Regarding breakfast options and snack-time delights, few treats offer wholesome satisfaction more than Crunchy Brown Butter Maple Granola.

You’ll love this blend of oats, nuts, and seeds rolled and toasted with maple syrup and brown butter for amazing homemade granola goodness. Get ready to stock your pantry!

granola in a blue bowl on a grey counter

Why Make Homemade Granola?

There’s something deeply satisfying about starting the day with homemade crunchy granola sprinkled on top of a cup of yogurt. It tastes amazing with brown butter and allows you to control the quality of ingredients and boost nutrition, which we think is huge.

Tailor the flavors to your liking with hand-selected ingredients for your dietary needs to enhance what you want and leave out what you don’t want. Choose high-quality rolled oats (I like Bob’s Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats), raw nuts and seeds, and unsulfured dried fruits, ensuring your granola is packed with nutrients instead of excess sugar.

Making your own granola mix is usually less expensive when boosting nutritional content with superfoods such as chia seeds, flaxseeds, or hemp hearts. These premium additions are cheaper when bought in bulk, contribute to the crunch, and provide a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and essential vitamins.

Raw granola mixed in a stainless steel bowl

Base Ingredients—Whole Oats, Raw Nuts & Seeds

Start with a base of traditional rolled oats, which provide the foundation for the granola’s crunchy texture. This whole grain adds fiber, protein, and an impressive list of vitamins and minerals like manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, folate, B1, B5, calcium, and potassium.
*Whole oats are naturally gluten-free, but you’ll want to be sure the package is specifically labeled gluten-free, as oats are often processed in facilities alongside wheat.
Include nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans to increase protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Nuts help to add flavor and a rich texture to the granola, too. *Adding hazelnuts in the fall gives it a unique seasonal flavor.
Mix in various seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax, hemp, sesame, or popped quinoa for a cravable crunch, along with healthy fats, vegetarian protein, fiber, and antioxidant polyphenols.
Stir in unsweetened coconut chips or flakes for a delicious toasted coconut flavor loaded with fiber, minerals, and healthy fats such as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs—an energy booster).

TIP: Unsweetened coconut is the ideal choice for nutritional benefits without added sugar. We like chips and flakes over shredded coconut for the heartier flavor and size that won’t shift to the bottom of the jar.

Natural Sweeteners—The Ties That Bind

Choose natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, or coconut palm sugar to bind the ingredients together and add a touch of sweetness. We love the flavor of maple syrup and add just a couple of tablespoons of coconut palm sugar for a less refined sugar with a deep brown sugar flavor.
Dried fruits will also add natural sweetness and a chewy texture to the granola, but you’ll want to mix these in after baking. The amount of sweetener can be adjusted when adding dried fruits to this recipe. *Dried fruits don’t help bind the other ingredients but provide additional fiber and polyphenol antioxidants.

TIP: Dried fruit can have sugar added, so reading the label is important to avoid this.

Healthy Fats—Crisp It Up and Slow Your Roll

Adding healthy fat to granola helps slow the digestion process of the carbs and is essential to achieve the crispy, crunchy texture we’re after in this recipe.

Here, we use brown butter for its remarkable flavor and nutritional benefits. Butter? Nutritious? Say what?!

Yes, butter has nutritional benefits, specifically conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and Butyrate (grass-fed butter has higher amounts than regular butter). Browning the butter adds a deep, toasty-nutty flavor that elevates any recipe, just like butternut squash noodles too!

Other healthy fat choices include coconut, olive, and avocado oils—these also work for texture and provide a more complex nutrient composition. Even though they won’t taste like brown butter alone, you can add a Brown Butter Flavored Extract to get some of that flavor (it’s vegan, too).

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Granola spread on baking pan ready for the oven

Flavor Enhancers—Let’s Get Creative

Cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt elevate the flavor profile of our brown butter maple granola because they complement oats and nuts beautifully. However, there are many ways to change this part of the recipe and give it a more unique experience.

More ways to customize your granola:

Chai spice mix
Pumpkin pie spice
Butterscotch extract
Cookie butter extract
Citrus, lavender, ginger, anise, or clove essential oils
Chili powder or chili flakes

Our Crunchy Brown Butter Maple Granola recipe is perfect when sprinkled over Greek yogurt or smoothie bowls or munched as a wholesome snack throughout the day.

The possibilities are endless, whether you prefer a classic combination of oats and nuts or want to experiment with exotic spices like cinnamon and cardamom.

TIP: Adding a pinch of salt enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients, even if you’re using salted butter.

How do you keep homemade granola crispy?

Bake at a low temperature (300°F) until lightly browned to allow moisture to evaporate.
Let it cool completely before storing.
Only use dried fruit that is less moist, like berries or raisins. Thicker, moist fruits can make granola soft once stored.

close up of golden baked granola on a sheet pan

TIPS and VARIATIONS

Coconut chips or flakes stay in the mix better than shredded
Reduce carbs: Add more nuts and seeds less oats
Reduce fats: Add more oats, less nuts and seeds, and replace part of the butter/oil with applesauce (may need to bake longer to brown)
Add protein: mix in 2 tablespoons of protein powder
Make it dairy-free with coconut or avocado oil and brown butter extract
Create small edible gifts—fill cute yogurt jars with homemade granola for bridal showers or Christmas
Store in an air-tight container in the pantry (I like mason jars) for up to 1 month without dried fruit; up to 2 weeks with dried fruit

Crunchy Brown Butter Maple Granola