Honey Almond Granola

With gluten-free honey oat clusters and whole almonds, this Honey Almond Granola is ultra crunchy, easy to make and requires just 8 ingredients!

If you haven’t tried making homemade granola yet, I highly recommend giving it a try! While there are plenty of granola options to buy at the grocery store, making your own means you get to control the ingredients that go into it and it saves you money too!

This almond granola recipe requires just 8 ingredients and takes less than 25 minutes to bake up in the oven. The whole almonds are perfect for creating crunchy clusters and the light hint of cinnamon pairs well with the honey.

My favorite way to enjoy this granola (or any granola) is on top of smoothie bowls, but I’ve also been known to just snack on it by the handful (and sometimes straight from the pan)!

This granola recipe is actually inspired by one of my favorites – peanut butter granola, which has peanut butter oat clusters, honey and dark chocolate chips.

If you’re looking for other homemade granola recipes to try, this maple walnut granola is a delicious refined sugar-free option, and this savory pecan granola is perfect for sprinkling on salads or soups.

Why you’ll love this almond honey granola

• It’s gluten-free, as long as you use certified gluten-free oats.
• It will last for up to 10 days in the pantry, or you can even freeze it, so it’s great for meal prep.
• You only need 8 ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry.
• It’s super easy to make, taking just 5 minutes to come together.

Details on the ingredients

*Below is an overview of the ingredients for this granola. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities used.

Oats – To keep the recipe gluten-free, you’ll want to make sure your oats are certified gluten-free. I normally use old fashioned oats as the large flakes create better clusters in the granola, but you can also use quick cooking rolled oats in a pinch.

Almonds – I always have whole almonds on hand for snacking, and they make the perfect granola clusters in this recipe. Be sure to use raw almonds, and not roasted. The additional oil in roasted almonds may cause the granola to burn.

Almond butter- To add some almond flavor and a buttery texture to the granola, you’ll need natural, unsalted almond butter. I like to use smooth, but you can also use crunchy.

Coconut sugar – Just 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar is added for a little sweetness and helps crisp up the granola. You can substitute brown sugar, if you prefer.

Cinnamon – A little ground cinnamon pairs nicely with the almond and honey flavors. Feel free to use another warm spice like a pinch of ginger, cloves or nutmeg.

Honey – You’ll need 3 1/2 tablespoons of honey, which acts as a sweetener, adds flavor and also helps the clusters stick together. 

Coconut oil – To achieve the crunchy clusters, 1/4 cup of virgin, cold pressed coconut oil is melted with the almond butter and honey and added to the granola mixture.

Salt – Just ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt helps add flavor contrast and takes some edge off the sweetness. I think some flaky sea salt sprinkled on top once the granola comes out of the oven would also be delicious. 

How to make homemade honey almond granola

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt. 

In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the almond butter, coconut oil and 3 tablespoons of honey. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until the mixture is smooth and runny.

Add the honey mixture to the oat mixture and stir until there are no dry oat flakes.

Spread the granola mixture out on the baking sheet and press it into the pan. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of honey over the top.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until the granola starts to brown on the edges. Do not stir while baking. (Start checking on the granola at around 15 minutes).

Remove from the oven and let cool completely before breaking into clusters and storing in an airtight container.

Frequently asked questions

Key recipe tips

• Parchment paper. I recommend using parchment paper when making granola. It makes clean-up easy and ensures the granola will not stick to the pan. This is especially important with all the sticky honey in this recipe.
• Lighter pan. In my experience, darker sheet pans tend to brown food more quickly. To prevent the granola from burning, I normally use a lighter colored sheet pan. (Even the gold pan pictured above browned the granola a bit too much). If you only have a dark pan, just make sure you check on the granola while it bakes to ensure it doesn’t burn.
• Let cool completely. To achieve the crunchiest clusters, let the granola fully cool on the baking sheet before breaking it into pieces.

Recipe variations

• Replace the coconut sugar with brown sugar.
• Instead of almond butter, you can use another type of nut or seed butter.
• For a vegan option, substitute maple syrup or agave syrup for the honey.
• I used almonds with the skins on, but you can use blanched almonds, or even almond slivers or sliced almonds. Just be sure to keep an eye on the granola as it may brown a little faster.
• For extract almond flavor, try adding 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract.

How to serve homemade granola

• Sprinkle it on a bowl of yogurt and fruit or over some air fryer pears.
• Stir it into smoothies or smoothie bowls.
• Enjoy it like cereal with the milk of your choice.
• Use it as a topping for this pineapple coconut chia pudding, this cherry chia pudding or this oat milk chia pudding.

If you make this honey almond granola, please leave a comment and rating below to let me know how it turned out!

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