Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola
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Easy to make and full of chunky BIG clusters, this Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola features oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, dried berries and is coated in an irresistible pecan butter, peanut butter and cinnamon maple syrup blend! It’s vegan, naturally sweetened and gluten-free and boasts the perfect balance of savory-sweet flavors and clumpy and crunchy textures!
Looking for more healthy homemade granola recipes? Try my Peanut Butter Granola, this Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola, or this Maple Tahini Granola next!
I debated long and hard on what to call this Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola because it is full of so many wonderful flavors that are absolutely delicious!
At its core, this is a granola that is for pecan lovers and nut butter lovers! It’s also for people who love the classic fall flavor combination of maple cinnamon – during the fall season or all year round!
About This Recipe
This Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola is made with heart healthy wholegrain rolled oats, pecans, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and coconut flakes. It’s full of warming spices like cinnamon and cardamom and naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
A pecan butter, peanut butter and maple syrup blend act as the binding agents for this granola. The pecans and hazelnuts provide crunch while the roasted pecan butter and peanut butter give the chunky clusters a rich, smooth and creamy mouthfeel.
The natural nut butters are also full of healthy fats so you only need to add a small amount of oil to make the granola crunchy and crispy.
I’ve finished off this granola with sweet dried blueberries and cranberries but you’re welcome to add in any type of dried fruit you love, leave them out, or add chocolate chunks! Yum!
This is the ultimate feel-good healthy granola that is wholesome, satiating and delicious. It also happens to be vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for meal prep and quick and easy breakfasts!
Whether you serve it over Greek yogurt or with milk or enjoy it on its own as a nutritious snack, I think you’ll love it and will be making batch after batch!
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Super easy to make. It takes under 40 minutes to make a LARGE batch on just one baking tray!
- Full of protein, healthy fats and fiber. Packed with protein and healthy fats from the nut butters, nuts and seeds, this granola is great for breakfast or a healthy snack! The fiber from the oats, seeds and dried berries not only aid in digestion but also help keep you full longer.
- Big clusters and clumps! Not only are nut butters a source of protein and healthy fats, they allow us to use less oil and still yield a granola that is extra chunky, crispy and full of rich nutty flavors!
- No stirring. Avoiding stirring the granola during baking results in desirable big crunchy clusters. It also means that this granola is easy to make and doesn’t require much effort!
- Customizable. You can customize it with your favorite nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
- Better than store-bought granola. Store-bought granola can be overly crunchy, dry and hard, and have too much added sugars. This granola is perfectly crispy, not too sweet and tastes better than any store-bought granola I’ve tried!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: Just your regular wholegrain old fashioned rolled oats. Steel-cut oats, instant oats, or quick cooking oats don’t work as well for this granola. Use gluten-free certified rolled oats if needed.
- Seeds: My go-to combination of seeds for homemade granola is raw unsalted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Feel free to use either one, or swap one out for hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, etc.
- Nuts: Coarsely chopped raw unsalted pecans are the obvious choice for this Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola! I’ve also added hazelnuts as I adore their nutty sweet flavor.
- Fine Sea Salt: Halve the amount if using table salt, which is saltier.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon for warmth and cardamom for floral citrusy aromas and flavor depth.
- Nut Butters: I used an unsalted roasted pecan butter and also a smooth, runny peanut butter made from high-oleic peanuts. The nut butters are a source of protein, full of healthy fats and act as the binding agents for the granola ingredients. They also add a buttery, sweet roasted flavor! You’re welcome to use a pecan and cashew butter blend such as Artisana Organics Pecan Butter too. Since pecan butter can be quite pricey, feel free to use more peanut butter, almond butter or any nut butter of your choice.
- Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil: Since the nut butters have natural oils, only a small amount of additional oil is needed to make the granola crispy and crunchy. I love using extra light tasting olive oil for my granola recipes but melted coconut oil works too.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Naturally sweetens our healthy granola without adding any brown sugar. You can use honey if preferred but note that this granola will no longer be vegan.
- Vanilla Extract: For warming vanilla notes.
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes: Adds more healthy fats. I love their lightly toasted crispy texture after baking! Unsweetened shredded coconut can be substituted.
- Sweetened Dried Blueberries & Dried Cranberries: I use dried blueberries and cranberries to enjoy the best of both worlds!
