This Maple Cinnamon Granola is both gluten free and paleo as well as our all time most popular granola! We take this granola everywhere from work to travel and camping as well. It keeps well for at least a month, but it won’t last that long to be sure! The maple syrup caramelizes around the coconut and nuts as it bakes creating a simply irresistible granola. And to make sure it’s extra crunchy, try leaving it in the oven until it fully cools down.
Every few months I make a new flavor of granola and promptly declare it my new favorite. So is it ok that I tell you this is my all time favorite granola? Don’t be surprised though if I’m telling you the same thing again a few months time! I have a good feeling this one will truly last the test of time, mostly because a light cinnamon maple flavor goes with pretty much everything.
Something magical happens to the coconut in this granola, as it bakes the maple syrup causes it to caramelize into a caramel coconut ‘chip’ of sorts. I’m so captivated by the coconut in this granola that I just know I’m going to be doing something with caramelized coconut in my future, (I’m thinking the ultimate trail mix for this coming hiking season)!
Let’s get started making this Maple Cinnamon Granola step by step!
Not only does this granola go great with everything, it’s also the easiest one I’ve ever made!
Simply combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and mix to thoroughly combine. Next spread it evenly on a lined baking sheet, and bake until golden.
Tip: I’ve learned for the crunchiest granola, to leave it in the oven after it’s turned off.
The granola gets significantly crispier as it slow dries in the cooling oven. Once I started adding this step to my granola making, I’ve never had a batch go stale or soften over time.
So far my favorite thing to do with this granola is layering it together with greek yogurt and raspberry sauce. But I think it will find it’s way into all sorts of future recipes!
Update: You can see my recipe for this super easy breakfast with my recipe for Fruit and Yogurt Granola Cups. It’s still our favorite easy breakfast after 6 years now!
For more granola recipe inspiration:
- Banana Chai Granola
- Double Pumpkin Pie Granola
- Peanut Butter Granola Bars with Salted Chocolate Frosting
- Paleo Granola Dust
- Grain Free Strawberry Granola
- Chocolate Almond Coconut Granola
I really hope you enjoy this Maple Cinnamon Granola And if you do get a chance to make this, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here! Also for more paleo breakfast ideas, head on over to the recipe index.
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Maple Cinnamon Granola
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
- Yield: 7 cups of granola 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Maple Cinnamon Granola is both gluten free and paleo as well as our all time most popular granola! We take this granola everywhere from work to travel and camping as well. It keeps well for at least a month, but it won’t last that long to be sure! The maple syrup caramelizes around the coconut and nuts as it bakes creating a simply irresistible granola. And to make sure it’s extra crunchy, try leaving it in the oven until it fully cools down.
Ingredients
3 cups big flake coconut, unsweetened
1 cup fine shred coconut, unsweetened
1 cup chopped walnuts, raw
1 cup chopped pecans, raw
1 cup pumpkin seeds, raw
1 Teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon, Vietnamese cinnamon for best flavor
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons avocado oil
1/3–1/2 cup maple syrup, Grade B for deepest maple flavor
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300ºF, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Evenly spread the mixture over the parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point.
After 20 minutes, turn the oven off and open the oven door to stir the granola one last time. Opening the oven door helps the oven cool off a bit so the granola doesn’t overcook.
After the last stirring close the oven door, and let the granola cool down with the oven for 1 hour (this makes the granola ultra crispy).
Take the granola out of the oven and let it cool fully before transferring it to an airtight container.
This granola keeps for 2-3 weeks at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Paleo Granola Recipe, Maple Granola Recipe, Maple Granola Healthy, Maple Pecan Granola
I basically make this weekly. I have lost track of how many batches I’ve made, but I think I have the recipe almost memorized! THANK YOU! So good. I love having such a delicious grain-free, guilt free solution.
★★★★★
So glad you’ve been enjoying one of our all time favorites! We make this one pretty much all the time too, in fact I just made some again today!
Is there any substitute for the nuts? My son is allergic!
I would try subbing in 3 cups of rolled oats for the nuts, but you’ll definitely need more oil, and possible a touch more maple syrup because oats just soak it up. I would start by adding in maybe 1/4- 1/3 cup of avocado oil and see how it looks. My main concern would be dryness with subbing in the oats. So when I used to make granola that way, I usually used 1/2 – 3/4 cup of oil which always made a nice crunchy granola. I hope this helps, and please let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!
Hi Kari, Maybe by now you have a different favorite granola, but this recipe has been our favorite for quite some time and I regularly make it. As a fact I’m making it right now to take along on a vacation to Iceland! Where I plan to eat it with Iceland’s famed Skyr yoghurt 🙂
Warm greetings from the sunny island of Curacao in the Caribbean!
Oh my goodness, I’m so excited for you! We took this granola to Iceland too, and it’s absolutely amazing with their Skyr, I sure hope you have the best trip! 🙂
I love this granola! It is great as a snack or with coconut milk.
I used coconut oil and it turned out great. I make a batch every two weeks.
★★★★★
I really like it with coconut milk too, especially during berry season.
Love the recipe and looks great…but cant stand coconut.any substitution for the coconut?
You could probably substitute oats, but you’ll need to add more maple syrup and avocado oil because oats are much drier. Hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!
Kari, the maple granola is fantastic! Thanks for sharing the recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, we make this almost every single week because we’re completely hooked on it!
By the way, I used olive oil both times and you couldn’t tell. Thumbs up!
Good to know about the olive oil, I find myself running out of things sometimes so it’s good to know the substitute works!
I made this twice this week, Kari! The first time there was no parchment paper in the house so I lined the pan with foil…bad move! Very sticky! The second time I DID use parchment paper and I was so happy with how it slid right off. I was dubious about turning the oven off partway through because the granola wasn’t very browned at that point, but it turns out perfect! I subbed honey for the maple syrup and it turned out great. I like how baking it at a lower temperature makes it less brittle, but still chewy and crunchy at the same time. Everyone is asking for the recipe 🙂
★★★★★
I came up with the idea for turning off the oven early after over-toasting 2 batches – I couldn’t get the granola thoroughly crispy w/o it getting too brown! Ever since I discovered the bake/oven-dry method I’ve been loving the super crispy results, and I’m so glad this was a hit with everyone – makes my day! 🙂
Love that picture of the raw ingredients! Maple and cinnamon are such a perfect combo during the winter 🙂
Maple and cinnamon are such a comforting duo, and the whole house smells like you’re baking cookies when the granola’s in the oven! 🙂
Do you know if I could substitute either coconut oil or olive oil for the almond oil without ruining the recipe? It sounds wonderful!
Both coconut oil and olive oil have a stronger flavor than avocado oil, so if you do substitute it I don’t think it would ruin the recipe but there might be a bit more flavor from whichever oil you choose. I would probably go with coconut oil since there’s coconut in the recipe, you’ll just end up with a slightly stronger coconut flavor! Hope this goes well for you! 🙂
Granola is just addicting. It’s got both flavor and crunch and you simply can’t beat the smell of it wafting out of the kitchen. Plus when you make it at home it doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it!
Very good point! It’s crazy what you’ll find in the ingredient section of pre-packaged granola sometimes, and I agree 100% the smell ‘wafting out of the kitchen’ is half the reason to make a batch right now! 🙂
This looks so crunchy and delicious!! I can see myself eating it for every meal!
It’s quickly become a staple around here, I’m making yet another batch again today! 🙂