This Maple Walnut Cinnamon Granola is easy to make and goes with everything! Gluten-free, vegan, and it makes your house smell amazing…
Wow it’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a granola recipe with you all! But today’s granola recipe is actually super special because…
Lynn of Fresh April Flours is hosting a virtual baby shower for Leah over at Grain Changer, and I couldn’t be more excited to help celebrate. To backtrack a little bit, I “met” both Leah and Lynn when I first started my blog back in the summer of 2015. When I realized we were all living not too far from one another on the Eastern side of Pennsylvania, it was an instant connection. Sadly enough we never quite got the opportunity to meet in person while I was still there. However it’s still fun keeping up with them on their blogs.
It truly is amazing the connections you can make over the interwebz. Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the downside of social media, i.e. feeling like you have to be “plugged in” all the time. I know I get annoyed a little bit with how often we rely on social media and technology to stay connected with each other (yes, I said it, coming from a blogger). But on the other side of that you have this opportunity to connect with people all over the world that wouldn’t really be possible without technology, staying in touch via different social channels.
So in honor of Leah’s first little babe arriving, we are showering her with all of the granola! Because, granola is Leah’s favorite.
I decided I’d share a simple granola that you can enjoy with anything and everything:
Maple Walnut Cinnamon Granola
What you need
- rolled oats
- quick oats
- walnuts
- sunflower seeds (optional but the added texture is nice!)
- cinnamon
- maple syrup
- almond butter
- coconut oil
- vanilla
So have you made your own granola at home yet? It really is quite simple and it makes your house smell amazinnnggg.
Oh, and if you’re a cluster fanatic (who isn’t?) the key to getting those clustery chunks is to avoid stirring the granola on the pan, but instead *flipping* the granola with a large spatula in between the baking times. Also, I like to mix the ingredients together at the end with my hands to really blend it all in.
But really this cinnamon granola goes great with everything. It’s a simple, classic flavor that pairs well with yogurt (my personal favorite), on top of smoothie bowls, with oatmeal (double oats, yes) or straight up by the handful.
Maple Walnut Cinnamon Granola
This Maple Walnut Cinnamon Granola is easy to make and goes with everything! Gluten-free, vegan, and it makes your house smell amazing…
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 TBS chia seeds* + 3 TBS water
- 2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats**
- 2/3 cup gluten-free quick oats
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 TBS ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup all natural almond butter (or favorite nut/seed butter)
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 TBS coconut oil
- 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, combine chia seeds with water. Set aside for a few minutes so “gel” can form while preparing rest of ingredients.
- In a large bowl add rolled oats, quick oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and ground cinnamon. Stir until combined and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. (If almond butter is very thick, microwave with maple syrup and coconut oil for about 15-20 seconds.) Add almond butter mixture and chia seed gel to large bowl of dry ingredients, stir with large spoon until the dry mixture is well coated. Then, use your hands to fully mix and get the clusters ready.
- Spread/sprinkle the mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet. You should have clusters of granola already from working the mixture with your hands.
- Bake granola in increments for a total of 35-40 minutes, flipping the granola gently at 15 minutes, then again at 12 minutes, then again at 12-15 minutes***
- Remove granola from oven and allow to cool completely, do NOT stir again. While the granola cools, the air will help set the crunchy texture.
- Store in airtight container. Granola should stay fresh up to 3 weeks.
Notes
–Granola will make roughly 6-8 servings, about ½ cup each.
*You can also use one large egg white as binder, or same ratio for milled flaxseed + water if you don’t have chia seeds.
**Using a mixture of old fashioned oats and quick oats helps create the clusters. But feel free to use all old-fashioned if you prefer.
***Not stirring the granola as much will get you more clusters. I use a big spatula to “flip” the granola, rather than stirring. I also “sprinkled” the mixture on the pan, which resulted in more clumps from the beginning, then only flipped the granola gently to maintain the clusters. Watch granola after each time flipping to make sure it is not getting too dark, adjust time accordingly, as every oven is different!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8th
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 52
- Fat: 23
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 14
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 36
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 9
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: homemade granola, granola clusters, how to make granola
Congrats to Leah and family <3
Don’t forget to check the rest of the party and all of the amazing granola recipes!
Chai Spiced Granola — Fresh April Flours
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Granola — Flippin’ Delicious
Tropical Hemp Seed Granola — A Clean Bake
Coconut Granola — The Emotional Baker
Oat-Free Granola — There is Life After Wheat
Lemon and Blueberry Granola — Thoroughly Nourished Life
rachel @ athletic avocado says
All things maple and walnut are PERFECT for fall! Those clusters <3
Ashley says
cluster addict 😀
Christine @ thyme and toast says
This is such a cute idea! And that granola sounds amazing! Ever since I started making my granola, store bought just doesn’t taste the same anymore. Never thought to add almond butter, but definitely giving it a try soon!
Ashley says
Definitely try the almond butter! It adds flavor and helps with the clusters 🙂
Celeste says
Allll the right flavors together in gorgeous clusters! Love everything about this recipe!
Ashley says
Thanks Celeste!
KATHY EELES says
Maple Walnut granola……spicy chai granola….so glad I discovered you!!! thanks so much for sharing!! :3
It smells wonderful!!! and I know it will taste even better!!!
Ashley says
Well thanks so much Kathy! And thank you for taking the time to comment, that means a lot 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Karen says
Sunflower seeds are mentioned in the recipe directions, but not in the ingredient list. Thanks
Ashley says
Hi Karen, Thank you for pointing that out! Will fix 🙂
Cara says
I’m planning on making this but the amount of sunflower seeds is still not mentioned?
Ashley says
Hi Cara, So sorry about that! Thought it was fixed earlier – 1/3 cup is what I used. They’re kind of optional, just add another layer of texture 🙂
Heather says
This has become my go-to granola recipe. Love the clusters and it has the perfect amount of sweetness.
★★★★★
Yvonne says
Out of the hundreds of granola recipes out there, yours caught my attention with your chia glue. Just baked up a batch, added cardamom, dried cranberries, substituted some local sage honey for the maple syrup, so delicious! Can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow Greek yogurt, fruit & your granola. I love the nuts, spices, all your ingredients are wonderful. Definitely my go to granola recipe from now on.
★★★★★
Bekah says
So simple and delicious! My 2 year old loves it. And I finally got those desired clusters !
★★★★★
Ashley says
Awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Brenna says
My favorite granola recipe. I get in kicks where I make this weekly. So tasty on granola, or mixed with some dark chocolate chunks with almond milk for an after dinner treat. It also makes a great (and easy &. cheap) gift for others! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
★★★★★