Homemade Maple Pecan Granola

Maple pecan granola is so easy to make, delightfully chewy and crunchy, and so good! Plus, it’s healthy for you. You won’t go back to store-bought granola again.

(Love pecans? Banana bread with pecans is another delicious way to start the day.)

We’ve been making granola for years. 

It’s one of those things that are so customizable and so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start making it sooner!

My favorite granola flavor is pecan maple. 

Subtle and natural sweetness from maple syrup, buttery undertones from pecans, plus other superfood sprinkled in, it’s pretty hard to beat!

Let’s get to it.

Why you’ll love making homemade granola

Whether you sprinkle granola on top of yogurt, eat it with milk like cereal, or snack on it straight from the jar, you’ll love making your own because:

• It’s so easy to make. All you need to do is mix, bake and enjoy!

• You determine what goes in it. I provide the basic recipe but you can absolutely add or substitute with all your favorite things (see the variations section below). Customize to your heart’s content.

• You decide how sweet you want it. More importantly, making your own granola allows you to control the sugar content. This maple pecan granola recipe is not too sweet to begin with but you can definitely adjust to your liking.

• Free of anything you can’t pronounce. The best thing I love about homemade things is there’s nothing in it I’m not familiar with; no unnecessary preservatives, chemicals and other things I can’t spell or pronounce.

(Try making homemade chewy granola bars, homemade peanut butter granola, blueberry almond granola and praline crunch too!)

How to make

Maple pecan granola is one of the easiest make-ahead breakfast recipes you can make.

Ingredients

The basics you’ll need:

• Old-fashioned rolled oats — instant oats won’t work in this recipe because they just won’t bake the same. You’ll need old-fashioned oats (sometimes also called rolled oats); I go the extra mile and get the large flake ones.

• Pecan halves — I love the subtle sweetness and buttery flavor of pecans. You can substitute with your favorite nuts, of course. See the variation section for ideas.

• Maple syrup — this recipe is sweetened with maple syrup. Make sure you’re getting real maple syrup, it would usually say right on the bottle or can: “100% pure with no additives”, “100% pure and natural” or “Grade A”. Make sure to check the ingredients list too. It should not contain things like corn syrup and flavoring. Of course, you can sweeten with other things too. See the variation section below.

• Oil — I use canola oil or vegetable oil because that’s what’s readily available. You can use coconut oil or any oil of your choice.

Other ingredients include: hemp hearts, chia seeds, shredded coconut, vanilla extract and salt.

(Got leftover ingredients? Make slow cooker maple cinnamon oatmeal!)

Baking tools

You really don’t need any special tools; just a large bowl, a wooden spoon or spatula to mix with, and a baking pan.

Step-by-step photos

Preheat your oven to 300F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Allow to cool in the pan completely before breaking into chunks. Enjoy!

Expert baking tips

Easy, right? Here are tips for a perfect batch of homemade maple pecan granola every time.

• Use the right kind of oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are the ideal oats to use when making granola. Instant oats won’t give you the same kind of texture or consistency. As far as what the best nuts for granola are, the answer is your favorite one! Pecans work wonderfully here.

• Mix thoroughly. Make sure the dry ingredients are coated with the wet ingredients to help them form clusters.

• For chunky granola, pack the mixture tightly and evenly onto your pan. Also, don’t stir while baking. Looking to make a looser granola, similar to cereal? Don’t pack them too tightly on the pan and stir halfway through baking.

• Allow to cool completely. For best results, allow your granola to cool completely to room temperature before breaking into chunks and storing.

• Add mix-ins after baking. This is especially true for dried fruit. You want to toss them into your granola once it’s cool. I usually do this with chocolate chips, too.

Troubleshooting guide

Issue	Possible Cause/s	Possible Solution/s
Didn’t form clusters	Not mixed thoroughly	Ensure that dry ingredients are coated with wet ingredients to help them stick together
	Not packed tighthly	When transferring to pan, make sure to pack and press the mixture tightly together
	Stirred while baking	Stirring the granola halfway helps break up the mixture and results to looser, toastier granola (similar to cereal). If you want clusters, don’t stir the mixture while baking.
Soggy	Stored while still warm	Make sure to allow your granola enough time to cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.
Sticky	Under-baked	While a little bit of stickiness is needed to create clusters, you don’t want your granola to be too sticky. To avoid this situation, bake  your granola until toasted and lightly browned.

Granola variations

The most wonderful thing about making granola is you can customize it and make it the best granola ever!

Some variations you can try include:

• Nuts — instead of pecans, you can use almonds, walnuts or cashews. Or keep the pecans and add sunflower seeds.

• Fiber — I add hemp hearts and chia seeds for added nutrition. You can add flax seed too.

• Sweetener — instead of maple syrup, you can use honey, brown rice syrup or agave syrup. Just note that each one has a different level of sweetness and flavor profile. If you want to add less sweetener, keep in mind that it will affect the stickiness of your mixture so you’ll want to reduce the amount of dry ingredients (e.g. oats) accordingly.

• Oil — I use either canola oil or vegetable oil because that’s what we use for cooking and is readily available. You can substitute with coconut oil or whatever oil you’re comfortable using. 

• Spice — I only use ground cinnamon but you can definitely experiment with nutmeg and cardamom. Pumpkin spice will be delicious too!

• Dried fruit — you add dried fruit after the granola has cooled and sky’s the limit! I like putting goji berries, dried cranberries, dried apricots, raisins, and more.

• Chocolate — I also add chocolate chips once the granola is cool and usually use semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

Recipe FAQs

More delicious make-ahead breakfast and brunch recipes

Breakfast (and brunch) is my favorite meal of the day. If it’s yours, too, you’ll enjoy these:

And check out this delicious collection of breakfast recipes and ideas!

We hope you love this pecan maple granola recipe as much as we do.

Happy baking!

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