This recipe yields the most amazing, clustery, chunky, perfectly sweet, and crisp vegan granola I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Better yet, it requires just 10 minutes of active kitchen time. Simply toss together pepitas, pecans, rolled oats, and coconut with a bit of maple syrup, coconut oil, almond butter, and spices. Then, slide the tray into the oven, kick back, and breathe in the pumpkin-spiced aroma! Enjoy these easy vegan pumpkin spice granola clusters all on their own for an easy grab-n-go snack or sprinkle them over coconut yogurt.
This wasn't the easiest granola recipe to create, but it's certainly one of the easiest to make. Three's a charm in life and granola testing.
Trial one was a big ol' mess of burnt with way too much pumpkin spice and coconut and too little sweetness. In case you're curious, the scent of burnt pumpkin spice granola might actually be worse than burnt popcorn.
Trial two just wouldn't crisp up no matter how much encouragement the oven (and I) gave it. Never Eat Soggy Waffles Granola.
But trial three? The most amazing, clustery, chunky, perfectly sweet, and crisp granola I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Better yet, it requires just 10 minutes of active kitchen time. Then, you slide the tray into the oven, kick back, and breathe in the pumpkin-spiced aroma.
These easy vegan pumpkin spice granola clusters come together in a few simple steps.
1| Add the dry ingredients (rolled oats, flaked coconut, pepitas, and chopped pecans) to a large mixing bowl.
2| Add the "wet" ingredients (maple syrup, coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, and sea salt) to a small saucepan, and whisk together until smooth and glossy.
3| Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and stir, stir, stir to ensure that every last oat is coated in that sweet pumpkin-spice mixture.
4| Spread the granola out over a lined baking tray, and bake until light golden-brown.
5| The hardest part: let the granola cool completely before sampling, snacking, touching, breaking into clusters, etc. If you fuss with it before it's had a chance to cool, it will crumble into regular granola. On the other hand, if you wait until it's completely cool, then you'll be able to break it into whatever size and shape clusters your heart desires. Patience is a pumpkin spice granola cluster.
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Spice Granola Clusters
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats*
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- ¾ cup raw shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- ½ cup raw pecan halves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup creamy unsalted almond butter
- ¼ cup virgin coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Add the rolled oats, coconut flakes, pepitas, and pecans to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, and sea salt over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth and glossy. Pour over the oat mixture and stir very thoroughly to combine (you want every last bit of the dry mixture to be evenly coated).
- Turn the mixture out onto the lined baking tray and use a fork to gently nudge it across the pan, spreading it into an even layer that's just shy of ½ inch thick. It's okay if there are gaps or holes between clumps of granola.
- Bake for 38 to 48 minutes, or until the top is light golden-brown, the granola near the edges of the pan is just beginning to turn deep golden-brown, and the granola feels dry and firm but not yet crisp to the touch. (Note: I recommend keeping a watchful eye on it and checking it a few times as it bakes. Granola doesn't become crisp and crunchy until it's had a chance to cool, so rely on look and scent more than touch or you'll end up with burnt granola.)
- Once the granola is ready, remove the pan from the oven and place it on an oven-safe cooling rack to allow air to circulate beneath and around the pan to efficiently cool and crisp the granola.
- Allow the granola to cool completely on the pan until it's not even the slightest bit warm to the touch. If you start moving it around or try to break it into clusters while it's still warm, it will crumble. I recommend a minimum 45 minutes of cool time at room temperature, but try to hold out for 1 hour if you can.
- Once the granola is completely cool, break it into pieces of desired size and store in large airtight glass jars to maintain its crunch.
- Serve over coconut yogurt, enjoy with generous splash of cold almond milk, or snack on the clusters straight from the jar.
Notes
Easy and it comes out with granola clusters (the best!), I'm in! I've burned way too many batches of my granola in time, so I know how this feels!
Burnt granola makes me so sad. All those perfectly good oats and nuts. Why is it SO easy to burn?!
I think the smell of burnt popcorn is etched in your mind from when you burnt a bag just a few days after having your wisdom teeth out :( (still a mystery to why you thought eating popcorn at that particular time was a good idea) You've come a looooong way since then :) These clusters look delicious and I believe I have all the ingredients. Can't wait to try them. Love, Mom
Hahaha. Oh man, the best part about having a blog is when your mom divulges your embarrassing childhood stories in the comments, lol. I have no idea why I though that was a good idea at the time but I think you're right; that incident scarred me! The worst!
Looks great, and it must smell amazing with all those spices! I can't wait to try it this weekend, I have all the ingredients (I'll just sub walnuts for the pecans, since that is what I have at home).
Thanks, Stella! Hope you enjoy it (and walnuts are a great sub for the pecans)!
My daughter wanted me to send her some homemade granola, and this looks perfect!
Thanks, Katherine! I promise, this one is definitely worthy of sending—super comforting and fall festive. Enjoy!
How long are these good for once made? :)
Hi, Natasha. They'll keep for up to a month or more!
Is there any way to sub the almond butter for something else or omit it entirely?? :)
Hi, Vicky! Yes, you can sub sunflower butter or another nut/seed butter for the almond butter. Enjoy!
So good! Came out perfect and I can’t stop eating it.
So glad you're enjoying it, Megan!
Can you sub all the spices for pumpkin pie spice? If so who’s much should I use? Making for a school function this weekend! Hoping it goes over well because typically it’s all cakes but this sounds too good not to try!
Hi, Ashley! Yes, absolutely. I'd recommend using 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice as a substitute. Happy baking! :)