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
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How to Make Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola
Below is a step-by-step overview on how to make this granola recipe. Keep scrolling down to get to the recipe card below with the full recipe and detailed instructions!
Prep: Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet pan with parchment paper (nonstick cooking paper).
Transfer the tray to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely The granola will continue to brown and crisp up further as it cools.
8. Serve! Serve immediately with Greek yogurt, milk or enjoy on its own as a snack! Or you can store it for later.
Storing
Store in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area such as a kitchen cupboard or pantry. If stored properly, the granola will stay fresh for up to 1 month.
That said, my last batch of this pecan maple granola stayed fresh for 6 weeks before I finished the jar!
Cook’s Tips
- For a loose, crumbly style granola. If you prefer a loose, crumbly granola instead of clusters, stir and flip the granola halfway through the baking time.
- Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage. Store the granola in sealed Ziploc bags in the fridge or freezer for 3 months. I recommend freezing small portions in individual zipper bags so that you thaw only what you need. Thaw at room temperature for about 10-20 minutes before serving or leave it out overnight on the counter.
Ways To Serve Granola
My favorite way to enjoy this healthy pecan granola is over plain Greek yogurt mixed with half a scoop of snickerdoodle or vanilla flavored protein powder. I love topping my protein yogurt granola bowl with fresh berries for breakfast! Also, the protein powder makes the yogurt extra creamy, thick and satiating!
Other ways to serve this granola are:
- Sprinkle it on top of vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert. I also love it on top of this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream made with the Ninja Creami ice cream maker!
- Eat it plain. It’s a terrific nutritious snack!
- Use it as a topping for smoothie bowls or smoothies.
- With milk in a bowl. It’s delicious with regular milk or a dairy-free milk such as unsweetened almond milk.
- Layered in a yogurt parfait with fresh berries or dried fruit.
- Mix it into baked goods batter for muffins, quick breads, granola cookies, etc.
Variations
- Use other nuts. Unsalted raw sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, cashews, pistachios, macadamias, Brazil nuts, etc.
- Use a commercial peanut butter. If using Skippy or Jif peanut butter (or another commercial nut butter) which is already sweetened and salted, use less salt and maple syrup.
- Add chocolate chunks or chips. Because chocolate tastes heavenly with nut butters and granola! You can either swap out the dried berries for chocolate chips or add them in addition to them. Take your pick between dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, semisweet, etc. Peanut butter chips would take this pecan maple granola to a whole other level!
- Use a different nut butter. Any nut or seed butter will work in place of the pecan butter and peanut butter. Almond butter, tahini (sesame seed paste/butter), hazelnut butter, cashew butter and macadamia butter are other great options.
- Use another liquid sweetener. Date syrup, agave syrup or unsulphured molasses would work well too. You can even use low sugar or sugar-free maple syrup if desired.
- Make it refined sugar free. Use naturally sweetened dried cranberries and blueberries or other dried fruit. Naturally sweetened dried fruit are typically sweetened with apple juice.
- Use different dried fruit. Raisins, dried apricots, dried cherries, freeze dried strawberries or raspberries, etc.
- Leave out the dried fruit. This warm spiced pecan granola tastes delicious with or without them!
FAQs
You can purchase a jar online from Amazon or iHerb, a company local to you or an online shop that specializes in manufacturing handcrafted nut butters. Some brands that sell pecan butter are Artisana Organics, Wilderness Poets, and Millican Pecan Company. Depending on your location, you may be able to purchase their pecan butter in a local shop.
Pecan butter is rich and creamy and full of roasted nutty sweet flavors. It’s a decadent tasting nut butter and you’ll love it if you love the natural buttery creaminess of pecans!
Either will work just fine so you can take your pick! I used a roasted pecan butter and love the roasted pecan flavors in this granola!
Since pecans are pricey, pecan butter tends to be on the expensive side when compared to other nut butters such as peanut butter and almond butter. However, it is also one of the best and decadent tasting nut butters! If you can afford to try it, I recommend you do!
Alternatively, for a lower cost option that requires more effort, you can purchase pecans in bulk from a wholesale retailer (i.e.: Costco Wholesale) and make your own pecan butter at home using a food processor.
