Maple Pecan Granola
A super easy, super chunky granola that will make you stop buying granola from the store.
Granola is one of those foods that is so easy to make at home, you might get mad that you ever bought it from a store. People try to tell me this about bread but I have not reached that phase of my life yet. Not sure I will ever be a regular bread baker, but humor me by giving me the opportunity to convince you to become a regular granola maker.
A friend of mine shared this recipe on Instagram (hi Whitney!) and I took a screenshot of it to make later. Later ended up being 2 years later. Once I finally made the recipe and tasted this super chunky granola for the first time, I was a full-on convert to “I make granola at home.”
I’ve adapted my recipe from the original version of this recipe, but only slightly. The original version is from a Cook’s Illustrated article in 2012, but I’ve only ever found it online through Diane’s Food Blog. This is the exact recipe Whitney shared.
The great thing about making granola at home is you can change it 110 ways to suit your personal tastes. Don’t like pecans? Use almonds instead. Wanna spice it up? Add a touch of cayenne pepper. Just don’t sub quick-cooking oats for rolled. That won’t work.
My husband and I enjoy it over plain greek yogurt most of the time. It’s also delish on it’s own & crumbled over vanilla ice cream.
Maple Pecan Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups rolled or old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 cups pecans, chopped
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place oven rack in center position. Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. I like to use a gloved hand, but a spoon works well too.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Stir with hand or spoon until well combined.
- Spread oats mixture onto baking sheet and, using your hand or something flat like a measuring cup, press the mixture hard onto the sheet. Pressing will make your granola chunkier and less crumbly.
- Bake oats mixture at 325 F for 40 minutes. If still very light, bake another 5 mins.
- Remove pan from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Anywhere from 30 mins to 1 hour.
- Once cooled completely, break apart granola into desired chunks. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
- Oats – do not use instant or quick-cooking oats
- Brown sugar – I’ve used light & dark and they both taste the same. Light is usually easier to find.
- Pecans – use raw – not roasted or salted
- Oil – feel free to use another vegetable oil. I have not tested this recipe with olive oil but do not recommend using it.
