Honey Cinnamon Granola Recipe | sugar-free homemade granola

This easy-from-scratch homemade granola comes together quickly, uses only basic ingredients, and is 100% sugar-free! This kid-approved granola is sure to be a hit and makes the perfect addition to any breakfast menu, as well as your weekly breakfast rotation!

a close up picture of a mason jar full of  granola

Granola has been a breakfast staple since long before I was born, whether it is being eaten as cereal, in a yogurt parfait, or sprinkled on top of oatmeal. It is something that can be found in most pantries and is something most people, especially those young kids eat roughly once a week.

Around here we don’t eat granola nearly as often as we used to, but it’s still something I would consider to be a family favorite, and this homemade honey cinnamon granola recipe has been a tried and true favorite for nearly as long as I can remember! It’s a recipe that has been slowly changed and adapted over the years, till we were left with something that taste amazing, was totally sugar-free, and was approved by both kids and adults!

someone holding a spoon full of yogurt and granola over a dish of yogurt. there are some spoons and spilled granola in the back round

why you should make your own homemade granola?

There are a few different reasons to make your own granola, most of which I’m sure you know already. But I thought I mention my top three reasons for something homemade granola.

  1. It is healthier than store-bought granola. Most granolas from the store are full of bad ingredients, added sugars, preservatives, and more. Not to mention they are usually lacking in flavor. They go stale quickly and they are often crushed by the time you get them home.
  2. Homemade granola is cheaper. While the start-up cost might seem a little pricey, I can promise you that making your own homemade granola is going to come out cheaper in the end if they continue to buy it from the store. This is especially important in you have a large family. If I were to feed everyone in my house yogurt and granola for breakfast, we’d use up the entire bag from the store. The homemade granola recipe below is a big batch, meaning you actually save money while getting more granola!
  3. Homemade granola is allergies friendly. Obviously, there are some exceptions here, but so long as you can eat oatmeal, honey, and butter you’re good to go! Once you have a good granola base, you add or take out whatever you want. Meaning this recipe is incredibly easy to adapt to your liking or any allergies you might have.
a white dish of vanilla yogurt, with some spoons next to it

Homemade Honey Cinnamon Granola

ingredients.

  • Rolled oats –also called old-fashioned oats
  • Sliced almonds
  • Chopped walnuts
  • Unsweetened coconut flakes
  • Raw pumpkin seeds –optional but I highly recommend adding them
  • ground Cinnamon
  • ground Ginger –optional
  • ground Nutmeg –optional
  • Salted butter
  • Raw Honey
  • vanilla extract
a dish full of yogurt with homemade granola sprinkled on top of it, and with the spoon in it. There is some spilled granola and some spoons in the back round

How to make Honey Cinnamon Granola

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. And line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large pan over low heat melt together the butter, honey, and vanilla, stirring often. As soon as the butter and honey are melted from the pan from the heat.

Now you can either mix your granola together right in the pan with the melted honey mixture. Or you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix up the granola there. Or if you find it to be easier you make mix the dry ingredients in a bowl first and pour the melted honey over them, then mix.

Add the spice to the honey mixture and mix well, you don’t want any clumps!

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well (using your hands here is by the far the easiest way to mix it.) making sure that everything has been coated in the honey/butter.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared pans, in one even layer, you don’t want the granola to be pilled too much on top of each other or it won’t crisp up. If you feel your pans aren’t large enough, simply get another pan or two and bake your granola in batches.

Bake for 75 minutes, or until the granola is golden brown. If both of your pans don’t fit on the top rack of the oven, I would recommend switching the pans halfway through baking.

Note the granola won’t be crispy when you first take it out of the oven, it crisps up as it cools.

Once the granola has cooled completely(or at least enough to handle) using your hands break it up into small, bite-sized pieces!

Use as you would your favorite granola, eat it on top of yogurt, ice cream, or as cereal. You can so serve it by itself with fresh berries, or use it to make homemade granola bars!

a dish of yogurt with a few pieces of granola on top of it, and two spoons next to it

Notes

Homemade granola should be stored in an airtight container, freezer bag, or mason jar at room temperature, for up to two weeks.

