This is my go-to granola, there’s always a batch in my pantry. It fulfills an adage of my mom’s, that life is better with crunch! Plus, it’s my incentive to eat yogurt, which always tastes better with a sprinkling of granola. I love that’s it’s DIY breakfast cereal. And the bite size chunks make for good snacking, particularly freshly cooled.

I’m constantly tweaking my granola recipe, and this is my current favorite. I love the buttery flavor, with hits of cinnamon and vanilla, and little bursts of toasted coconut. I switch up the nuts, using whatever I’ve got on hand — most often, that means almonds, walnuts, or pecans or a combination.

To Stir or Not to Stir

For years I stirred my granola during baking, following so many recipes suggesting it was required for even browning. But stirring reduces clumping. And there’s nothing better than crispy shards of toasty oats. Leaving it undisturbed while cooking means there is more browning around the edge of the pan, a good sign of rich, caramel-like flavor.

To encourage chunks, I press the oat mixture onto the baking sheet, then bake and cool undisturbed, no stirring! The result is a mix of loose granola with some bite-size chunks. I’ve found that more sugar encourages more chunks. But I’ve settled on this formula for a balance of sweet (not too sweet) and chunks (though not as chunky as some).

Update (March 2024): Because I’ve experienced variation in cooking time, I’ve updated the recipe to provide more detail about judging when the granola is done. The key things to look for are: 1) the oats are golden brown in the center of the pan and darker colored around the edge, and 2) the oats appear dry, with no sheen of moisture. I also find the granola will be very fragrant with rich caramel notes.

More Please?

Yogurt with granola is one of my standby breakfast meals.
Does that make me a granola girl?
From breakfast cereal to lifestyle, it’s a far-out and fascinating story.

Margie’s Granola

Granola, toasted whole grain oats with nuts and seeds, is endlessly variable. This is a classic version, rich with flavor from butter and brown sugar, hits of cinnamon and vanilla, and bursts of toasted coconut. To encourage crispy chunks, I do not stir the granola during baking or cooling. The result is a mix of loose granola with some bite-size chunks, total yield about 6 cups.

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Author Margie

Prep Time 15

Total Time 55

Servings 24 (approx 1/4 cup each)

EQUIPMENT

1 half sheet pan (13" x 18")

Ingredients

¼ cup canola oil, plus more for greasing the foiled pan
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups old fashioned oats
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup nuts, chopped
½ cup raw pepitas
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
optional nutritional boost ½ cup ground flax seed OR ½ cup wheat germ OR ¼ cup chia seeds

Instructions

Heat oven to 300℉, adjust baking rack to middle position.
Cover half sheet pan (13" x 18") with foil. Grease the foil with a small drizzle of canola oil, this helps prevent the oats from sticking.
Add all ingredients to large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine, ensuring all the oats are coated with oil and butter. Be sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar (it helps to use your fingers) and stir well to disperse it thoroughly.
Pour the oat mixture onto prepared half sheet pan. Spread it out, covering the entire pan, then press it down firmly.
Bake for 20 minutes. Do not stir during baking! Turn sheet pan 180 degrees and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes as needed, though start checking for doneness earlier. Granola is done when it's a golden brown color in the center of the pan and darker brown around the edge AND the oats no longer appear moist.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool thoroughly, without stirring, about an hour. Pull up gently on edges of foil to break granola into chunks, then you can use the foil as a funnel to pour granola into storage container. Cover the container and store at room temperature.

Notes

The recipe calls for 1 cup of nuts. I switch up the nuts, using whatever I’ve got on hand — most often, that means almonds, walnuts, or pecans, or a combination. Vary the nuts according to your pantry and preference. I try to avoid roasted and salted nuts, but they work in a pinch if you’re ok with added salt.
It’s entirely optional, but sometimes I throw in some ground flax meal, wheat germ, or chia seeds for a bit of a nutritional boost. The recipe is great without them though.
Just want to clarify the bit about stirring. While I recommend not stirring during baking and cooling, it’s important to stir really well when you’re combining ingredients before baking. You want to coat the oats with the oil and thoroughly disperse the brown sugar.
Using greased foil on the baking pan helps to eliminate sticking, and facilitates transfer of granola into storage containers.
Firmly pressing the granola into the pan helps encourage clumping or chunks of granola. At least that’s my theory.
Another strategy to encourage chunks, bake and cool the granola undisturbed, no stirring! Many granola recipes call for stirring during baking, presumably for even browning and to minimize sticking to the pan, but I find it disrupts clumping. No stirring for this recipe yields a mix of loose granola with some bite-size chunks.
Rotating the pan during baking helps promotes even browning, though you’ll notice a bit more browning around the edges of the pan.
Some granola recipes add dried fruit after baking and cooling. My preference is to omit it, adding dried fruit separately as the mood strikes when serving granola as yogurt topping or breakfast cereal.
Because I’ve experienced variation in cooking time, I’ve updated the recipe to provide more detail about judging when the granola is done. The key things to look for are: 1) the oats are a golden brown color in the center of the pan, and darker colored around the edge, and 2) the oats appear dry, with no sheen of moisture. I also find the granola will be very fragrant with rich caramel notes.