Maple Pecan Granola is hearty, satisfying and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. This reader favorite recipe is perfect for lunch boxes, road trips, or breakfast grab-n’-go! Prepped in about 20 minutes, the long slow bake makes the house smell like a bakery.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recipe Review: “This has been my go-to granola recipe for the last 3+ years! I give it as a gift and my family eats it right up. A little sweet, full of cinnamon flavor, and just make your house smell devine.” ~ Sara
The pictures in this recipe were updated October 2025, however the recipe is unchanged.
Maple Pecan Granola, A Pantry Staple
Where would we be without this go-to, anytime breakfast/snack food? It’s not just for us granola-loving tree huggers.
We made a lot of it in pastry school and at the bakery because it was always a best seller. Granola is such a delicious, crunchy and satisfying food and it’s simple to make at home. I consider it a pantry staple!
This Granola Recipe Is
- dairy and egg free
- crisp and crunchy
- golden and fragrant
If you love simple recipes with oats, you’ll enjoy this tried and true granola.
About the Ingredients
Pecans: one of my favorite Southern ingredients because they have an irresistible sweet undertone, especially when toasted. They can be pricey however, so look for them in bulk for best value. They add chunky texture and sweet nutty flavor.
Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: whole grain and so delicious when toasted. Oats make up the bulk of this granola. They toast and crisp up to perfection in the oven.
Maple Syrup: my sweetener of choice for granola. It imparts an almost buttery flavor when paired with rolled oats and already buttery tasting pecans. It also acts as a binder.
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How to Make Maple Pecan Granola
step by step
You’ll love how this granola makes your home smell! The long, slow bake means the aroma of cinnamon, toasting oats and pecans will linger. Everyone will wonder what you’ve got baking in the oven!
Add Ins: you can stir in chocolate chips before baking or if you’d like, dried fruit, after baking. Melty chocolate or diced dried fruit are perfect partners in this recipe.
Traci’s Tips
- Before baking, stir the granola to thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients prior to baking, making sure all the dry ingredients are covered in the wet ingredients.
- For optimal clustering spread evenly and press the granola in the pan before baking. Do not stir while baking. After baking, allow the granola cool completely before gently placing it in a storage container.
- The long, slow, low-temperature bake allows the granola to dry out. This supports clustering and aids in a long storage life. Plus, it yields a really nice crunch!
Maple Pecan Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups (288 grams) Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, no instant or quick, I like thick rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
- 2 cups (225 grams) Pecans, rough-chopped
- 3/4 cup (65 grams) Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- 1/3 cup (45 grams) Sunflower Seeds, hulled
- 1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) Coconut Oil, virgin, unrefined, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup (160 grams) Maple Syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract
- Optional Add Ins: 1/2 cup of chocolate chips* (pre bake – see note). OR a few handfuls of chopped dried fruit such as chopped Turkish apricot, sour cherries, cranberries or raisins (post bake).
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set oven to 275F (135C). Place a baking rack in the center of the oven.
- In a mixing bowl, add the rolled oats, pecans, coconut, sunflower seeds, salt, cinnamon, and chocolate chips (optional). Set aside.
- In a spouted measuring cup, combine the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla bean paste. Stir. You will see separation. If the coconut oil solidifies, gently rewarm it in the microwave to keep it in a liquid state.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry. Using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix throughly, ensuring that each, individual dry ingredient gets some wet on it. Press the granola into the pan, in one even layer.
- Place the pan in preheated oven and bake at 275F (135C) for 1 hour. Check the granola. At this point it should be slightly golden and fragrant. Rotate the pan, turn the oven up to 300F (148C), and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes OR until golden and fragrant —> keep an eye on the granola during the last 20 minutes of baking due to oven temperature variations – it should be golden and fragrant when done. Do not stir the granola, or clustering will be greatly reduced.
- Remove from the oven. The granola will be golden and soft to the touch. It will firm up as it cools. Allow the granola to cool completely in the pan before transferring to a storage container. Doing this will ensure crunchy clusters. If desired, toss in your favorite dried fruit such as chopped Turkish apricot, sour cherries, cranberries or raisins.
