Gingerbread Granola
Irresistible spiced granola with the flavors of gingerbread, including molasses, ginger and cinnamon.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
It’s no wonder my dear mom always complained about my messes. “But I just cleaned that!” she’d say with a long sigh. I was a hands-on kid, always coming up with grand schemes for new projects and taking over the kitchen table just before dinner. I was a little tornado who paid no heed to the clean-up required in my aftermath.
These days, I am just a grown-up version of that little tornado, stretched to 5 feet and 7 inches tall but no less destructive. Just yesterday, in the process of making this granola, I managed to absent-mindedly spill half a bottle of vanilla extract in the kitchen, and thirty minutes later, a half cup of coconut flakes all over the sunroom. At least my assistant helped clean up the latter. I then piled up granola bowl dishes in my sink and promptly sprayed fresh pomegranate juice all over my just-cleaned countertops.
I now understand why my mother always complained that cleaning up after myself could be a full-time job. It’s the truth. Speaking of which, I’m now accepting applications for interns.
I promised you this granola three whole weeks ago and thought I just might manage to get it to you in time for the weekend. It would be a great way to spend a few minutes of down time on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, and the resulting batch will make plenty for hurried breakfasts during the work week. It’s full of my favorite winter-time ingredients—warming spices, candied ginger, pecans and maple syrup—and irresistibly crisp-ity crunch-ity.
Gingerbread Granola
Irresistible spiced granola with the flavors of gingerbread, including molasses, ginger and cinnamon. Sweetened with maple syrup and dried cranberries, this granola is gluten free as long as you use gluten-free oats. Recipe yields 8 cups granola.
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups raw pecans and/or walnuts
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup melted coconut oil (or olive oil)
- ⅓ cup real maple syrup
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup large, unsweetened coconut flakes* (optional)
- ⅓ cup chopped dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup chopped candied ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts, salt, cinnamon and ground ginger. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the oil, maple syrup, molasses and vanilla. Turn the granola out onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and top with coconut flakes (if using). Stir up the mixture to make sure the granola cooks evenly.
- Return the pan to the oven for 8 to 11 more minutes, or until the granola is lightly golden on top. It will continue to crisp up as it cools.
- Top the granola with the chopped cranberries and candied ginger. Let the granola cool before breaking it into pieces and enjoying.
- Store the granola in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for 1 to 2 weeks. Store in the refrigerator for longer shelf life.
Notes
Recipe roughly based on master granola maker Megan Gordan’s base granola recipe, via The Kitchn.
Serving suggestions: I like to serve this granola with yogurt or milk and sweet winter fruit, such as broiled grapefruit, orange slices or pomegranate arils.
Nut details: Raw nuts are preferable, but if you want to use pre-roasted nuts in this granola, mix them in after baking the granola. (They are liable to burn if you bake them along with the other ingredients.)
*Where to buy coconut flakes: Look for them in the baking section at Whole Foods, health food stores or well-stocked grocery stores. The brands I see most often are “Let’s Do Organic” (green package) and Bob’s Red Mill.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Seriously delicious, and your instructions make it so easy. These are some of my family’s favorite flavors, so the ingredients are usually on-hand. Hopefully I’ll never have to go back to store-bought granola again!
Yay, glad to hear it! Thank you!
Absolutly love this granola recipe. I’ve made and shared with my friends and they rave about it! Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing! :)
I’m so excited for this. It’s in my oven as I type. I did make a mistake in my pregnant haste. I mixed it all together! Hopefully it will turn out for not baking the cranberries, nuts and coconut later in the baking time.
I hope it turned out well for you, McKell!
This Granola is Wicked Good!!!!! Smells so good and not overly sweet!!! Tis the season its such a fall and holiday flavor….Thanks for sharing this recipe …
Thank you, Tami!
this was delicious and so quick to make. I added some ground flax seed, too.
Thank you, Tori!
How much would you recommend using for each serving? I adore making granola, but usually it all gets gobbled up by the men or used as gifts, so serving sizes are a new phenomenon for me as well as getting to actually eat a full serving of my recipe rather than the remnants left over from the military snack attack that occurs! haha!
Hmmm, I’d say the serving size is entirely dependent upon your appetite! I probably add 1/3 cup to my yogurt in the morning. Maybe you can hide a bag of granola in the freezer? :)
Made this at the weekend! Absoloutely love it especially for the winter season!
Thanks, Emma! Happy to hear it!
Hi, can I make into bars with this recipe?
thank you.
Hi Star, I think you could take this recipe, skip the orange and substitute a little molasses for some of the honey.
I am thinking about replacing the nuts with another gluten free cereal like Chex to keep the balance of wet/dry correct since I cannot eat nuts. Do you think this would work?
Hi JC, I think that would work! Other options would be to substitute pepitas (those green pumpkin seeds, if you can eat seeds) and/or add more coconut flakes or oats.
Wonderful granola recipe! I added some good quality dried apricots to one batch of this recipe – they worked very well with the dried cranberries and candied ginger.
