This granola is a staple in our house: my children are never happier than when they walk into the kitchen to find a freshly baked batch cooling on a sheet pan. Seasoned with maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and sea salt, and loaded with nuts and seeds, this granola is not only super tasty but healthy to boot. Read below to find my tips for making excellent large-clump granola.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago in the Bircher muesli post, this granola is a staple in our house, one treat my kids never tire of, a great healthy breakfast or after school snack.

Four Tips for Making Granola that Clumps

  1. Don’t stir. Don’t stir while it’s baking; don’t stir after you remove it from the oven.
  2. Bake at a lower temperature. I bake this granola at 275ºF for 45 minutes to an hour or until it’s lightly golden all around. The lower temperature allows the granola to brown slowly and evenly without having to stir.
  3. Once you remove the granola from the oven, let it cool completely on its sheetpan — this allows it to crisp up further and set. Once cool, you can break the granola into big ragged shards.
  4. Parchment paper sheets: Parchment paper prevents the granola from sticking to the pan and therefore allows it to break away into big chunks. Save the sheets and use them again and again — store the used sheets in a bag.
A jar of granola.

Large-Batch Granola

If you’re going through the process of making granola, I don’t think there’s any point in making anything other than a large batch. With that in mind, here’s one final tip:

  • Invest in a single large sheetpan: I love these 15x21x1-inch sheetpans. The below recipe yields nearly 3 quarts of granola. You can spread the granola over two standard sheet pans, but a single large sheetpan makes the process easier.

PS: Homemade muesli + Bircher muesli, another staple:

Homemade muesli and granola — these two breakfast cereals are staples in our house.

How to Make Large-Clump Granola

First, gather your ingredients. I love using melted coconut oil here but often I use grapeseed oil or canola oil (or other neutral oil) for simplicity.

coconut oil

Combine rolled oats, almonds, millet, unsweetened coconut, sea salt, maple syrup, and coconut oil in a large bowl. Toss to combine.

ready for oven

Spread onto a parchment-lined sheetpan.

pre-baking

Bake until evenly and lightly golden.

just out of oven

Let cool completely; then break into shards.

granola clumps
This coconut granola is a staple in our house — a double batch never lasts a full week — and while sometimes it's tempting to buy granola at the store, I've yet to find a good one. // alexandracooks.com
jar of granola

Store in an airtight vessel at room temperature.

A bowl of coconut oil granola.
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coconut oil granola

Coconut Oil Granola (Large Clump)

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Description

You can bake this granola on two sheetpans, rotating them halfway through the cooking. OR, bake the entire batch on a large 15x21x1-inch sheetpan.

Parchment paper sheets — can’t say enough about them. Save them and use them again and again — I fold mine up and stick them in a ziplock bag.

The recipe halves well, too. See notes below the recipe for those proportions. 

 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (160 g) whole millet
  • 4 cups (408 g) oats (not instant)
  • 1 1/2 cups (100 g) unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 1/2 cups (220 g) sliced almonds
  • 2 teaspoons (7 g) sea salt, such as Maldon
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted), grapeseed oil or canola oil (often I use grapeseed oil for simplicity)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF.
  2. In a large bowl, toss together the millet, oats, coconut flakes, almonds and salt. Pour in the maple syrup and coconut oil. Stir to coat.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the oat mixture out on it. Place it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to hour, or until the edges look slightly dark. Note: As soon as you start smelling it, start checking it. This may take you 30 minutes; it may take you an hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven and baking pan. Really try to use the visual cues: lightly golden throughout with slightly darker edges.
  4. Do not stir: As in: Do not stir during the cooking process or when it comes out of the oven.   
  5. Let the mixture cool completely on sheet pan. When ready to store, lift up edges of parchment to loosen the granola — this will create nice big shards. Transfer shards to storage container. Pour in remaining granola — it will inevitably break into smaller pieces.

Notes

For a half recipe, use these proportions:

  • 1/2 cup (102 g) whole millet
  • 2 cups (204 g) oats (not instant)
  • 3/4 cup (48 g) unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 1/4 cups (128 g) sliced almonds
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil (melted), grapeseed oil or canola oil
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: granola, oats, millet, coconut, coconut oil, maple syrup, sea salt