This recipe does make quite a large batch, so feel free to cut it in half or even quarter it to better suit your needs. I promise it will still taste amazing!

I like to use raw honey because it is purer and has great health benefits. But you can whatever honey you have on hand or is readily available.

There are a million ways to eat this granola, but my personal favorite is to eat it with greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

a close up of the top half of mason jar full of homemade granola, there are some dishes and spoons in the back round

Substitutions

This is definitely a recipe that can be played around with and changed to your liking. However, there are a couple of things I would recommend NOT doing.

Don’t use quick oats in place of the rolled ones, quick cooking oats are great for a lot of things, but homemade granola isn’t one of them. They often make your mixture too thick and prevent it from getting crispy. Also, I would not recommend subbing sugar in place of honey. (though real maple syrup would be nice.) It might seem easier, especially if you don’t eat honey a lot, but it is away from the rich flavor of this delicious granola, will likely make it far too sweet, and of course, you’ll lose the honey flavor.

Now that we’ve cleared that up. Here are a few things you can swap out or add to your homemade granola.

Use coconut oil in place of butter

Add dried apples and make your own apple cinnamon granola. Or try adding any of the following

  • sunflower seeds
  • flax seeds
  • chia seeds
  • macadamia nuts
  • chocolate chips
  • hemp seeds
  • dried fruits
  • Play around with different spices and combinations, to give your granola any flavor you want!

There are a million different things that can be done with or added to homemade granola. All of which are delicious and fun! So be sure to give this recipe a try and let me know in the comments what your favorite kind of granola is!

honey cinnamon homemade granola featured image

Homemade Honey Cinnamon Granola

anexpressionoffood
This easy-from-scratch homemade granola comes together quickly, uses only basic ingredients, and is 100% sugar-free! This kid-approved granola is sure to be a hit and makes the perfect addition to any breakfast menu, as well as your weekly breakfast rotation!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • 7 cups Rolled oats –also called old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds optional but I highly recommend adding them
  • 4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ginger optional
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg optional
  • 12 tbsp salted butter unsalted can be used as well along with 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup raw honey
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. And line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large pan over low heat melt together the butter, honey, and vanilla, stirring often. As soon as the butter and honey are melted from the pan from the heat.
  • Now you can either mix your granola together right in the pan with the melted honey mixture. Or you can transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix up the granola there. Or if you find it to be easier you make mix the dry ingredients in a bowl first and pour the melted honey over them, then mix.
  • Add the spice to the honey mixture and mix well, you don't want any clumps!
  • Add the remaining ingredients and mix well (using your hands here is by the far the easiest way to mix it.) making sure that everything has been coated in the honey/butter.
  • Spread the mixture onto the prepared pans, in one even layer, you don't want the granola to be pilled too much on top of each other or it won't crisp up. If you feel your pans aren't large enough, simply get another pan or two and bake your granola in batches.
  • Bake for 75 minutes, or until the granola is golden brown. If both of your pans don't fit on the top rack of the oven, I would recommend switching the pans halfway through baking.
  • Note the granola won't be crispy when you first take it out of the oven, it crisps up as it cools.
  • Once the granola has cooled completely(or at least enough to handle) using your hands break it up into small, bite-sized pieces!
  • Use as you would your favorite granola, eat it on top of yogurt, ice cream, or as cereal. You can so serve it by itself with fresh berries, or use it to make homemade granola bars!

Notes

Homemade granola should be stored in an airtight container, freezer bag, or mason jar at room temperature, for up to two weeks.
 
This recipe does make quite a large batch, so feel free to cut it in half or even quarter it to better suit your needs. I promise it will still taste amazing!
 
I like to use raw honey because it is purer and has great health benefits. But you can whatever honey you have on hand or is readily available.
 
There are a million ways to eat this granola, but my personal favorite is to eat it with greek yogurt and fresh fruit.
 
See the post above for Substitutions
Keyword Breakfast, meal prep, yogurt
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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