This Pumpkin Granola is everything Fall dreams are made of. Each bite is filled with crunchy pecans, maple, and all the flavors of pumpkin spice. It’s delicious and addicting! Enjoy this perfect healthy breakfast or snack recipe sprinkled on top of yogurt, in a bowl with milk, or with a side of fruit.
One of my favorite seasons of the year is pumpkin spice season! Don’t get me wrong, I have no shame in baking a loaf of healthy pumpkin bread, apple pumpkin bread, or pumpkin baked oatmeal in the middle of the summer, or enjoying a few jars of pumpkin overnight oats, but once the air turns cool, all pumpkin recipes are on repeat. I am starting with this pumpkin granola recipe.
Reasons you’ll love this recipe
- Use up leftover canned pumpkin – This pumpkin granola was born out of the need to use up leftover pumpkin.
- Affordable – A small bag of organic granola can cost a small fortune. Making it homemade allows you to use clean organic ingredients while keeping it budget-friendly.
- Make-ahead – make a batch on Sunday for healthy breakfast and snacks all week. You can even freeze granola for later on.
Ingredients
- Rolled oats – For the best texture, when making granola, you’ll want to use rolled oats. These are also called old-fashioned oats. Instant oats will turn mushy, and steel-cut oats won’t absorb any liquid and will be too crunchy.
- Chopped pecans – Of course, you can use any nut, but pecans go perfectly with pumpkin and maple flavors.
- Salt – this enhances the flavor of the rest of the ingredients.
- Coconut sugar – is an unrefined sugar that gives a delicious sweet caramel flavor to the pumpkin granola.
- Pumpkin pie spice – Also know as the quintessential Fall ingredient.
- Pure maple syrup – adds another layer of Fall goodness to this granola.
- Pumpkin puree – You only need a small amount to get the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor.
- Pure vanilla extract – For extra flavor.
- Coconut oil – this helps make the granola crunchy.
For great prices on organic granola ingredients check out Thrive Market. You can learn more by reading my Thrive Market Review.
Cooking Tips
Keep the granola gluten-free – All of the ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten-free. However, rolled oats and nuts can get cross-contaminated in processing, so check the packaging if you need this homemade granola to be 100% gluten-free.
Swap in other nuts and seeds – Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds are also delicious in this granola recipe, but any nut or seed will work.
Stir in superfoods – Stir in Chia seeds, flax seeds, or hemp hearts in this pumpkin granola recipe for extra nutrition.
Use another sweetener – Maple syrup provides the best flavor, but honey is a good substitute.
Stir in dried fruit – dried cranberries, raisins, or cherries are tasty in this pumpkin granola recipe.
Supplies
- Mixing bowls
- Mixing spoons or spatula
- Large baking sheet
- Mason jars
How to Make Pumpkin Granola
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, pumpkin pie spice, coconut sugar, pecans, and salt . Set aside. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients well because if not, there will be clumps of spice, salt, or sugar after stirring in the wet ingredients.
- Scoop coconut oil into a measuring cup and microwave in 20-second increments until it melts. You need ¼ cup for this recipe. If there’s extra, pour it back into the jar (it will solidify after it cools); if there’s not enough, then scoop more into the measuring cup and allow it a few seconds to melt.
- Whisk together the canned pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and coconut oil in a medium bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all the oats are evenly coated.
- Spread the granola mixture evenly onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the granola for 35 – 40 minutes. Stir the granola halfway through to keep the ends from burning. The granola is done when the oats are golden brown and toasted.
- Remove the pumpkin granola from the oven and let it cool completely on the counter. This takes about 45 minutes to up to an hour.
- Break the granola into clusters. Store the granola in an airtight container.
Cooking tip: The key to getting granola clusters is minimizing stirring as it cooks and letting it cool completely before breaking it into pieces.
How to serve
Homemade pumpkin granola is delicious straight out of the container, but here are a couple of other tasty ideas;
- In a bowl with milk – this granola is the perfect cereal for breakfast and is delicious with banana, berries, and other fruit on top.
- Layered with yogurt – We love making parfaits!
- With fruit – sprinkle some granola on apple sandwiches.
How to Store the Recipe
- In general, you can store homemade granola in an airtight container (or mason jar) at room temperature for up to 6 months. I think this pumpkin granola recipe is best for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or up to a month in the fridge.
- You can freeze homemade granola for 6-12 months. I recommend storing in portion-controlled bags or containers for a quick grab-and-go snack.
Pumpkin Granola
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- mixing spoon or spatula
- Large baking sheet
- Glass Containers
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, pumpkin pie spice, coconut sugar, pecans, and salt. Set aside. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients well because if not, there will be clumps of spice, salt, or sugar after stirring in the wet ingredients.
- Scoop coconut oil into a measuring cup and microwave in 20-second increments until it melts.
- Whisk together the canned pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and coconut oil in a medium bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all the oats are evenly coated.
- Spread the granola mixture evenly onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the granola for 35 – 40 minutes. Stir the granola halfway through to keep the ends from burning. The granola is done when the oats are golden brown and toasted.
- Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool completely on the counter. This takes about 45 minutes to up to an hour.
- Break the granola into clusters. Store the granola in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Other Healthy Granola Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
Have you tried this Pumpkin Granola recipe yet? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny. I can’t wait to see it.
Laurie says
This was great!!!! My husband loved it… Thanks!!!!