We have a lot of strong opinions about breakfast in this house, and a big one is that granola from a box is almost never as good as it should be. It’s either too sweet, or not sweet enough, or it’s got weird additives in it, or it’s mostly oats with three sad raisins and a marketing budget. At least here in Austria, finding genuinely good store-bought granola that’s also vegan and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg has proven surprisingly difficult. So at some point we just stopped trying and started making our own.
That was a few years ago and we haven’t looked back since. This granola gets made every single week without exception. Sunday afternoon, oven on, batch made, jar filled. It has become one of those kitchen rituals that makes the week feel more sorted than it actually is. There is something deeply satisfying about having a full jar of homemade granola on the counter. It feels like you have your life together even when you absolutely do not.
We eat it every morning, almost always on top of a smoothie bowl, which is our standard breakfast situation most days, year round. But it’s equally good with oat milk poured over it, or stirred into coconut yogurt with some fresh fruit, or honestly just eaten by the handful standing in the kitchen pretending you’re going to portion it properly and then not doing that.
The recipe itself is extremely simple, which is part of why it’s become such a fixed routine. You mix everything together, spread it on a tray, bake it for fifteen minutes with a stir every five, and that’s it. No complicated technique, no special equipment, no timing stress. The hardest part is letting it cool completely before you eat it, because the crunch develops as it cools and if you go in too early it’s still a bit soft. We speak from experience on this one.
It’s also endlessly customizable, which we love. The base recipe we’re sharing here uses pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut flakes, which is the combination we’ve landed on after a lot of tinkering. But honestly, use whatever you have. Walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds — it all works. The only non-negotiable is the oats, the maple syrup, and the olive oil, which form the base that everything else hangs off of. From there, consider it a template rather than a strict formula.
One thing worth noting: this granola is significantly less sweet than most store-bought versions, which is intentional. We find that most commercial granola is basically dessert masquerading as breakfast, and this one lets the nuts and spices actually come through rather than being buried under sugar. If you want it sweeter, just add a bit more maple syrup. But we’d encourage you to try it as written first. There’s a good chance you’ll love it.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F).
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the 35 milliliters olive oil and 200 milliliters maple syrup.
- Combine everything: Add the 500 grams oats, 200 grams pecans, 200 grams almonds, chopped, 110 grams pumpkin seeds, 100 grams sunflower seeds, 75 grams coconut flakes, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoons cardamom. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread on a baking tray: Spread the mixture evenly across a large, parchment-lined baking tray.
- Bake: Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so it toasts evenly and doesn’t burn around the edges.
- Cool completely: Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on the tray – this is what gives it that signature crunch. It will continue to crisp up as it cools.
