Let’s talk about this beautiful healthy granola recipe that I’m dying for you to make at home! This recipe was inspired by a cafe & bakery in Boston called Sofra, which just so happens to make one of my favorite granola on the planet.
Sofra’s granola is studded with big chunks of dates, golden raisins, flaxseeds and the perfect amount of sweet and salty flavor. Every time I’m in Boston visiting my bestie Sarah, I make her (willingly) take me there to grab a bag, and then we sit in the car, rip it open and devilishly shovel it into our mouths like two little girls. It’s kinda our thing.
Since I’m not in Boston that often, a few years ago I decided to attempt to recreate my own version of the granola at home. AND GUESS WHAT? It was a smashing success! (Just tooting my own horn over here NBD.)
Basically, this healthy granola recipe tastes like French toast and oats came together and had a beautiful chunky baby and I’m not mad about it. IT IS EVERYTHING AND MORE that I could have ever dreamed of making. Crunchy, chunky, nutritious, full of cinnamon french toast flavor and just so dang easy!
What’s in this healthy granola recipe?
This healthy homemade granola recipe is packed with simple ingredients that keep it both vegan and gluten free, adds healthy fats like coconut oil, and is naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup which makes it lower in sugar than traditional granola that you’d buy at the store. Making it at home is much cheaper than store-bought granola, too, because you can make tons more for almost the same amount that it costs to buy a pre-made bag. Here’s what’s in this homemade granola:
- Oats: we’re using both gluten free rolled oats and gluten free oat flour in this recipe, which are an excellent source of healthy complex carbs, which help your body create energy to burn.
- Flaxseed meal: flaxseed meal is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Try it out in this healthy granola for an extra boost of fiber!
- Nuts: my favorite nuts in granola recipes are always the pecans, cashews, and almonds so that’s what I choose to use in this recipe! The sliced almonds are my personal favorite because they get all golden, crunchy, and toasted when baked up.
- Coconut oil: coconut oil adds additional flavor and healthy fats while coating the granola and helping all of the flavors stick. If you want to use something else, I suggest melted vegan butter.
- Pure maple syrup: YUM! Maple syrup is the perfect sweetener for this granola and makes your house smell heavenly. It also helps to keep the granola vegan (as opposed to using honey).
- Cinnamon: ground cinnamon gives this granola a sweet flavor that’s reminiscent of French toast when mixed with pure maple syrup!
- Vanilla extract: vanilla in everything, please. Learn how to make your own here!
- Dried fruit: you’re going to love the big chunks of sweet chewy dates and plump golden raisins in this recipe, I promise.
Customize your granola recipe
This easy granola recipe is great for customizing to truly make it your own! Here’s what I can suggest:
- Choose your nuts (or seeds). As I mentioned, I love using pecans, cashews, and sliced almonds, but you can really use any nuts you’d like. I think walnuts or pistachios would also be delicious. Feel free to mix in seeds, too, like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds!
- Try new dried fruits. Raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries would all be delicious.
- Swap the coconut oil. If you’re out of coconut oil you can also use melted butter.
Make your own oat flour
You can easily make your own gluten free oat flour by simply placing oats into a blender and blending/pulsing until they’re smooth and resemble flour! It’s such a cheap, easy option. Learn how to do it here!
Tips for making healthy granola
- Get it nice and coated. Make sure you coat all of the granola mixture with the coconut oil and maple syrup so that every bite is perfectly crunchy and sweet.
- Create chunks with your hands. Once the granola is on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper, use your hands to create small clumps before you bake.
- Bake granola at a low temperature. This is to prevent burning but to also really get that nice golden flavor and texture. I bake my granola at 300 degrees F.
- Check the color. The should look slightly golden brown when it comes out of the oven. It may not be crunchy to the touch but know that the granola gets crunchier as it sits to cool. Trust me, it’s going to be perfect!
- Let it cool. Do not stir granola when it comes out of the oven if you want it to be chunky give it time to clump together and solidify as it cools to room temperature.
- Add dried fruit last. Because the fruit is already dried, you don’t need to bake it! You’ll add it once the granola cools off a bit.
Ways to eat this homemade healthy granola
Besides scooping it by the handful and sneaking little bites here and there, try this chunky healthy granola:
- On top of smoothie bowls
- Layered into yogurt parfaits
- In a bowl with a bit of almond milk
- In a grab-and-go container
The options are truly endless!
How to store homemade granola
You can store this healthy granola in a mason jar or an airtight container for up to a month or two (trust me, it’s not going to last that long!).