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More Granola Recipes You May Also Like…
Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola
Easy to make and full of chunky BIG clusters, this Maple Pecan Cinnamon Granola is for pecan lovers and nut butter lovers! It’s made with an irresistible pecan butter, peanut butter and cinnamon maple syrup blend and boasts the perfect balance of savory-sweet flavors and clumpy and crunchy textures!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 28
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 20.5 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4 cups / 375 grams Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (use gluten-free certified oats if needed)
- ¼ cup / 30 grams raw unsalted Sunflower Seeds
- ¼ cup / 35 grams raw unsalted Pumpkin Seeds
- ½ cup / 55 grams raw unsalted Pecans – coarsely chopped
- ½ cup / 60 grams raw unsalted Hazelnuts – coarsely chopped
- ¾ TSP Fine Sea Salt (use half the amount if using table salt)
- 1 TSP ground Cinnamon
- ½ TSP ground Cardamom
- ¼ cup / 60 grams Pecan Butter (without added sugar, unsalted if available to you – note 1)
- ¼ cup / 60 grams smooth natural Peanut Butter (unsalted and without added sugar – note 2)
- ¼ cup / 45ml Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (or use melted coconut oil)
- ½ cup + 2 TBSP / 150ml Pure Maple Syrup (or use honey – note 3)
- 1 TSP Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup / 30 grams Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (or unsweetened shredded coconut)
- ¼ cup / 40 grams Sweetened Dried Blueberries (note 4)
- ¼ cup / 30 grams Sweetened Dried Cranberries
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Line a large rimmed baking sheet pan with parchment paper (nonstick cooking paper).
- Combine the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, hazelnuts, sea salt, ground cinnamon and cardamom. Mix together until evenly combined.
- Warm the wet ingredients: Add the pecan butter, peanut butter, olive oil and maple syrup to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat. Stir until the nut butters have melted and the mixture is smooth and pourable – about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread: Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking tray. Use a silicone spatula to spread in an even layer and press down firmly on the mixture to flatten it.
- Bake: Bake for 24 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through so that the back of the tray is facing the front. (Note: If you prefer a loose, crumbly style granola instead of clusters, stir and flip the granola halfway through the baking time). Remove the tray from the oven and sprinkle the coconut flakes on top. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, until the coconut flakes have lightly toasted and the granola is golden brown and crisp.
- Cool: Transfer the tray to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely – approximately 40-45 minutes. The granola will continue to brown and crisp up further as it cools.
- Break and add dried fruit: Once cooled, break the granola into clusters of your desired size. Stir through the dried blueberries and cranberries.
- Serve or store: Serve immediately with Greek yogurt, milk or enjoy on its own as a snack. Or transfer to an airtight sealed contained and store in a cool dry area for up to 1 month (note 5).
Notes
- Pecan Butter. I used an unsalted roasted pecan butter without any sugar, oil or additives added. You can use a pecan butter or pecan and cashew butter blend such as Artisana Organics Pecan Butter. Note that pecan butter can be quite pricey so feel free to use more peanut butter (check out my Peanut Butter Granola recipe!), almond butter or any other nut butter of your choice.
- Peanut Butter. I used a runny, natural unsalted and unsweetened peanut butter. You can use a commercial peanut butter like Skippy or Jif if desired. Note that commercial peanut butters are already sweetened and salted so adjust the amount of salt and maple syrup to taste as you may need less.
- Maple Syrup. You can use honey if preferred but note that this granola will no longer be vegan. Date syrup, agave syrup or unsulphured molasses would work well too. You can even use low sugar or sugar-free maple syrup if desired.
- Dried Blueberries. Feel free to use ½ cup of dried blueberries or cranberries if you prefer to use just one dried fruit. I like the sweetness of the dried blueberries and sweet and tart flavor of the dried cranberries so use both to enjoy the best of both worlds in this granola!
- Storing. If stored properly in an airtight sealed container and in a cool dry area, the granola will stay fresh for up to 1 month. That said, my last batch of this granola stayed fresh for 6 weeks before I finished the jar! For longer storage, store the granola in sealed Ziploc bags in the fridge or freezer for 3 months. I recommend freezing small portions in zipper bags so that you thaw only what you need. Note that the granola will become less crunchy and crispy if stored for an extended period in the fridge or freezer.
- To thaw: Thaw at room temperature for about 10-20 minutes before serving or overnight on the counter.
- See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above if you’d like to customize this granola recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 9.7g
- Sodium: 57.9mg
- Fat: 13.1g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 24.2g
- Fiber: 3.3g
- Protein: 5.1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
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