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This simple hazelnut granola starts by roasting and blending hazelnuts into homemade hazelnut butter, then doctoring the mixture with maple syrup, cinnamon, almond extract, and a special ingredient for the biggest, crunchiest granola clusters! It’s so simple to make, requires minimal ingredients, and can be customize with any type of nuts, spices, and add-ins you like. Easy!
I’ll be honest – we don’t eat a ton of granola. We love it, but I find it tends to turn into a snack very quickly. Since it’s usually loaded with oil and sugar, that can add up pretty fast!
That’s why I wanted to test out a few different versions to make homemade granola without any added oil.
Instead of using a bunch of melted coconut oil, why can’t we make your own oil by roasting and blending hazelnuts into creamy hazelnut butter? Making your own nut butter is super simple, preheats the oven, and brings out so much more flavor.
After trying it several times, I’m sold.
Most of the work happens in the food processor, I love the hazelnut flavor and crunchy hazelnuts mixed in, and it’s not too sweet. The dry granola will last for weeks in the pantry too, so it’s an easy way to ditch the grocery store and reduce your waste a bit, too. Win-win!
Why you’ll love this hazelnut granola recipe
- Much cheaper to make than store-bought granola
- Uses homemade hazelnut butter as the base instead of oil
- Lovely hazelnut flavor in every bite
- Minimally sweet (and easy to adjust to your preferences)
- Takes about 10 minutes of active effort
- Can easily be doubled!
- Makes a super simple breakfast on a busy morning
Ingredients
Old-fashioned oats – These are also called rolled oats. I don’t recommend quick oats for this.
Hazelnuts – These are used in two different ways: blended into hazelnut butter and then chopped to add extra crunch.
Pure maple syrup – You can certainly use honey, date syrup, agave syrup, or another sweetener if you prefer. I also like to make it without any sweetener!
Cinnamon – I go a little heavy on the cinnamon in this granola mix for plenty of warm spices. Feel free to use less.
Egg whites – You need something to help make those granola clusters nice and crunchy. The protein in the egg whites will create a crisp coating on the outside without requiring any extra oil. It’s the secret to perfect granola with lots of crunchy clusters without adding tons of oil.
Almond extract – I made my first batch with pure vanilla extract, which was good, but I wanted even more of a nutty flavor. Almond extract amps up that nuttiness and brings out the hazelnut even more.
Kosher or sea salt
Equipment
To make your own granola, you’ll need:
- Food processor
- Sheet pan (to roast the hazelnuts and dry out the granola)
- Medium mixing bowl
- Parchment paper
- Glass jar for storage
How to Make Hazelnut Granola
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, place the oats.
- Spread the hazelnuts in an even layer on the baking sheet and for 5-10 minutes or until they start to release their aroma. Be careful not to overbake or burn!
Make the hazelnut butter
- While still warm from the oven, transfer half of the hazelnuts to the food processor. Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides several times, until the mixture is liquid. If your food processor is large, it may not break down into a runny liquid. That’s okay. We’ll blend more when we add the remaining ingredients. While blending, chop the remaining hazelnuts and add them to the mixing bowl with the oats.
- Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and almond extract to the food processor with the nut butter and blend to incorporate. Scrape down the sides occasionally.
- If the mixture is hot, let it cool a few minutes before adding the egg whites. If it’s warm or at room temperature, go ahead and add it in and pulse just to combine (be careful not to mix it too much at this point).
Combine wet and dry ingredients
- Pour the hazelnut topping over the oat mixture in the bowl and stir well to combine.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread in an even layer. I recommend cutting down to the parchment with the side of your spoon as you spread and separate the individual clusters. You don’t want any sections to be too thick or the granola won’t become crunchy.
Bake and cool
- Bake at 300 F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275 F and bake for an extra 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to stir if you like large granola clusters.
- Turn off the oven and crack the door open to release the heat gradually for 30 minutes to and hour. As the granola sits in the oven, it will continue to dry out and become nice and crunchy.
- Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool to room temperature. Serve or store in an airtight container to enjoy later!
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Storing Suggestions
Once baked and cooled, the granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Make sure it is fully baked and crunchy or you will end up with a soft, chewy mixture.
How do you get large clusters of homemade granola?
The short answer: don’t stir! This is the best way to get larger clusters. I used to stir my homemade granola halfway throughout the baking time and was frustrated that the oats would separate out into fine pieces.
I started focusing on prepping the granola properly – spreading the mixture in an even layer, using the side of the spoon to separate out the clusters, and baking at a lower heat than normal.
If you follow these steps and are careful to let the granola to cool gradually, you’ll end up with lots of big clusters!
Tips & Variations
- This hazelnut butter granola can easily be made with other types of nut butters, like my roasted cinnamon pecan butter, walnut butter, almond butter, etc. If you can’t eat tree nuts, use sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
- Add your favorite toppings. I don’t usually add a lot of extras to my homemade granola. If I want to add some, I add them separately to the bowl. But you can make a serve-and-go granola by adding coconut flakes, dark chocolate chunks or chips, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, dried cherries or cranberries, and more.
How to Serve
We like to serve homemade granola over a bowl of plain Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, like sliced apples, berries, bananas, and more.
It can also be served with a splash of milk, sprinkled over ice cream or smoothie bowls, and really anyway you’d like! Like I mentioned above, we tend to eat it by the handful because it’s so good.
Related Recipes
- Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts
- White Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
- Hazelnut Simple Syrup
- Creamy Hazelnut Vinaigrette
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment or ask a question below! I’d love to hear what you think or troubleshoot any issues.
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Easy Hazelnut Granola with Maple Cinnamon
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- glass mason jar
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup whole hazelnuts, shelled
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt, if using fine or table salt, use about half as much
- 1 tsp almond extract, or vanilla extract
- 3 T egg whites, the whites of approximately 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, place the oats.
- Spread the hazelnuts in an even layer on the baking sheet and for 5-10 minutes or until they start to release their aroma. Be careful not to overbake or burn!
Make the hazelnut butter
- While still warm from the oven, transfer half of the hazelnuts to the food processor. Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides several times, until the mixture is liquid. If your food processor is large, it may not break down into a runny liquid. That’s okay. We’ll blend more when we add the remaining ingredients. While blending, chop the remaining hazelnuts and add them to the mixing bowl with the oats.
- Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and almond extract to the food processor with the nut butter and blend to incorporate. Scrape down the sides occasionally.
- If the mixture is hot, let it cool a few minutes before adding the egg whites. If it’s warm or at room temperature, go ahead and add it in and pulse just to combine (be careful not to mix it too much at this point).
Combine wet and dry ingredients
- Pour the hazelnut topping over the oat mixture in the bowl and stir well to combine.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread in an even layer. I recommend cutting down to the parchment with the side of your spoon as you spread and separate the individual clusters. You don’t want any sections to be too thick or the granola won’t become crunchy.
Bake and cool
- Bake at 300 F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275 F and bake for an extra 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to stir if you like large granola clusters.
- Turn off the oven and crack the door open to release the heat gradually for 30 minutes to and hour. As the granola sits in the oven, it will continue to dry out and become nice and crunchy.
- Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool to room temperature. Serve or store in an airtight container to enjoy later!
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