See how to make this homemade healthy granola
More healthy snacks you’ll love
- 5-Minute Protein Peanut Butter Energy Bites
- Get Your Greens in Smoothie (the best green smoothie!)
- No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- The Most Delicious Breakfast Cookies
- Fluffy Flourless Peanut Butter Chickpea Muffins
Get all of my snack recipes here!
I hope you love this healthy granola recipe, please let me know if you make it by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Homemade Super Chunky Healthy Granola (vegan & gluten free!)
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats, gluten free
- ½ cup oat flour, gluten free if desired
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- ¾ cup sliced raw almonds
- ¾ cup raw pecans halves
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Wet ingredients:
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup packed pitted Medjool dates, chopped
- ½ cup golden raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together oats, oat flour, flaxseed meal, sesame seeds, almonds, pecans, cashews cinnamon and salt.
- Add coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and place over low heat, stirring frequently until coconut oil is completely melted. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well until oats are completely coated. Sometimes I find it necessary to use my hands.
- Next spread the granola evenly in the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes stir granola, and bake 15-20 minutes longer or until granola is just slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool completely on the baking sheet so that little clumps stay intact.
- Once cooled, stir in chopped dates and raisins. Transfer to an airtight container or large mason jar. Best used within 7-10 days. Makes 18 servings.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on May 17th, 2019, and republished on January 17th, 2024.
89 comments
Granola is one of those foods that I can eat an unlimited amount of. It’s seriously an addictive treat! Freaking adore your recipe. It looks so easy and delicious to prepare!
Same – it’s SO good. Glad you love this one!
I love this recipe. I adjusted a bit to what I had, meaning I added some pumpkin seeds and omitted the dried fruit. AMAZING!!!! Thank you for sharing, I’m a new and grateful fan.
Isn’t it delicious?! Love that you added pumpkin seeds too.
I’ve been committed to do at least one Ambitious Kitchen recipe since quarantine started. Having a sweet tooth is a treat with recipes like this !! So easy, made my kitchen smell so nice and my dad and brother who are the most anti healthy eaters thinking it won’t be good – got caught eating it from the tray before the granola was even cooled down!
Thank you always Monique !!
All the best from Ecuador
Love that! The perfect, sweet snack 🙂
You list salt 2x in the recipe instructions. Do I add the salt with the wet ingredients or is there additional salt for the dry ingredients? Cant wait to eat!
You can add the sea salt to the dry ingredients before mixing the wet & dry together 🙂
This recipe reminds me why it’s such a waste to buy granola and so much better to make it! Everything about this is so delicious and it cooked up with the exact right amount of crunch! I actually used mostly honey because I forgot to buy maple syrup and if it’s any different then I’m none the wiser. 😊 thank you!!
P.S. if people are wondering, about 1 cup of rolled oats can be blended to 1/2 cup oat flour (the amount required here).
Absolutely! Glad the honey worked out for you, too 🙂 my favorite granola recipe ever. Great tip with the homemade oat flour, too!
Hi Monique!
Do you think almond flour could be used instead of oat flour?
Hi Carolynn! I’ve only tested the recipe as written so I’m not sure. However homemade oat flour is easy to make — just blend oats in a blender until they resemble flour. If you are using oats in the recipe, I recommend sticking with oat flour.
Hi Carolynn and Monique,
I used the same amount of almond flour instead of oat flour and it worked out perfectly! Thank you for such an easy and delicious granola recipe! 🙂
Perfect! Happy to hear that 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! Ive made it several times already for my family and for guest we had over night. Everyone raved about it and wanted the recipe! This will be a staple in our house from now on!
De-lish!!! I also made your “healthy peanut butter banana muffins” for my guests and they were a hit also! I look forward to trying your other recipes! Thank you so much!!!
Amazing! Perfect snack and breakfast 🙂 Glad you’re finding recipes you love here – plenty more to come!
My husband is gf df sf. How can I adapt this receipe without any form of sweetener and it hold together. The dates and raisens are ok.
You could probably try some sort of liquid sweetener without sugar such as monk fruit syrup. I don’t cook and bake with anything other than natural sweeteners so I can’t make a really good recommendation on this one.
Made this for the first time today and it is ahhh-mazing! It’s going to be my breakfast tomorrow along with some green yogurt. I am happy to have made it myself versus buying it in store, so I know everything that’s in it.
The perfect breakfast! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
This recipe is perfect the way it is! I am going to try gluten free oats next time as our family is going to eat gluten free due to allergies.
