Olive Oil Granola (Nut-Free)
Make a batch of this nut-free Olive Oil Granola, naturally sweetened with honey and packed with wholesome seeds. Enjoy this crunchy, golden topping with fresh fruit yogurt or smoothie bowls. Beyond breakfast and snacks, this budget-friendly pantry staple also makes a delicious homemade gift.
I’m forever looking to make some of our favorite staples from scratch to save money and control the quality of ingredients used and this olive oil granola is a great example of that. This nut-free granola is sweetened with honey but easily be customized to suit your dietary requirements and taste.
The key to success is light olive oil – I don’t recommend using regular extra-virgin olive oil as the flavor is too strong in my opinion.
Don’t miss some handy tips below the recipe card.
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Olive Oil Granola (Nut-Free)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups whole grain oats
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp flax seeds
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix the light olive oil, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk until fully combined.1/4 cup light olive oil, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt
- Add the whole grain oats and seeds. Mix to fully coat the oats and seeds with the oil and honey mixture.2 cups whole grain oats, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 2 tbsp flax seeds, 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- Evenly spread the mixture onto the lined baking tray and bake it for 30 minutes in total, stirring the granola once halfway through after 15 minutes.
- Let the granola fully cool before storing it in airtight containers or jars for 2-3 weeks in your pantry.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – You’ll need light olive oil for this recipe. Regular extra-virgin olive oil will have a
- Honey – I use raw bush honey but any runny honey will work. You can use maple syrup, agave syrup, or date syrup as well. Coconut sugar or brown sugar make delicious sweeteners too. Make it 1/3 of a cup if you like your granola on the sweeter side.
- Oats – Whole grain oats are best.
- Vanilla – Vanilla extract or vanilla syrup works best. You can use essence if needed.
- Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon gives the granola some warmth and spice. You can omit it or use a chai spice mix or pumpkin spice to add extra flavors.
- Seeds – I use a mix of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flax seeds but other seeds such as chia seeds or hemp seeds would work well too.
Key steps: olive oil granola
1. Add the light olive oil and all flavorings into a bowl.
2. Mix to fully combine the wet ingredients and flavorings.
3. Add all dry ingredients. Mix to fully combine and coat the oats and seeds thoroughly.
4. Spread the granola out on a lined baking tray in an even layer for baking. Make sure the oven is fully preheated.
My top 4 homemade granola tips
- Customize: Granola recipes are very forgiving as long as you’re sticking to the wet-to-dry ingredient ratio. You can easily substitute one seed for another or swap the sweetener from honey to maple syrup for example to suit your taste and dietary needs, or match what you have in the cupboard.
- Cool to store: Make sure the granola has fully cooled down before storing it in jars or containers to prevent it from “sweating” which would make it soggy and impact the storage time.
- Go nuts: This granola is nut-free but you can easily swap some seeds for nuts such as almonds, pecans, or cashews to make a nutty granola.
- Add fruit: You can add dried fruit pieces such as raisins, dates, apricots, cherries, or cranberries half way through the baking.
Turned out very, very good, the kids liked it with berries and yoghurt. Quick and my daughter could even help to prepare it.
Thanks Nina 🙂