Chunky Granola With Dates and Pecans
This homemade chunky granola recipe is loaded with dates and pecans. Tastier and much healthier than store-bought, its delicious eaten as a cereal, sprinkled on yogurt or eaten plain!
When I was younger, my mom would make homemade granola all the time. So when I got married and had a little family of my own, I decided to try and make granola as well! I don’t know why, but I can never get my mom’s recipes to turn out right (maybe she wasn’t sticking to the recipe herself).
My homemade granola had rock hard raisins and some burnt bits. Like, so hard your teeth felt like they might come out as you chewed! Frustrated, I gave up on making my own granola for a few years.
When I did, decide to try again, I was a few years more experienced in the kitchen and knew how to play around with ingredients. After trial and error, I came up with this homemade granola recipe with dates and pecans that my whole family is crazy about.
If you love chunky granola with clusters, you have to give this a try! My kids eat it with homemade yogurt parfaits topped with fruit, in a bowl with milk or by the handful. The dates give it a really nice chewy texture and the big pieces of pecans are crispy and delicious.
Why Make Your Own Homemade Granola?
It takes less than an hour to make enough healthy granola for snacks and breakfasts for a week or two!
You know exactly what is in homemade granola made from scratch. If your family members have any food intolerances, you will know for sure if you are feeding them anything that will bother their tummies.
Most store-bought granola contains processed sugar and partially hydrogenated oils that can lead to heart disease. This homemade granola is sweetened with honey and maple syrup instead of granulated sugar. And coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.
When you make your own granola, its easy to swap out the spices, nuts and fruits for flavors you prefer.
How To Make Homemade Granola Clump
Baking homemade granola on a lower temperature so that it can bake longer to dry out better and clump up. Using enough honey also helps it to stick together.
Let the granola cool completely on the cookie sheet before breaking it into chunks.
Chunky Granola With Dates and Pecans
Ingredients:
- Honey – Raw honey is best
- Maple Syrup – For delicious maple flavor
- Sea Salt – Because sea salt enhances all the other flavors and sea salt is just great in everything
- Cinnamon – Cinnamon gives this granola a delicious punch of spice
- Coconut Oil – I like to use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil in homemade granola because its better for you
- Vanilla – Homemade vanilla extract just brings this whole recipe to a whole new level of yummy
- Old Fashioned Oats – Can’t have granola without oats!
- Dates – Medjool dates are a great source of potassium and fiber. They add a chewy texture to this granola
- Pecans – I love using halved pecans in granola because they taste delicious baked in the oven with the honey and maple syrup.
How to Make Chunky Granola With Dates
Prep – Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir – In a large bowl, stir together all of the wet ingredients making sure they are mixed well. Then add in the remaining ingredients, til fully combined.
Bake – Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until it looks lightly golden all over.
Cool – Dump the granola onto a clean countertop and let cool for an hour. After its cooled, break the granola into chunks as small or large as you like.
Tips:
Variations – The pecans can be swapped out for an equal amount of other raw nuts such as sliced almonds or walnuts. If you don’t have dates on hand, any of your favorite dried fruits will work: craisins, raisins, apricots…
To Store – Store cooled granola in an airtight container for up to 3 months, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Ways to Enjoy This Chunky Granola With Dates:
- on top of yogurt or in a parfait
- in milk
- as a healthy topping on ice cream
- by itself as a snack
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes On The Blog:
If you liked this recipe, I think you’ll really enjoy these other healthy breakfasts on the blog:
I hope you love this recipe for chunky granola with dates! If you make it, I’d love for you to come back and leave a comment and rating so that I know how you like it!
Granola Recipe With Dates and Pecans
This homemade chunky granola recipe is loaded with dates and pecans. Tastier and much healthier than store-bought, its delicious eaten as a cereal, sprinkled on yogurt or eaten plain!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/3 cup of pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 5 cups of rolled oats
- 1-1/2 cups of medjool dates
- 1-1/2 cups of halved or chopped pecans
Instructions
- Prep - Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Stir - In a large bowl, stir together all of the wet ingredients making sure they are mixed well. Then add in the remaining ingredients, til fully combined.
- Bake - Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until it looks lightly golden all over.
- Cool - Dump the granola onto a clean countertop and let cool for an hour. After its cooled, break the granola into chunks as small or large as you like.
Notes
Variations - The pecans can be swapped out for an equal amount of other raw nuts such as sliced almonds or walnuts. If you don't have dates on hand, any of your favorite dried fruits will work: craisins, raisins, apricots...
To Store - Store cooled granola in an airtight container for up to 3 months, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 55mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 4gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g
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My mouth is watering!! So excited to try this recipe
Hi, this recipe looks really easy. Do you add whole dates or chop them smaller?
Thank you for asking! I forgot to mention in the recipe that they are roughly chopped.
This granola recipe is so good!! Not crazy sweet like most recipes. And even my toddlers love it both plain or with milk!
Oh, my! This sounded so delicious and it did not disappoint! “Exceeded expectations!” I substituted walnuts for the pecans – frugal in case 5 cups of oats didn’t turn out so good. No worries in the future – I actually would like to use a mixture of walnuts/pecans. Yum! I also used coarse Kosher salt and I liked the little burst of salt taste you get now and then. I was so glad to be able to use no refined sugar. The honey and maple are amazing themselves!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Granola is so expensive in the store and this “made fresh from good ingredients” granola is far and away the best! I am looking forward to trying your other recipes. Thank you for your gift of creativity.
Thank you so much for your comment, Victoria! I’m so happy you liked it so much!