30-Minute Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola
Get ready to fill your kitchen with the sweet and satisfying aroma of Sweet and Simple Crunchy Granola! In just 30 minutes, you can make your own homemade granola packed with wholesome ingredients like oats, coconut, and almonds. This recipe is so easy to follow and customize you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before!
So let me tell you a little bit about this Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola recipe. I stole borrowed this recipe from my friend Kim, and tweaked it to my perfection. It’s quick and easy, and makes you look like a gourmet chef. It’s that good.
Although you can purchase granola from almost any grocery store, as an experienced home cook, I promise it’s easy to make from scratch right at home!
This sweet and simple crunchy granola recipe is perfect for those who want a quick and delicious breakfast option. It’s packed with ingredients like old-fashioned oats, shredded unsweetened coconut, and chopped almonds.
One of the best things about this recipe is that it only takes 30 minutes to make! Simply mix the ingredient together until combined. Spread the granola onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes. The result? A perfectly crunchy granola that’s sure to become a staple in your breakfast routine!
Sprinkle it on top of a Cherry Smoothie Bowl for breakfast, or add it as the topping to a serving of simple Banana Ice Cream for dessert!
Watch how easy it is to make
Why this recipe is awesome
- This homemade crunchy granola recipe is incredibly easy to make, taking only 30 minutes from start to finish.
- It’s a perfect option for busy mornings when you want a quick breakfast.
- It’s made with a combination of old-fashioned oats, shredded unsweetened coconut, and chopped almonds, giving it a deliciously nutty flavor that’s perfectly balanced with the sweetness of honey and brown sugar.
- This recipe is also highly customizable, allowing you to adjust the ingredients to your liking. You can add your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruits to create a granola that’s tailored to your taste.
Ingredients for crunchy granola
- Brown Sugar & Honey – Brown sugar adds sweetness and helps to create a delicious caramel-like coating on the granola, giving it a crunchy texture while honey also adds sweetness and stickiness to the granola, helping to bind the oats and other ingredients together.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a rich, warming, and comforting flavor to the granola, enhancing the overall taste of the recipe.
- Cooking Oil – Helps to make the granola crispy and crunchy when baked in the oven.
- Salt – Balances out the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the granola.
- Old Fashioned Oats – Provide the base for the granola.
- Unsweetened Coconut – Adds a delicious nutty tropical flavor and texture.
- Chopped Almonds – Adds a satisfying crunch to the granola.
Best salt for baking?
I use the same salt for cooking and baking. Learn more about why Kosher salt is best!
The Home Cook’s Guide to Salt
Learn about the basics of salt, plus the best salt for cooking (hint: it’s Kosher salt!) with this easy-to-understand guide to salt for home cooks.
The best thing about this recipe is that you can make it your way (to an extent). I like my granola sweet, sticky, suuuuuper crunchy, and without any bells and whistles. But please, feel free to add chocolate chips, dried fruit, or whatever else tickles your granola fancy.
How to make Crunchy Granola?
Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get out a large cookie sheet and spray with a light coating of cooking oil or add parchment paper. Set aside.
Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, honey, vanilla, oil, and salt until fully combined. Then, stir in the old-fashioned oats, followed by the shredded coconut and chopped almonds.
Adjust texture: If the mixture looks a little loose like it’s falling apart, then add a tablespoon at a time of honey until the mixture starts to look sticky.
Bake granola: Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Stir it around every 7-10 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
Cool: Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool completely for maximum crunchiness. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use old-fashioned oats, as quick-cooking or instant oats won’t hold up as well and could become mushy. If you don’t have old-fashioned oats, you can use rolled oats instead.
- Stir the granola around every 7-10 minutes while it’s baking to ensure that it cooks evenly and doesn’t burn. You can also rotate the baking sheet in the oven halfway through to ensure even cooking.
- Once the granola is finished baking, let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. This will help it to stay crispy and fresh for longer.
Varitations
- For a fruity twist, try adding dried cranberries, raisins, or chopped dried apricots to the granola mix. These add a sweet and tangy flavor and pair well with the nutty flavors of the oats and almonds.
- If you’re a fan of chocolate, mix in some cocoa nibs for a decadent and delicious twist.
