Crunchy Pumpkin Spice Granola - Sally's Baking Addiction

In between all the pumpkin cookies and pumpkin pie during the fall season, it’s wonderfully refreshing to have a pumpkin spiced-treat that’s on the healthier side. I make this pumpkin spice granola all the time, swapping in new add-ins and goodies often. You’ll appreciate that the recipe is super customizable, so if you don’t like nuts or cranberries, for example, you can easily substitute.

Here’s Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Spice Granola:

• Quick & easy to make.
• Good-for-you wholesome ingredients.
• Crunchy! Yes, this granola is crunchy AND stays crunchy.
• Texture-packed and ready for your favorite add-ins.
• Big clusters, aka the best part of granola.
• Delicious with homemade pumpkin pie spice.
• Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and a touch of brown sugar.

This recipe has lived on my website since 2013 and it’s consistently a cozy Autumnal favorite. It’s by far the crunchiest, most flavorful pumpkin granola I’ve tried and I tested many variations to figure out the best ratio of ingredients.

Key Ingredients To Use & Why

• Oats: Old-fashioned whole rolled oats are key in this recipe, making up the bulk of the dry ingredients. I don’t recommend quick or instant oats here—you need whole.
• Egg Whites: Egg whites work as a binder in this recipe, holding the big granola clusters together before, during, and after baking. You need 2 large egg whites and if you’re using carton egg whites from the store, about 4 Tablespoons is plenty. Do not leave out the egg whites.
• Pumpkin: Canned pumpkin puree is ideal here. You won’t use the entire can, only 1/2 cup, so check out all of these recipes that use leftover pumpkin to get through the rest of your can.
• Coconut Oil: Do not leave this out! The fat keeps granola from turning into a mushy mess and adds crunch and richness to every cluster. You can use vegetable oil or melted butter instead if needed.
• Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup adds flavor and sweetness and you’ll appreciate that most of the sugar in this recipe is unrefined. Use honey or brown rice syrup instead if desired.
• Brown Sugar: I tested this granola without the brown sugar and sadly, it wasn’t very tasty—completely bland pumpkin. There’s only 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar total, which isn’t much divided over about 5+ cups of granola. The brown sugar will lightly caramelize over the oats. If you prefer, you can use coconut sugar instead.

Not a fan of pumpkin? You might enjoy this maple almond cranberry granola instead.

Add-Ins & Extras

The wonderful thing about this recipe, and many of my other granola recipes, is that you can mix and match your add-ins based on what you like and/or what you have on hand.

Here are some suggested substitutes and add-ins:

• If you don’t like unsweetened coconut, simply leave it out.
• Not a fan of dried cranberries? Use dried cherries, raisins, chopped dried apples, or leave them out completely.
• Can’t find pumpkin seeds, aka pepitas? Add more pecans or skip them completely.
• Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips to the granola as it cools.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder with the wet ingredients for chocolate pumpkin granola.

Mix the dry ingredients together, including the oats, spices, and some add-ins. Separately, mix the wet ingredients together and then pour over the dry ingredients:

Note: Add the dried cranberries AFTER baking; otherwise they will burn.

Success Tip: Don’t Crowd the Baking Sheet

Before baking, the pumpkin granola mixture is very wet. In order for it to bake properly and become crunchy, you must give the granola some breathing room on the lined baking sheet. My #1 piece of advice is to divide the granola mixture between two lined baking sheets. Spread it out into 1 even layer, with plenty of room. This lets the oven’s heat reach every single cluster.

Each bite of the granola tastes like lightly sweetened spiced pumpkin with toasted pecans and chewy dried cranberries. There are so many ways to enjoy this! Cereal-style with milk, spooned over yogurt or a smoothie bowl (like this pumpkin protein smoothie!), layered parfait-style with chopped apples and yogurt, or enjoy plain as a quick snack.

You could even use this as the crunchy topping on soft, maple vanilla baked pears. Delicious!

Some Other Healthy Fall Recipes

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