They’ll work out well, too! Enjoy 🙂
I’ve recently gone on a low inflammation eating plan excluding soy, wheat, dairy, etc. I am so happy I found this granola recipe. It works better than others I tried and it’s really easy to customize it to your tastes. I actually add almond butter to the mix and use fewer nuts and seeds. It’s delicious!
I’m so glad you found this one, too! Love the idea of adding almond butter 🙂
Never buying granola again! This not only tasted delicious, but made my house smell amazing! Thanks so much for posting — can’t wait to make more.
So happy you loved it! Makes the coziest smells as it bakes 🙂
I’ve made a few granola recipes now and I have to say–this is my new favorite! Not just the flavours (that salty sweet thing is 👌), but the ratios too! I love that there isn’t a ton of oil in the recipe. The sweetness is perfect and I love the addition of chopped dates. Loving it.
So good! I’m glad you tried this one 🙂
This was hands down the best granola recipe I’ve ever tried—easy and delish! Thank you very much for sharing it.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hello! I don’t have flaxseed meal, could I replace it with chia seeds or hemp hearts? Thank you!
Very very yummy sprinkled into yogurt with fruit, so nutty and delicious!! Love Ambitious Kitchen recipes. My daughter told me about you. Thank you Monique
Absolutely! So glad you’re finding recipes here that you love 🙂
This was my first time making home made granola and I am in love. I made a big batch and we are out in less than two weeks. My husband loves this so much, he would not eat the store bought pack we already had at home anymore. Literally those packs seem stale and bland compared to this. Soooo good. Thank you for this easy and healthy recipe!!
Delicious! So happy you both love this 🙂
Making this for the second time now and also added some pumpkin seeds! So so delicious 🤤
Love that! One of my fav snacks 🙂
I made this granola a few weeks ago. I made a few substitutions as I had most in my pantry and was not going to the store unless it was absolutely necessary. It turned out fabulous! You are correct – this did not last more than a couple weeks.
My substitutions: Costco unsalted mixed nuts which includes cashews, almonds, pecans and pistachios. Black raisins instead of golden and hemp seeds cuz I couldn’t find my sesame seeds. I will make this again and again. Thanks for this recipe!!
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
Definitely a future staple in our kitchen! Amazing flavors and I keep questioning whether I added brown sugar accidently…guess it’s the maple syrup combining with the oat flour, cant thank you enough for all your wonderful recipes!
Love the flavor! Glad you’re loving the recipes here 🙂
Just my favorite granola ever! Didn’t know it could be made to taste better than any I could ever purchase! Thank you for this recipe!
Amazing! So happy you love it!
I LOVE, LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it many times now, and double it because it otherwise gets gobbled down too fast. Everyone who ever tastes it loves it. I’ve shared this recipe numerous times. It’s encouraging people to make their own granola. So much better than store-bought.
TIP: I combine all the dry ingredients the night before (for double recipe). Sometimes, my husband will even help measure out the dry ingredients (well, he IS the main recipient of the finished product, LOL!) And I line up the “wet” ingredients and have the baking sheets ready to go. That way I can hit the road “baking” quickly the next day. I also grind oat flour in the coffee grinder. Easy! I add coconut shreds and all sorts of cut-up dried fruits after the granola cools. I once measured how much finished granola I had after adding in the dried fruits and coconut. 4 quarts! THANK YOU for creating a terrific recipe!
Amazing! Such great tips for prepping everything ahead of time 🙂 so happy you love this!
Well, I never thought I would be obsessed with granola. This recipe is amazing! I substituted cranberries for the dates because I didn’t have any and left out the sesame seeds for the same reason. My daughter and I ate ALL of this in 1 day. We couldn’t control ourselves and had to portion it out so we wouldn’t fight over it! Make this….make this now!
Such a great breakfast & snack! So glad you both love it 🙂
Delicious. Will definitely be making again. So easy to add different nuts and dried fruit combos!
Absolutely! So glad you loved it 🙂
I love this granola because it tastes amazing, makes delicious clusters, and has sensible levels of oil and sugar (very hard to find in granola recipes!). I also completely converted my in-laws to Homemade granola over store-bought with this and they’ve been making homemade granola every week since March! Definitely the last granola recipe I need.
Absolutely! Much more affordable and delicious 🙂
OH MY – this is the best granola EVER! I kind of substitute on the nuts with the Costco mixed unsalted nuts blend so I get some almonds and pistachios in with mine. NO PROBLEM there! And I have some dried cherries so sometimes I use the raisins and sometimes I use the the cherries. Again – no problems here. I can barely stop eating this every time I make it. (I’ve cut back for the sake of my waistline (Tee Hee)
Perfect! So glad you love this one!
