This honey almond granola is subtly sweet, crunchy, gluten-free, and the perfect small batch homemade granola recipe to keep on hand.
Ever since I created my salted maple pecan granola recipe a couple years ago, homemade granola has been a staple in our house.
Something I once thought time consuming and intimidating is now one of my favorite things to make! It’s so easy to just throw the ingredients together in 5 minutes and the baking part is mostly hands off. That means I can get a workout in…or scroll Instagram…while the oven does the work. And the results. are. phenomenal.
Honestly, once you’ve had homemade granola you simply cannot go back to store bought. The difference in flavor, texture, and freshness is just night and day. Plus, you can control the ingredients and sugar level, which is important because most store bought granolas are basically loaded with sugar.
While I love my original granola recipe and make it often, I’ve found myself switching up the flavors in recent months. Because the ingredients are so simple, the flavors can really shine when you change sweeteners or spices.
Enter: honey almond granola. It’s a small batch recipe and it’s my new favorite thing, especially because it fits in a mason jar and looks so cute sitting on my counter waiting to be sprinkled on literally everything. Scroll down for some ideas!
Ingredients
This is a short and simple list, just the way it should be.
- Olive oil. For flavor and healthy fats. I use extra virgin but use what you like. You could also use coconut oil.
- Honey. Use your favorite – I think a punchy one would be great here, but I generally have regular clover honey on hand so that’s what I used.
- Vanilla extract. Flavor!
- Cinnamon and ginger. Warming spices for that comforting hug that is a bite of granola.
- Salt. This is important – having enough salt is important to bring out the sweetness and complexity of the honey.
- Rolled oats. The classic, the old standby. Using thick rolled oats would be great here for texture.
- Sliced almonds. You could certainly use slivered or chopped whole almonds, if you prefer.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut. One of my favorite granola add-ins. Leave it out or replace with more almonds if you don’t like it.
Recipe Steps
This is going to be equally short and simple. Gosh I love this recipe.
- Whisk your wet ingredients and spices in a large bowl until well combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until they’re all evenly coated with the honey mixture.
- Spread it all out on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes, stir, bake 10 more minutes, stir, bake 3-5 minutes until toasted to your liking (watching to make sure it doesn’t burn).
- Let cool COMPLETELY in the pan. This allows clusters to form, and ensures no moisture remains when storing (if there is moisture, the granola will be soft rather than crunchy).
- Store granola in a mason jar or other airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
How to enjoy honey almond granola
Does straight from the jar count? 100%. This is a crunchy, cereal-like granola basically made for eating by the handful.
Other ideas for using this honey almond granola:
- Sprinkle on morning yogurt or smoothie bowl
- Cut a banana into slices, spread with nut butter or Nutella (omg), and sprinkle with granola.
- Use as a topping for ice cream (don’t knock it till you try it)
- Topping for peanut butter toast or sandwiched in a PB&J
- Again, I vote for eating straight out of the jar, standing over the sink like a heathen.
That’s it, that’s all I can say. Homemade granola is the best. Yes, this granola is gluten-free and lower in sugar than most, but it’s the flavor and crunchy texture that keep me coming back time after time. Please just go make it and thank me later.
Honey Almond Granola
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (50g) olive oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/4 cup (84g) honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1 and 1/2 cups (150g) old-fashioned (rolled) oats
- 1/2 cup (60g) sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup (12g) unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grab a cookie sheet with raised edges, line with parchment paper if desired (it’s not necessary, just less messy), and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and ginger until fully combined.
- Add oats, almonds, and coconut to the bowl and stir everything together until the dry ingredients are completely coated in the wet and evenly incorporated.
- Dump the mixture out onto the cookie sheet and spread evenly to form one layer, covering the entire sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir so everything gets moved around and flipped over. Bake 10 more minutes. Stir again. Then bake for 3-5 additional minutes, watching carefully to make sure the almonds are not burning (it happens fast). Remove from the oven when toasted to your liking.
