My Favorite Quick Granola Recipe
Crunchy homemade granola in about 15 minutes? Yes please. ♡
I’ve been baking homemade granola for years, but once I learned you could make it much more quickly it in the air fryer, I was completely hooked. It only takes about 10 minutes to cook, the oats toast beautifully, and you get those golden crunchy clusters without having to heat up the whole oven. Perfect for small batches or those moments when you suddenly realize you’re out of granola and want some stat!
This specific granola recipe is our family’s longtime favorite — hearty oats, toasted almonds and pecans, coconut, sunflower seeds, maple syrup and just enough cinnamon to make the whole kitchen smell amazing. It’s lightly sweet, perfectly crunchy, and delicious on its own or sprinkled over yogurt, milk, smoothie bowls. Our kids are currently on a major granola kick, so we make it regularly and it’s always such a winner.
Recipe Tips
This recipe is mercifully simple, but a few little tricks will help you get the best texture and flavor every time:
- Use old-fashioned oats. Rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) give granola the best hearty texture and crisp edges. Quick oats tend to cook too quickly and won’t give you those nice crunchy clusters.
- Line the air fryer basket with parchment. I recommend either cutting your own sheet of parchment paper to line the basket, or buy a set of pre-cut liners that fit your air fryer. (I love and use these liners with mine!)
- Stir once halfway through cooking. Air fryers circulate heat quickly, so giving the granola a quick toss halfway through helps everything toast evenly and prevents hot spots.
- Watch closely during the final minutes. Coconut flakes can brown quickly toward the end of cooking. Keep an eye on things during the last 2 minutes so the granola turns golden instead of overly dark. It will continue to crisp up more as it cools.
- Store it in an airtight container. Once cooled, granola will keep well in a sealed container at room temperature for about 1–2 weeks.
Recipe Variations
One of the best things about homemade granola is how easy it is to customize! Feel free to try any of these fun variations:
- Add dried fruit. Stir in dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, raisins, or dried cherries after the granola has cooled.
- Swap the nuts. Replace the almonds or pecans with walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, or pistachios.
- Add chocolate. Stir in chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate after the granola is completely cool.
- Add more warming spices. Add a pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, or ginger along with the cinnamon.
- Add extra seeds. Mix in pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, or hemp seeds for extra crunch.
FAQ
Yes, but you’ll probably need to cook it in batches depending on the size of your air fryer so the granola can spread in an even layer.
Press the granola mixture into a flat layer before cooking and stir gently (or not at all) during cooking. Let it cool completely before breaking it up.
Sure, honey works well and will give the granola a slightly different flavor and a bit more chew.
Air Fryer Granola
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat air fryer to 325°F.
- Toss. Line the basket with trimmed parchment. Add all dry ingredients and toss. In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Drizzle over the oat mixture and toss until evenly coated. (You can either mix everything directly in the air fryer or in a separate bowl.)
- Air fry. Spread in an even layer. Air fry for 9-11 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Watch closely during the final 2 minutes — coconut can brown quickly.
- Cool. Let cool completely before breaking up. It will crisp up more as it cools.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I love homemade granola so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it right away. It was simple, fast and DELICIOUS! My daughter and I could not stop snacking on it. Will definitely be making this on repeat, thank you!
WHAT TEMPERATURE DOES YOUR AIR FRYER COOK AT? THE ONE WE HAVE HAD TRAYS INSTEAD OF A BASKET, SO I’LL PROBABLY NEED TO COOK 1/2 OF RECIPE AT A TIME. BUT A TEMP NEEDS TO BE SET. LOOKS GREAT!
Cannot wait to try this! It’s so similar to the recipe I use. Love maple syrup as the sweetener and cinnamon is essential too for that warm flavor. The air fryer will crisp it up and takes less time. Perfect!