- For a spicier flavor, add a pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the granola mix. This will give it a kick of heat that pairs well with the sweetness of the honey and brown sugar for savory recipes.
- To add some crunch and texture, try mixing in some pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or chia seeds to the granola mix. These will add a slightly nutty flavor and an even more satisfying crunch to each bite.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: To keep the granola fresh and crunchy, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Make sure that the container is tightly sealed to prevent moisture from getting in, as this can cause the granola to become stale and chewy.
Freezing: If you want to store the granola for longer, you can freeze it in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months. To freeze, transfer the cooled granola to a freezer-safe container, making sure that it’s tightly sealed. When you’re ready to eat it, simply thaw the granola at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator overnight. You can also enjoy it straight from the freezer as a cold and crunchy snack.
30-Minute Sweet & Simple Crunchy Granola
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Get ready to fill your kitchen with the sweet and satisfying aroma of Sweet and Simple Crunchy Granola! In just 30 minutes, you can make your own homemade granola packed with wholesome ingredients like oats, coconut, and almonds. This recipe is so easy to follow and customize you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey, (plus a little extra for love and stickiness)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or coconut oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups old fashioned oats (not instant or quick cooking)
- 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3/4 cup almonds, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, honey, vanilla, oil, and salt.
- Add the old fashioned oats and stir. Add the coconut and chopped almonds. At this point if the mixture looks a little loose, like its falling apart, then add a tablespoon at a time of honey until the mixture starts to look sticky.
- Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the granola on the sheet. You can also use parchment paper to help the granola not stick.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Stir it around every 7-10 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
Notes
If you choose to add chocolate chips or dried fruit, do so once the granola has cooled.
When you try a recipe, use the hashtag #lifeisbutadish on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured in my stories! Follow Life is but a Dish on PINTEREST | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM for all the latest content and behind the scenes!Remember to subscribe to my free Life is but a Dish Weekly Newsletter and receive easy recipes delivered to your inbox every week!
I ran across this recipe and followed it precisely. Then dabbled a bit with other ingredients and I have to say this is our new family favorite! Bravo!! And thank you for sharing ; )
Can you freeze this granola?
You could but not sure it would remain as crunchy if thawed after. However, I love frozen granola!
The result us effectively so goood! I personally add a littlte bit of chopped dattes…
However how make the clusters bigger and not all splitted?
Juliette the french cook
Thank you for sharing indeed great looking !
You’re welcome!
I make huge batches to gift at Christmas each year. Super easy and delicious! 💗
Makes the best gift!
Great recipe! It’s very honey sweet. Has anyone tried to halve the honey and add maple syrup?
What different oil can you used
You can really use any oil you like! Avocado, coconut, even a light olive oil!
Can’t believe how fast and easy this was. And so much cleaner than store bought granola. Tastes amazing too.
Thank you Samantha!
Kim stresses me out
It’s not overly sweet yet after the first bite, you find yourself going back for more and more, because it’s that delicious! I misread the recipe and baked it at 350 (oops) without stirring it (oops again) for 30 minutes…it still came out fine. When it cooled, I broke it into large clusters for snacking as well as smaller clusters for eating as cereal. Pretty versatile! The second time around I tried it with less oil but it didn’t get crunchy, so for those who may be tempted to cut down on the oil…don’t.
Thanks Beth! Glad it worked out for you!
What a fantastic recipe! My 3 year old helped me make it and we ate almost all of it off the pan while it cooled. It made the house smell amazing- another plus!
Love that you made this together!
Fantastic! I’ve been doubling the batch on Sundays for the family to eat as cereal for the week. It’s a big cost savings since everything is getting so expensive at the store. I was out of almonds today but had roasted sunflower seeds on hand from a different meal this week. So the flavor today is sunflower seed and dried cranberries. I was also out of brown sugar, so used regular white granulated and added molasses with the honey.
I love those subs!! Sounds amazing and simple
Love this recipe! It’s my go-to simple granola recipe.
I highly recommend leaving out the brown sugar, which may seem weird because it’s one of the main components but it actually makes the granola a lot chewier and tastier and you won’t miss it. Plus, it’s a lot healthier.
Glad you love it!
Hi Claire! I have been looking for a simple and basic granola recipe like this one and can’t wait to try! Similarly I thought I would leave out the brown sugar as well; did you end up doubling the maple syrup or leave the maple syrup as stated?