Will have to try this granola recipe next. I’m a fool for gingerbread. Will have to finish up the holiday granola I recently made from a recipe from my new roots. I recounted my own experiences making granola for the first time at http://www.cookingthekitchen.com/granola-first-time/
Can’t wait to try this new recipe. I am definitely hooked on making my own granola.
Made this today and am SO looking forward to breakfast in the morning! Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! Thanks, Stephanie!
I am a huge fan of your “regular” granola recipe! Make a batch every week or two and have given as gifts. It’s absolutely perfect. Thought I would try the gingerbread version today, but it didn’t turn out well. It seemed as though there was too much molasses/maple syrup maybe—so there was a sticky, chewy layer on the bottom. I’m pretty sure I had the amounts right because I really noticed how they compared to the base recipe. Just seemed like it was too wet and sticky a mixture. Debating whether to give it one more try with the molasses and maple syrup adding up to half a cup. I love the idea of giving gingerbread vs regular granola as gifts this year!
I made this the other day and it made the house smell truly amazing! It got cold again so it felt like a good time to make some. The only odd thing was that some of the oats became very hard after baking, and are really too crunchy. Others are fine, and none of them look burned. Do you have an idea of why this might have happened? I didn’t have molasses at home so just used a little more maple syrup – other than that, I followed the recipe. Thanks!
Hmm, I can’t say I’ve experienced that. Were those maybe the oats around the edges of the pan? Maybe try stirring the granola twice while it’s baking, rather than just once.
Thanks! I’ve also never had that happen before but I recently moved so maybe my new oven is particularly uneven!
I know this recipe was posted long ago, but it is still my absolute favorite thing I ever discovered on Pinterest. I think I’ve made it 100 times. Your entire site is delightful but this is by far my favorite.
Delicious, and my favorite combination of flavors. I keep this in the fridge and make it often. Love that your granola recipe comes together so quickly and doesn’t take hours of fussy baking time like other granola recipes.
My sister and I made the gingerbread granola yesterday and loved it, really tasty and easy.
Everyone in my houssehold has agreed this is the best granola/cereal out there!
Also, I wanted to tell you how wonderful all of your recipes are. I have tried several and they have all been my favorites. They’re very convinent for me because you already use substitutions in your recipes (honey, coconut oil, almond milk, ect) that I usually have to try in other recipes and not all turn out as well with the substitutions. Thanks for your words and recipes!
I just finished making your gingerbread granola recipe and it is fabulous!!!
I put 1/8 cup of sugar in my batch instead of part of the maple syrup, and my granola burned! Do you think the sugar made it do that? I tried some raw and it was phenomenal, so I definitely want to try it again and get a tasty finished product! Thanks for your delicious recipes!
Hi Amanda, that could definitely explain it, since there was less moisture to evaporate in your version. Yours was probably ready to leave the oven a lot sooner than this one.
Just made this granola, but I took a little leeway with it. I used pumpkin pie spice that I made from this recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pumpkin-pie-spice-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-69245
Out of coconut and wanting to use pumpkin and sunflower seeds, i subbed those for part of the oats and the coconut. This is a great recipe and I recommend people trying it. Thank you!
Hi – If I wanted to cut down on the sweetness a bit, could I sub some grated fresh ginger for the candied?
Made Gingerbread granola for Christmas this year! Love it!
This is delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe. My daughter asked me to make a batch to send to her in college, so I just made it yesterday and sent it off today. I was worried it would be too sweet, but it isn’t. It’s just right for my tastes!
Aw, what a great Mom you are! I’m glad the two of you enjoy it.
I made your Healthy Granola yesterday and it was wonderful and we ate it for breakfast with milk today. I stopped @ Whole Foods today to get some dried cherries to make your Gingerbread Granola. They only had tart dried cherries.They gave me a sample and they were oh so sour. Surely you do not add these tart, sour dried cherries.
Hi Aline, I’m so glad you enjoyed the granola! I actually really love tart dried cherries, but if you don’t, I’d go with dried cranberries!
Kate,
I absolutely love this Gingerbread Granola Recipe. I don’t know why I never made it before.
I have made this multiple times now and sharing it with friends and family. Everyone loves it. The ginger adds spice and the nuts are crunchy and good.
Thank you for sharing this!
Angie
You’re welcome, Angie!
Absolutely amazing !
:) Thank you!
I would love to see you make a pumpkin spiced granola!
Loved this! My fiancé even asked for a second batch so we could keep some home since the first is going to thanksgiving. I only like ginger slightly but it mixed very well with this recipe. Thank you!
That is great! Thank you, Liz. If you wouldn’t mind leaving a star review since you liked it so much, I would appreciate it.
Leaving a 5 star review – my fiancé loved by it so much he wanted me to make a second batch so I could both give some to my family and leave some home. Thanks again!
Thank you, Liz!