- Let the granola cool completely in the pan before placing in an airtight container (I use a large mason jar). Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Like this honey almond granola recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @katiebirdbakes, and sign up for my email list to receive my recipes straight to your inbox every time I post!
I make this granola all the time, and I absolutely love it! Everywhere I take it, it’s always a hit! I will say that doubling the cook time for a double batch seems to be a little too long, so watch it closely!
great tip Katie — I’ll re-test a double batch to check that. thanks!!
does not make crunchy granola. left with soggy, little bits 🙁 super sad
Hi V – I’m sorry this didn’t turn out well for you. I’d like to troubleshoot with you, as I’ve had great results with this granola being crunchy. How long did you bake it? Did you stir multiple times in between, per the instructions? You can also let it bake for a few minutes longer than the recipe says if you want it even more crunchy. Also, let it cool fully before you store it – that will crisp it up further. I hope that helps.
Love this recipe and adding in different spices for different seasonal flavors. The last time I made it, my first batch burned for some reason even though I didn’t change anything… it was really weird! Make sure you check it often to make sure it’s doing okay.
that is weird…maybe your oven was at a different temperature? glad you love the recipe though!
I love this granola recipe! After months of sticking with overnight oats for breakfast, I got sick of it and looked for something else to do with the oats and this is IT. I use the granola on top of coconut yogurt with either fresh or frozen fruit (frozen if I’m eating it the next day as a prepped breakfast). This week, I tried adding raisins to the mix and it was awesome. You do have to keep a closer eye out since the raisins will burn really quick, but it was a great touch of sweetness with the honey. Thank you so much for this recipe!
great idea with the raisins – thanks for the review!
This is so delicious. My husband has severe nut allergies, so store-bought granola feels too risky.
He told me this granola is the best thing I’ve made in a while (and I cook/bake frequently – and usually pretty well lol)!
I’ve made it a few times now and personally find that 350° temp works better for our oven.
Thanks for sharing!
thank you Carly!
Is there any way to extend the shelf life? Making this as Christmas gifts and don’t want to have to tell people it’s only good for two weeks. One if I make it ahead of time!
you could freeze it until you gift it!
Love this recipe! It’s so easy to make there’s no reason to buy granola anymore. I swap the olive oil for coconut oil. Just personal preference as I think coconut oil has a milder taste. I also subbed Agave for the honey once and it turned out well.
Love that! Thanks Izzy!!
I’ve made this several times and have started switching out different ingredients to mix it up. It’s always delicious and now my go to recipe. Super easy to make and it’s available crunchy!
Love that, thank you so much!
Divine!
Thanks so much Elis!
This is soo good! By the time they are cool they will be gone… I just tried the recipe and already shared it with many friends! Thank you!
Amazing!! Thank you so much for the review!
This is sooooo good! Will forever use this recipe. So simple yet amazing flavor!
Thank you so much!!
This sounds like a winner! What the calories and carb count for this recipe..
Thank you..
Char
Hi Char, I don’t calculate nutritional info for my recipes but you can use MyFitnessPal or any online recipe calculator and enter in the exact ingredients you use! Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Katie, this is the most scrumptious granola I’ve ever had! Stood over the pan eating it “like a heathen” as you put it! Haha! Can’t wait to try it on some yogurt or ice cream tonight. Thanks for another outstanding recipe.😋
I’m so glad I’m not alone in my inability to eat this granola in a normal way 😉 thank you for the review!!
I confess that I am not a big fan of honey and was not sure I wanted to try this. Knowing, however, how much my husband likes it, I decided to make it for him. The big surprise for me was that the honey flavor is very subtle and in combination with the spices and almonds, it was a winner! Guess he won’t get to have it all to himself after all.
Glad you gave it a try and wound up liking it too!!
Super easy and tasty granola. I used 2 cups of rolled oats instead of 1.5 cups and coverage was still sufficient to produce clumps of granola. Thanks Katie for another easy recipe.
So glad you liked it!! Thank you!