This Pumpkin Seed Granola is packed with almonds, pecans, old-fashioned oats, honey, and warming spices like ginger and cinnamon. The mixture comes together in under 10 minutes, then just bake and enjoy!
Homemade pumpkin seed granola is a breakfast staple in my house, as is my homemade yogurt. You can rave about your morning juice all you want, but frankly I want to eat something I can crunch. And this recipe delivers. Old-fashioned oats tossed with nuts, pumpkin seeds, and warming spices. Stir with a mixture of honey, brown sugar, and oil and bake! It's gluten-free and perfect for fall, though I eat it year-round.
Why Make This Recipe
- This granola is so versatile! Serve over yogurt for breakfast or over ice cream for dessert. See below for more ideas. And if you like this version, be sure to check out my Apple Cinnamon Granola too!
- Ingredients come together quickly, and it bakes for just 25 minutes
- Spices like ginger and cinnamon make your house smell delicious!
- Granola is so much less expensive to make than to buy.
- Easily customizable recipe—see below for add-in ideas!
🥗 Ingredients
Nuts: I'm using almonds and pecans in this recipe, but you can replace one or both of these with walnuts or cashews.
Brown Sugar: You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar for this recipe, or a combination of the two.
Ground Cinnamon and Ginger: If you don't have cinnamon or ginger, replace either one with ground nutmeg or ground cardamom for a slightly different flavor!
Old-Fashioned Oats: Old-fashioned oats are also called rolled oats. These are the best oats to use for granola. Instant oats will not give you the texture you're looking for, and steel cut oats may not cook through in this baking time. Also, make sure that if you are looking for a gluten-free recipe, you confirm that your oats are certified gluten-free.
Other Add-ins: You can stir in dried fruit after the granola has baked and cooled. Try dried cranberries or dried mango. You can also add in butterscotch or white chocolate chips or coconut flakes. I like to add a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds as well—you can't really taste them in the final product, but chia seeds add fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as being packed with antioxidants.
🥣 Instructions
Let's get started. First, line a sheet pan (or a cookie sheet with sides) with foil or parchment paper and heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius).
Then mix all your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: oats, nuts, brown sugar, spices, and salt. Pour honey and oil into a small saucepan and heat over medium-low.
When the liquid has come together, pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until all the liquid is incorporated. Then spread out evenly over your sheet pan.
Pop it in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. Stir, and set another 10 minute timer. Stir, and set the timer for 5 minutes. Check to see whether your granola is brown enough for you—you can let it go another 5-10 minutes if you like.
When it's done, cool it on the pan on a cooling rack, then crumble it with a spatula or your fingers and store in an airtight container.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
Stored in an airtight container, this pumpkin seed granola will last a few weeks at least, though mine never sits around that long—I doubt yours will either! I like to use a heavy-duty ziplock bag or Tupperware-type container to store my granola.
Besides topping yogurt or ice cream, you can of course eat granola on its own or with your milk of choice. But I like to get creative with it. Try granola as a replacement for the crunchy bits in a parfait. How about trying my Strawberry Parfait with Mascarpone Cream or my Mango Coconut Yogurt Parfait? You can also use it as a topping for baked apples or for a fruit crisp or crumble like my Peach Blueberry Crisp.
You can even try adding into cookie or muffin batter or using it for a savory-sweet salad topping. And I gift it too! Make a batch, put it in some glass jars, tie a pretty ribbon around the base of the lid, and you have the perfect holiday, house-warming, or hostess gift.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Watch closely when you are heating the honey and oil. You just want the two liquids to blend together and warm up—you don't want it to boil or burn. Bringing to a low simmer is perfect!
- Spread out the granola in a thin layer on the sheet pan so that it all bakes evenly. If your pan isn't big enough to spread out in one layer, use two pans.
- Similarly, stirring the granola a couple of times while it's baking ensures that all of the granola will turn golden brown at the same time. If you don't do this, you may find the underside of your oats is barely cooked while the top is over brown.
- If you're like me, and you love to eat granola with yogurt and berries, try to always choose organic berries. You want organic because berries consistently rank near the top of the fruits and vegetables most treated with pesticides. In the summer, cook those berries into this delicious Cherry Compote.
And, there’s a great solution for those winter months when berries are hard to find, and it’s called jam. (And you don't have to wait until winter to try my Honey Balsamic Fig Spread with your yogurt and granola!)
Other Delicious Breakfast Recipes
For a great breakfast idea, make this granola along with my Strawberry Blueberry Banana Smoothie or my Cherry Chia Seed Smoothie!
If a savory breakfast is more your style, don't miss my French Crepes with Eggs and Cheddar or my Croissant Breakfast Sandwich with Spinach. If sweet is more your style, see my Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Apple or my Cherry Danish with Puff Pastry. Looking for more? More great recipes can be found in my Breakfast archive.
If you try this pumpkin seed granola, I would love to hear from you! Leave a star rating and comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Pumpkin Seed Granola with Almonds
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats 9 ½ ounces
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds also known as pepitas
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
- 1 cup almonds raw, not salted or roasted
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds optional
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup honey 5.6 ounces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Mix oats in a large bowl with the next 8 ingredients.
- Pour honey and vegetable oil into a small saucepan and heat over medium-low until the honey and oil start to bubble and come together smoothly.
- Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and stir until the liquid is incorporated.
- Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until nicely browned.
- Cool sheet pan on rack, stir granola, and store in airtight container or ziplock bag.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
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