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Homemade Nut-Free Granola
A jar of homemade granola in your home is like a little gift you’ve given yourself that—I always feel so pleased with myself when I bake up a batch and find many reasons to walk by the jar and grab a handful. And, if you or someone in your house is allergic to nuts, then you are in the right place for a crunchy, chewy granola with no nuts in sight.
Most store-bought granolas contain nuts, and those that don’t…well, let’s just say that as someone who is allergic to nuts, I worry about cross contamination in the manufacturing process. Making my own granola allows me to enjoy this satisfying cereal/topping without worry, and that is a big deal for those of us with nut allergies.
Granola is so customizable that once you start playing around with it, making granola can become almost as addictive as the granola itself. Although you will not actually be making the granola on a weekday morning, unless you plan to get up extra early, it will become a fantastic everyday breakfast staple in your home.
Healthier Nut-Free Granola
You’ve probably read all about how most store-bought granolas have so much fat and sugar in them that you’d be better off eating a slab of French toast drizzled with syrup atop a plate of eggs Benedict for breakfast. And let’s face it, that’s why those granolas taste so decadent.
You will notice that this recipe also has a bit of fat and sweetening in it, because otherwise the granola would in fact not taste so great (and it does taste great), but it is a much more tolerable amount than what you will find in most of the stuff you can buy. The granola keeps well, so feel free to double or triple the recipe.
Homemade Nut-Free Granola is so easy to make and this customizable granola recipe will become a loved staple for EVERYONE in your house.
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For breakfast with milk, delicious, but if you are a granola person, relegating granola to breakfast simply will not do. You will start to look for opportunities to work granola into different corners of the day. Here are some ideas to get you started.
What to Serve with Granola
Use this nut-free granola as a topping for yogurt, plain or flavored, and maybe some fresh fruit, too, layered up all parfait-like; on ice cream; on oatmeal for some nice contrasting texture; in a little cup, as a dip for a banana—dip, bite, repeat; as a topping for a fruit crisp—sprinkle it on, dot it with tiny pieces of butter, and bake.
Dried Fruit In Granola
The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Trial and error confirmed that cooking the fruit for the whole 1 ¼ hours made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 45 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix. If you want your granola crunchier, bake the oat part for a bit longer before stirring in the fruit. It last for three weeks in a tightly sealed container.
Read on, for how to make homemade nut-free granola. Granola, all day, every day.
How to Make Granola with No Nuts
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
Place the honey, maple syrup, egg whites, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using, in a large bowl and mix until well blended.
Set 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture aside in a medium-size bowl. Add the oats to the large bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and coated.
Add the dried fruit to the reserved 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture and stir to combine. Set the dried fruit mixture aside.
Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat it lightly with oil, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture out on the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes.
Add the dried fruit mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a spoon mixture or spatula to combine.
Spread the granola out again in an even layer.
Bake the granola until the oats are golden brown and crunchy, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring it once more halfway through the baking time but leave some clumps!
Let the granola cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
How to Store Granola
This granola keeps for three weeks in a cool place, well sealed (though I have never once had it last that long).
What the Kids Can Do
Measure and mix and spread everything out on the baking sheet. With supervision regarding the hot baking sheet, they can gently stir the granola during baking.
Other Breakfast Recipes:
- Creamy Stuffed Breakfast Crepes
- Beet Berry Smoothie Bowl
- Berry Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
- Dutch Baby Pancake with Sauteed Apples
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Nut-Free Granola
Ingredients
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large egg whites see Note
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil plus oil for the baking sheet (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon grated orange zest optional
- 4 cups old-fashioned oats not quick-cooking
- 2 cups mixed chopped dried fruit such as apricots or prunes, and/or dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, and raisins
- Nonstick cooking spray optional
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 275°F.
- Place the honey, maple syrup, egg whites, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest, if using, in a large bowl and mix until well blended. Set 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture aside in a medium-size bowl. Add the oats to the large bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and coated.
- Add the dried fruit to the reserved 1⁄2 cup of the honey mixture and stir to combine. Set the dried fruit mixture aside.
- Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat it lightly with oil, or line it with parchment paper. Spread the oat mixture out on the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer. Bake the oat mixture for 30 minutes (see Cooking Tip).
- Add the dried fruit mixture to the oat mixture and stir well with a spoon mixture or spatula to combine. Spread the granola out again in an even layer. Bake the granola until the oats are golden brown and crunchy, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring it once more halfway through the baking time but leave some clumps! Let the granola cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
Notes
Cooking Tip
The granola bakes first without the dried fruit because the fruit doesn’t need as much time to get just the right amount of done. Baking the fruit for the whole hour made it too tough and slightly burned tasting, while about 30 minutes was just enough to make it chewy and incorporated into the mix.Nutrition Information
The nutrition values are provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
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Can you sub the vegetable oil for a different fat? Maybe coconut oil?
I think that should work but I’ve not tried it!
Is nutrition information per serving?
yes it is!
How much is considered a serving please?
about 1/2 cup!
I have a question vs. comment. I am allergic to eggs. Are the egg whites a must?
no, you can leave them out! You will get a looser granola without clumps that way though, unless you bump up the amount of honey, which will make it sweeter (and of course add sugar). But the taste will be the same!
Your granola, Greek yogurt and American Spoon stone fruit compote is my all time favorite breakfast!
I’ve been making this like crazy throughout the pandemic!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband has some not so fond memories of his mom making it years ago. He loves this recipe and so do my three young kids.
so funny to get this today as I am working on granola bar recipe for next book!
glad it was a hit in your house.
how much granola does this yield?
6 to 7 cups!
Good read. Maybe that’s the best thing about granola, it’s customizable. Thanks for sharing.
I feel like I’ve been searching for the perfect granola recipe for almost a year… this is it!! The texture is perfect and it’s not that expensive to make!! Next time I’m going to add flax seed and during the fall maybe throw in some pumpkin seeds. YUM!!
so glad it hit the spot! and it is infinitely flexible (flax-ible? oh, I’m so funny.)
I adore this cookbook and I am NOT a huge cookbook person. My kids and I have had a blast trying different recipes. This granola and the cumin on the roasted cauliflower (who knew?) are my favorite finds!! Yum!
hooray! Love to hear that. Thank you.
This made granola of the perfect texture! Mine was actually done after 25 minutes though, but since I didn’t add any fruit it worked out wonderfully!
So glad! Every time someone reminds me of this recipe, I realize that I need to make it for my family.
We just made this today and it is awesome! So glad I received your book for Christmas!
So glad you liked it!
This is a great recipe! Thank you. Have you tried to make granola bars with this recipe? Any suggestions on what adjustments to make for granola bars?
Thanks!
This is a great recipe! Thank you. Have you ever tried to make granola bars with this recipe? Do you have suggestions on how to make that work?
Funny you should ask – it’s one of the recipes I am working on Stay tuned…..
Great! Can’t wait! :)
Wonderful granola recipe. The chewiness was just perfect. My little nephews loved this.
so glad to hear!
This sounds very yummy and healthy. I love all the things in it. I would probably use all the varieties of nuts. I would make it my own by using the fruits and nuts I and my husband like.