This is SO good! I actually spent today making 9x the recipe to give as gifts (it filled a 19 quart stockpot!) and I keep sneaking little scoops. Hope I have some left for us… ;) . Excellent recipe, I followed it exactly as directed and it turned out perfectly. Thanks!
I think that is the cook’s right! Thanks for your comment and review, Victoria. What a fun gift!
How long will the granola stay “fresh” without becoming stale? I’m looking to jar portions as gifts. Thanks for all your amazing recipes!
Hi Laura – In the last part of the instructions I have provided storage suggestions. Store the granola in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for 1 to 2 weeks. Store in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. Hope this helps!
This recipe is fantastic! Might be my new favorite food. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Hello from the UK! I love your gingerbread granola recipe as I’m a massive ginger fan. Just one question- when you say candied ginger, do you mean crystallised (ie the dried cubes coated in sugar) or stem ginger (ie the sort that comes in syrup). I’ve been using the former as I assume the latter might be too gooey. But I might be adding more sugar to the granola than necessary. Any thoughts on what works best? I’m a big fan of your blog and book by the way. It’s my go-to cook book and sits permanently on my cookery book stand. My daughter introduced me to your blog and now my sister and mother are also big fans. Keep up the great work!
Hi Laurie, thanks for your note! I’m happy to hear that you and your family have been enjoying my recipes. I’m sorry for the confusion on this recipe. I meant crystallised ginger, so you’ve been using the right thing!
I love anything gingerbread, except burnt gingerbread. I don’t see how 30 minutes at 350* can possibly be correct. I tried this recipe for the second time today and at 10 minutes top rack then 10 minutes bottom rack the edges are already starting to burn. I removed the burnt edges and it was perfect. So my recommendation is 10 minutes top rack, take out and sprinkle cranberries ontop if like me you like your cranberries a little more chewy, probably be a good time to add the coconut as well, then back in the oven on the bottom rack for 8 or 9 minutes.
I’m a sucker for all things gingerbread so I’ll be making this when we finish our current batch of homemade granola.
I love it! Thanks for sharing, Melissa!
Hello Kate,
I’d love to make this granola but am wondering what i can use as a substitute for the pecans\walnuts. I have diverticulosis and unfortunately cannot eat nuts. Thank You Kate! I love your recipes! Such delicious, healthy food. Look forward to hearing from you.
Joanne
Great question, Joanne! I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are great in my other granola recipes. I hope this helps! Let me know what you think.
I made some for a gift and just made more today (doubled recipes)! Soooo delicious! I did cook it a bit longer. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
I made my own candied ginger, then reduced the maple syrup and molasses, and added some of the ginger syrup left over from making the candy. Best granola I think I’ve ever had. I think dried mango in place of the cranberries would be amazing also!
That sounds great, Cheryl! Thanks for your review.
Thanks for the recipe! My husband and I both eat it every day on top of some plain greek yogurt (delicious and super easy breakfast). The sweetness of the granola balances out the tartness of the yogurt perfectly. I did change the recipe a little though to make it a bit more like a molasses cookie recipe I love. Instead of only 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of ginger, I put: 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1 tsp cloves.
Thanks again for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Greek yogurt sounds like a great way to have this. Thanks for sharing, Alexa.
Could it be made without the oil?
The oil helps get it to get the clumpy results.
I love this granola. I eat as a snack and with yogurt.
Thank you for your review, Penny!
My favorite recipe for Granola!
Thank you, Mary!
I added a few drops of orange oil to the liquids! Amazing! Next time I need to double, I mean, triple the batch!
Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing, Carrie.
Hi Katie, do you think I could make this without molasses? What if I subbed in something like tahini instead to give it that ‘sticky’ quality? Thanks – love your recipes.
Hi Hillary, this one was specifically designed for molasses. I don’t believe tahini will get you a great result. Possibly try one of my other granola recipes instead: https://sooka.info/search/?q=granola
I have been using this recipe for 5 years as a Christmas gift for family and friends. I make a quadruple batch each year. Two adjustments I make: halve the salt, and double the spices. A huge hit – awesome recipe!
How fun! I love you have been making this for awhile.
I made it, with a little tweaking of my own!
The first time I made this, I didn’t have enough coconut oil so I substituted with canola and sesame oils. The next time I used coconut oil and wondered why it tasted funny. So I added a bit of sesame oil. This nutty oil really enhances the flavor of an otherwise great recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Cindy!
So yummy! Thank you!
I made this recipe and LOVED it! I made a few adjustments though…I added 2 teaspoons of my homemade gingerbread spice recipe. I use this is my coffee also, the gingerbread spice, I love it. I also did not read the directions properly and added the candied ginger before baking. It melted, and was mixed in. It is really tasty though, but next time I will add the ginger afterwards. At any rate, this recipe is a winner! Thank you for sharing!
We aren’t big nut people, so I subbed Grape Nuts cereal for the nuts. When I ate this with my homemade plain yogurt, I almost cried because IT.IS.SO.GOOD!!! Thank you so much!