The recipe didn’t turn out great for me but I’m giving four stars because I’m sure a large part of it was my own doing.
The positives:
Perfectly crunchy! The only other homemade granola I’ve tried came out gummy, so this was a win. Doesn’t get soggy fast either.
Easy to customize if you’d like, which I may try next time
The negatives:
I can’t tell if the end result has too much honey or is burned. It doesn’t look or smell burned, and I took it out on time, but the taste was overwhelmingly burnt-ish in a too sweet way.
Next time I’ll alter my ingredient amounts and bake for less time. I’m not dissuaded from trying again yet since the texture was perfect!
Thank you for your review, Chance. It’s definitely a honey heavy recipe which provides that great crunch, but yes, play with it and see!
I had the same issue of it tasting just a bit burnt. Did you ever solve your issue? I am wondering if I need to cook it on a lower temperature since 350 is very high for granola.
I’ve made this many times, each a bit different! But it comes out amazing each time. Best granola recipe EVER! Thank you so much Laney!! I used golden syrup, cashews and dipped chunks in chocolate this time. Made it for a friend who just had a baby… she definitely deserved this jazzed up version!
Oh wow that sounds amaaaaaazing!!!
This is delicious! Very yummy and crunchy. I only had sweetened coconut, so I halved the brown sugar, and it was still very sweet – I may try it with no brown sugar next time. (Trying to be healthy!) I ate it with fresh fruit and Greek yogurt, and my kids gobbled it up with milk.
Glad you and the family enjoyed it!
This is the most amazing homemade granola I have ever made!! Thank you for the amazing recipe!!!!
aaaaaah! Yay!!! We love it too!
This makes the best granola ever. Easy, quick, with most ingredients on hand in anyone’s kitchen. It’s crispy, without being clumpy and hard. I did make a minor change. I used a full cup of brown sugar because I prefer the taste, but added a little honey for some stickiness. I added a half cup of Craisins, half cup of finely chopped crystallized ginger, and 3/4 cup chopped cashews…all my favorites. I’m sure it’s very tasty without them because I tried it before I added them. Add any of your own favorites, it’ll be great. I’m very picky about granola and only tried this because I couldn’t find a brand I really liked. Put it on yogurt, ice cream, with milk, or as a snack alone. You can’t go wrong. I’m making some for friends for Christmas.
PS. I prefer crispy to chunky, so I stirred it several times. If you like it chunky, just don’t stir it as much. The few chunks I had had a lovely caramel flavor to it.
This is amazing Kathryn! Thank you for sharing all you swaps and for the awesome review! I hope your friends love it for Christmas!
As a young guy in the Army, I’ve found it hard to find quick, lightweight, easy to carry, quickly filling, good tasting, stick it in my camo pant pockets, long lasting snacks. This granola checks all the boxes for me! Keeps for a long time, which allows me to make alot at once, and really crunchy! Thanks for the recipe, honestly extremely impressed. (Definitely a time/energy saver in my book)
I’m so happy this is a great find for you Ethan! Thanks for your review.
Best granola recipe I’ve tried. Like a granola brittle. Was worried to about the coconut going in at beginning, but it didn’t burn. So impressed. I used coconut oil and walnuts. Thank you.
SO happy you loved it!
OMG this is BAD…I CANNOT STOP EATING IT! It’s still sitting on my counter cooling & I keep taking a bite to “check” the taste or if it got crunchier…yep still tastes as delicious as the last bite. 5 minutes later…I need to check it again…and again…and again…lol! So glad I pretty much reached my weight loss goal because I’d be totally doomed if I made this 4 months ago! Thanks for sharing this recipe…I’m gonna “check” it again. 😜
Omg Yumi, I FEEL YOU!! I am known for checking on my food waaaaaaaaay more than necessary. But so glad you love it!!! Makes a great gift if you need to get rid of it!
Would flavored almonds work? The cocoa dusted?
Yes!! That would be delicious!
