons why your granola isn't crunchy. The first is that it is cooked at too high a temperature. Homemade granola works best when it's cooked low and slow. The second reason could be that there weren't enough liquid or "sticky" ingredients. These ingredients, once cooked, firm up once the homemade granola sits to cool.
You can freeze cinnamon granola once cooled in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. When you need it, let it come to room temperature. Know that freezing homemade granola will cause it to lose some of it's crunch.
The ingredients that make homemade granola stick together are coconut oil, maple syrup, and nut butter. The combination of these in larger amounts helps bind the granola ingredients together and gives them a crunchy texture.
Homemade cinnamon granola can be made nut-free by replacing the almonds with more pumpkin or sunflower seeds and using sunflower seed butter instead of nut butter.
More Healthy Granola Recipes
If you tried this Crunchy Granola With Cinnamon Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Crunchy Granola With Cinnamon (Vegan)
Video
Equipment
- Large baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup large coconut flakes not shredded coconut
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbs hemp hearts
- ¾ cup oats regular, gluten-free
- ½ cup almonds chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ cup smooth almond butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil measured solid
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix. In a small pot combine the wet ingredients and heat on low (if you place the stove too hot the almond butter will burn). Whisk frequently until all wet ingredients are combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry and mix well until everything is coated and semi sticky. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread granola mixture evenly over the pan. Try to keep the granola together and not spread apart but keep the layer thin.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the over and stir placing the granola back into a single layer. Bake another 10-12 minutes keeping watch carefully in the last two minutes. You want the granola to be just starting to brown. Any longer and it will burn.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let sit on the counter for one hour. The granola will harden as it sits. After an hour, break granola apart as much as preferred and store in mason jars in the fridge.
Notes
- When you put the granola on the baking tray, press it down firmly so that it sticks together. This is what helps make it crunchy!
- Make sure to line the baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat, otherwise, the granola is more prone to burn.
- Make sure to let the granola cool fully on the pan so that you get the best crunch!
- The granola recipe makes 5 cups roughly. One serving is ½ a cup.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
www.fooddoz.com says
It is a nice recipe. Thanks.
Daniela says
This is absolutely something I can roll with! Yum looks delicious!
fitasamamabear says
Right?! Granola is always a win 😀
Myrthe De Brouwer says
Wauw, this looks delicious. I can't wait to try it myself. It looks so healthy, thank you for the recipes, very helpful 🙂
fitasamamabear says
I hope you enjoy it! I couldn't stop licking the spoon lol
Claire says
Definitely looks tasty and delicious!!! And it's homemade, so perfect! haha.
Melissa says
These look like such a good and healthy treat! Going to have to make some for my family.
fitasamamabear says
Let me know they like it when you do!
Jonnie says
This looks amazing!!
fitasamamabear says
Thank you! It's addictive lol
Christine says
I've never even thought about making my own granola. Thanks for the recipe. I'm so doing this.
fitasamamabear says
Enjoy it! It's sooo tasty 🙂
Kanani says
Are coconut flakes the same as shaved coconut? Asking for a friend.
fitasamamabear says
Hey Kanani! It depends where you're buying them (dumb I know). You don't want to use SHREDDED coconut but large flakes (ones that are about 1cm+ long) will work. You want them big and thick enough to add some crunch 🙂
Kimberly says
This looks so delicious and easy to make!
fitasamamabear says
It's definitely tasty... slightly addicting especially warm lol
Shannon Burlingame says
YUM!!! This looks so healthy and tasty! I am running low on granola so I'll have to try this out. 🙂
fitasamamabear says
It is tasty! Actually addictive - enjoy it!
Sophia says
Omg this looks so good. I love crunchy granola, I can just eat it dry straight from the bowl. xx
fitasamamabear says
I'm with you! I grab a handful everytime the fridge door opens lol
Armida Torres says
I never thought about making my own granola but this post has me rethinking that 🙂
fitasamamabear says
Mmmm making your own is so yummy! Be careful not to eat it all at once- then you have to make another batch lol
Viki says
You make it look so easy! I still prefer to buy them at the organic store and not create a mess at home^^
But I'll try when I get home in a few months - let's see how it goes!
fitasamamabear says
Granola is definitely easier for me now haha I think I just got mad at paying so much for it at the store when I had the ingredients. It took me a while to get it down though- I used to burn each batch or make it too dry.