Large Clump Granola
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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 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
- Don’t stir. Don’t stir while it’s baking; don’t stir after you remove it from the oven.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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:
How to Make Large-Clump Granola
First, gather your ingredients. Combine rolled oats, almonds, millet, unsweetened coconut, sea salt, maple syrup, and oil (melted coconut oil or a neutral oil such as grapeseed) in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
Spread onto a parchment-lined sheetpan.
Bake until evenly and lightly golden.
Let cool completely; then break into shards.
Store in an airtight vessel at room temperature.
Large Clump Granola
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups
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 grapeseed oil or other neutral oil or melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275ºF.
- In a large bowl, toss together the millet, oats, coconut flakes, almonds and salt. Pour in the maple syrup and oil. Stir to coat.
- 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.
- Do not stir: As in: Do not stir during the cooking process or when it comes out of the oven.
- 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 grapeseed oil or coconut oil (melted)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
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251 Comments on “Large Clump Granola”
I used quinoa since I didn’t have millet and it was delicious! Question about the salt: I dont have Maldon or sea salt. I subbed the same amount Morton Coarse Kosher salt and it was a tad but salty for me. What amount kosher salt would you suggest? Could I just use table salt? What amount table salt would you suggest? This recipe will become a staple in our kitchen. We love it! Thanks!
Great to hear Marilyn! Morton Coarse Kosher salt definitely is on the salty side. I typically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and when I can’t find it and find myself using Morton’s, I always have to adjust, because I inevitably make everything too salty. Yes, you can use table salt or a smaller amount of the kosher salt you are using. I would do no more than 1.5 teaspoons. You could even start with a teaspoon or 1.25 teaspoons.
Wonderful granola! We’ve made it many times.
One question…is there another ingredient that could be substituted for the millet? The tiny grains get stuck in our teeth and so we are wondering if something else could be used instead.
Hi Diana! Great to hear. I think you could use really any seed — sunflower or pumpkin seeds might work best. I know some people have used quinoa, but quinoa is also small and might cause the same issue.
This came out wonderful. Had this bookmarked for a while but finally got around making it over the weekend. Simple instructions, and easy to follow.
Made some changes to the mix – didn’t have millet so substituted with a mix of black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds and chia seeds. Also added some diced dates and raisins for added sweetness. This recipe sure allows to experiment a bit so long suggested proportions are generally adhered to.
Great to hear, Mike! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes, especially about the millet, which lots of people have a hard time finding or simply don’t like.
Mike – when did you add the raisins and dates? I’m wanting to make super clumpy granola with dried fruit embedded, but don’t want to burn it. Curious how you did it because this recipe is incredible!
Oh my goodness…I was so excited to make this recipe, and I’m still giving it 5 stars, but I’m SOOOOO sad! A friend shared her granola with me about two years ago, and I’ve been waiting to make this for so long because I could never find millet locally.
Welp…I made two giant batches of the granola, using pecans instead of almonds, and it was all ruined due to the millet! Evidently millet needs to be rinsed or it can leave a bitter taste!!! Please, do not use millet, or rinse it first!!!! I’m so sad…I was eager to make this for my mother, but there’s no way she’ll eat it. Oh well! 🙁
But I do absolutely love the recipe!!! Evidently the original batch gifted to me didn’t have millet, and I see most people do not use it.
Tia, I’m so bummed to hear this, but also confused: I’ve never rinsed millet, and I’ve never had it ruin a batch… maybe some millet can be bitter, but I’ve never had an issue, and I’ve only ever used millet in it. I’m so sorry you ruined your batches 🙁 🙁 🙁
I made this granola today. It was delicious with lovely large clumps once baked and cooled. It was so easy to make and store cupboard-friendly. I didn’t have millet, so added puffed quinoa and some sunflower seeds that needed using up. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Great to hear, Eth! Thanks so much for writing and for sharing all of these notes — sounds delicious 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wow, I think this is our new forever granola recipe–love it!
I added a pinch of Ceylon cinnamon and the zest of a lemon but otherwise followed as written. And it took about 1.25 hours at 250 (fan/convection setting) in our oven. Hurrah for not having to stir it!
Yum! And yay 🙂 All sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing these notes.
This granola is most excellent! Don’t think I’ll ever be buying any again. Didn’t have millet, put in roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds instead. I’ve found that it satisfies my craving for sweets. Although it is a little bit addictive…!
Great to hear! More and more these days we use seeds other than millet. So glad you like this one 🙂 Thanks for writing!
Oh my goodness, Ali; another winner! I just made this using what I had on hand. Sub’d cashews for the almonds and pumpkin seeds for the millet. Used 3/4 C. honey in place of the maple syrup and added 1/2 C. chopped crystalized ginger. Used the coconut oil. So good! The problem is we can’t stop eating it. Thanks again for your great recipes. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve directed to your blog. Keep the hits coming!
So nice to read all of this, Karen! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes — so helpful for others looking to adapt the recipe to what they have on hand or to their tastes and preferences. I love this one with cashews, and my husband prefers other seeds to the millet.
Hi! If I was using whole almonds (not slivered) and coconut shreds (not sliced pieces), how much do I put in? Also, where can I find millet, do you have any recommendations? If I can’t get my hands on it, what’s the best sub and in what ratio? I read in the comments that people tried pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and quinoa, but I wanted to see what you’d suggest and in what quantity. Thank you so much!
Hi! Do you have a digital scale?
Millet can be hard to find — it’s usually in the “natural foods” section of grocery stores or you can find it in the bulk-food sections of some grocery stores/co-ops. As others have noted, pumpkin and sunflower seeds are great subs.
love the recipe. For those having a hard time finding millet, if you live near an amish community and they sell bulk goods you can probably find it there. I combine my wet ingredients first along with items in small quantities like the cinnamon so I can mix it all thoroughly before adding the oats. I add the millet and the nuts to the wet ingredients before I add the oats and make sure they are thoroughly coated as I found if I didn’t the millet was all over the place and it was just easier and held together better if I did this before adding the oats. I also let the batch sit for about 20 minutes so the oats could absorb the wet ingredients and I think that helped at least for me for things to hold together more. I sprinkled the sea salt and on half the batch I topped with some dark chocolate chips. Its a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Great to hear, Jan! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of these notes. So helpful for others 🙂
Today is the third time I have made this recipe with the only addition of dried cranberries after it has cooled. So, so, so good on my plain yogurt or even as a quick snack.
Great to hear, Marijke! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
How am I just now finding this gem?! I was on the hunt for a quick breakfast item for a teacher appreciation day at my youngest’s daycare and this was perfect. I used quinoa instead of millet because that’s what I had and got 2 half gallon mason jars filled. So now both daycare and my kindergartner’s teachers are getting this fabulous homemade granola with yogurt, fresh berries, and honey for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks again for another winner!
That is the nicest gift… wish I had thought of this this morning as it was also teacher appreciation day at my youngest’s school today. Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this. So glad quinoa worked 🙂