This has become our favourite home made granola recipe. My whole family loves it so much, I have made several batches of it. My husband loves to take it to work and eats it on his berries with yogurt. It has the best crunch and taste and keeps very well, if you can stop eating it before you put it away. It’s unbelievably addictive if you like seriously crunchy granola! I like to use pecans half’s sliced in half lengthwise and leave it in the oven for around23-25 minutes for mine to be the way I like it. I have also made it with maple syrup instead of honey as maple syrup is found locally where I live, with the same incredible results. Thanks for sharing this elegantly simple recipe.
L.Pearson
Oh Leanne I’m SO happy you love the granola as much as we do! I love your small tweaks as well. I’ll have to try it with maple syrup!
Made this today and it is delicious!! I used EVOO as my oil, a mix of slivered almonds and pecans. Added a dash of cinnamon/nutmeg based on previous reviews. Baked at 350F for 20 minutes. Stirred at 10 min and at the 20 min mark. Turned off oven and left in the oven with door 1/4 open for approx 15 min. Moved pan to cooling rack to finish cooling. Crunchy and sweet with a little savory taste with the EVOO/spices. I plan to add dried blue berries and dark chocolate cocoa nibs when cooled. I loved that it broke up into big chunks. I also made sure that I pressed the mix out evenly in the pan and when mixing at 10 min of cooking pressed back down as well. This is a keeper! Glad I found this recipe when I googled.
350F or C?
F
Laney, I made this last night for the first time and it’s AMAZING!!!!!
So happy you loved it!
A favorite in our house.
Excellent! Easy. Delicious! Thanks
I love this recipe but have tried to make different granola recipes and mine always turn out soft. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. I stir it constantly so it doesn’t burn. I cook it on 300-350….I’ve tried both ways….and still ,……soft. Please HELP!!!!!
Hmmm, it should harden after it cools completely!
AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s much better than King Author and they’re usually pretty good. I’m not a coconut fan at all, but I tried it and can’t taste it. Ran out of honey so used half honey and half maple syrup. I like chunks of granola, so pressed firmly onto the parchment before baking, then every 7-10 minutes chopped it and gently stirred around until all were deep brown and crunch. Best EVAH!!! thank you SO MUCH!!!
ooops. King Authur.
Thank you so much for this review Elizabeth! I’m so glad you loved it!
If I mix while in the oven to make sure and cost the oats, will the granola be loose not chunky? I like chunks of granola…
They should still be chunky
I loved this recipe, so simple! But next time I will leave the coconut out as I could definitely taste it and I found it detracted from my overall enjoyment.
I freaking love this granola. It’s like crack. Whenever I make it, I tend to eat the entire batch myself in the span of 2 days. This is dangerous stuff! I swapped brown sugar for coconut sugar and it was delicious.
I love this recipe – Its a great base and I throw in whatever I have on hand. I like to add the raisins in about four minutes before it is done to make them plump and juicy. It’s a great gift also!
Many thanks!
I’m so glad you love it as much as we do!
Hi Laney, I see that this recipe makes 6 servings. I want to possibly make this as a gift for Christmas and package in a cute jar like you recently did. How many jars does one portion make? I’m assuming you used half pint jars?
Yes! It makes about 4 gifts!
I there! I’m gonna make this soon, but all I have are quick cook oats — what will the difference be? Should I go and purchase regular oats instead?
I’ve never tried this with quick cook oats, so Im not sure how it will change it
This looks amazing! How far in advance can I make it?
At least a couple days!
A great simple recipe. Played just a little and added some pure maple syrup and a touch of cinnamon. Your recipe is so good and simple and you can easily add to make your own. Thank you.
So glad you love it!
This is so super good and I don’t even like coconut! You can just eat this plain. I made berry yogurt parfait and almost wept with joy. It’s seriously the most perfectly crunchy granola recipe ever! THANK YOU
I feel the same way! SO glad you like it!!
Planning to make this for an end of school year teacher gift. If I make over Memorial Day can we gift the jar on June 12th?
I don’t think it will be nearly as fresh as making it just a day or two in advance…
This is delicious and so easy! So glad I made it! Thank you for sharing!
Hi there I just wanted to say hi. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d say this to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Cheers!
Hello! Thank you for pointing this out, I will look into it!
Love the pictures and the copy is amazing your way with words makes food look and I bet taste better. Thanks for the amazing recipes. Keep it up I love reading your blog.
Thank you Toby! 🙂
The husband was mentioned after the kids, but before the dog, I am ok with that… 😉
🙂