BEST granola ever!
I sometimes add a little collagen for protein!
I loved this recipe!! Made it exactly as is the first time, and then did dried cherries the next time!! Bring it to work, trips, everywhere!
So happy to hear that!
The only granola I make my boyfriend and I. It’s perfect and sooooo delish!
Love that! Such a great snack or breakfast 🙂
Thank you for the Super Chunky Healthy Granola recipe. I will certainly make this and let you know how much i like it.
I do have to let you know i made the HEALTHY PEANUT BANANA MUFFINS AND THE GRAIN FREE TAHINI BROWNIES. BOTH AWSOME!!! YOU SAID “THE BEST BROWNIES I’VE EVER EATEN!”
You are so right!!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
This granola is so delicious, easy to make, and very easily customized. It beats store-bought granola every time since I love knowing what ingredients go into the food that I’m eating. I forgot to squeeze together portions with my hands before baking to form chunks, so I’ll be sure to do that next time.
So glad you love it!!
Omigosh1 I’ve made this granola 3 times in the last year. It is TO DIE FOR!
So glad you love it!
This was really good!
So happy you enjoyed it!
I have made this so many times and it turns out heavenly every time! I love adding shredded coconut after baking along with either the dates or raisins. Both make this granola so wonderful! Kudos for creating a delicious, HEALTHY, whole-food granola! ❤️
Love love love all these ideas. Appreciate that the recipes are easily accessible
Aw thank you! I’m so glad you’re inspired 🙂
Better than any store bought! Super easy to modify based on what you have in your pantry. Love the combo of maple syrup and coconut oil.
So happy you love it, Maggie! Thanks so much for leaving a review 🙂
This granola recipe is way too sweet. I would cut down on the maple syrup and raisins & dates.
Sorry it was too sweet for you! Totally fine to cut both of those down 🙂
Excellent granola and so much better than store bought! Definitely my go to recipe now!
This granola is SO good! Has a great ratio of grain to nuts. My whole family asks me to make more the minute it’s gone. I enjoy it on everything from yogurt to ice cream! It has become a staple in our pantry for weeks now.
Super easy and delicious! Granola at the store is super expensive, and usually full of sugar. I loved making this and I had all of the ingredients on hand! I subbed a couple of the nuts and it turned out awesome,
I’m so glad you loved it, Katie!!
This is a fabulous homemade granola recipe. So easy to make and absolutely delicious. I added a 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. Super crunch, love it.
This one’s perfect for customizing! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This is the best granola I have ever had! Thank you for the awesome recipe.
I also have chicken marinating in the honey mustard marinade! Can’t wait to try it! 😊
Aw this means so much! I am glad to hear you are loving this granola. Hope the chicken turned out great as well ❤️
Super yummy! And a perfect fall snack. It made my home smell amazing while it was baking. And it is sweet without too much sugar – I use it to go on top of grilled peaches as a healthy dessert.
Love this so much! Glad you are loving this recipe and it turned out fabulous for you 🙂
Second time coming back to this recipe. Perfect blend of sweetness, and the nuts add to the satiety and blood sugar-balancing of this granola.
Super easy and way less expensive than anything at the grocery store, not to mention so much healthier.
Do yourself a favor and make a double (or triple) recipe.
I’m so happy you’re loving it, Rebeckah! Thanks for the nice comment 🙂
Easy and delicious! I used less coconut oil but it baked beautifully! Definitely had to be patient to let cool completely but letting it cools gives you those big chunks!
Perfect! And yes, patience is key 🙂
This is the best granola I’ve ever made and I’ve tried at least a dozen different recipes over the years. I like the balance of the crunchy texture, yet not jaw breaking hard ( as so many of the ones I’ve tried are), and the delicately sweet flavor. The coconut oil along with the maple syrup makes this texture & taste dance on the pallet. All the ingredients play an essential roll (I added a few hemp hearts & macadamia nuts as well as all listed in the recipe). Noticed the oat flour & flax meal were two ingredients I’ve never tried in granola recipes before & can see how well these played with binding the ingredients in symphony with the organic maple syrup used. I can’t wait to give this granola to my dearest friend, who has endured quite a few sub-par granolas from me throughout our friendship. So happy & excited I finally found my go to granola recipe after so many attempts that never quite had all the elements I look for in yummy granola.
Amazing! So happy you found (and loved) this one!