- Store in a covered container, at room temperature, for up to three weeks. Granola can also be frozen for up to one month.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
Hi Traci, Admittedly I have not made this again, since you’ve tweaked your recipe….but you have me so curious now, to do this again. I can see that you’ve doubled the amount of Coconut oil from your original, and I have no qualms about doing this too! I am curious though as to why you’ve done this. Excited to hear back, and so excited to give this a another go.
Hi Jeff! Nice to see you pop in! Uppin’ the oil makes the granola cluster better. You can certainly nock it back to 1/4 cup, but it won’t cluster as much. I hope this helps and you’re doing well!
LOVE those clusters, so you’ve sealed the deal! Thank you Traci for responding to my query.
Loved this recipe!! I make it all the time for my family!
SO happy to hear, Rachel! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note ! Day made! :D
Hi!
Do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe?
Hi Barb! I do not. Please feel free to plug the ingredients into any recipe nutrition calculator you like!
Hi Barb! I’ve updated the nutrition facts on this recipe!
This recipe looks terrific, but I eat a whole foods/plant based diet – no oil. Thanks anyway!
I love the adaptability of this recipe, I was short on pecans so added some walnuts, had to substitute pepitas for sunflower seeds. I don’t really like the texture of the coconut so left that out. It came out crunchy and chunky, mmmm.
For dried fruit I had some unsweetened dried blueberries from nuts.com healthy and yummy.
Love reading your adaptations, Renno! Hooray for walnuts and pepitas! I’ve done that too.. need to add some notes, but so glad you tried what you had on hand. AND it came out crunchy and chunky! Hooray! Didn’t the house smell amazing? Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a note! Day made!
My first time using this recipe and I will differently make this again. It is yummy to my tummy. I added and extra cup of oats and included dry tart cherries during baking instead of at end. I also skipped the sunflower seeds and added a dash of maple extract. I experienced clumping with a half sheet pan.
Hello Cameron! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note… so happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipe. Love those tart cherries! Thank you for the tip. And clumping FTW! :D
Next time I will add dry fruit after baking. Cherries turned into rock candy.
Thanks for letting us know!
I was googling how I can use maple syrup givened to me when a friend of mine moved overseas. I used walnuts instead of pecans and pine nuts instead of sunflower seeds, all from her pantry. I had to use a bit of olive oil since I didn’t have quite enough coconut oil left and I added cruising after. The granola clustered beautifully and bsolutely delicious! My teenage son couldn’t believe I made this! Thank you for the great recipe I won’t buy another box of granola again!
Not cruising but Craisins were added to the granola (lol)
Hooray!! Hooray! Love reading this Kima… homemade is so much better! Thank you for your note and sharing your subs – well done!
I made the recipe but had ZERO clumping. I followed the recipe exactly except for the coconut. I used a cookie sheet instead of a cake sheet. Flavorful but I do love my clumps. Any thoughts?
Hi Alison! Thank you for your note. I’m sorry you didn’t get any clumping. I’m not sure how excluding the coconut would affect the outcome. Did you press the granola into the pan prior to baking? Use thick or old fashioned rolled oats? Cool completely? I’ve not had any reviews tell me they didn’t get clumping. I make this twice a month and always have good clusters. I hope this helps.
This is delicious! I didn’t add the sunflower seeds or any dried fruit. I would just say watch closely, as mine almost started to burn near the end. However, the caramel that formed on the bottom layer… yum!!!
Hi Molly! Thank you so much for your note! So happy you enjoyed the recipe. Good for you, checking on it – as oven calibration varies widely! But that surprise caramel layer :D … Hooray!
Just made this with a few additions/modifications based on my sweet and nutty preferences; added a smidge more maple syrup and oil to compensate for adding the pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and subbing extra walnuts for pecans. :-)
Turned out absolutely delicious! Great recipe, thank you. Keep more VEGAN recipes comin’! :-)
Hi Kaci! Thank you for your note! Love those pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts and walnuts! So happy you enjoyed the recipe. I’ll keep the recipes comin’ – with lots of vegan recipes! :D
I’ve been making this granola monthly since I first found your recipe – it is so good and so easy. Will be interested to try the new tweaked version
Hey Sue.. thank you for your note! I hope you enjoy the new version as much (if not more) than the old! So happy you’re enjoying the recipe!