This gluten free granola is a fun twist on a classic homemade granola recipe! With cinnamon, dried cranberries, and orange zest, it’s packed with earthy flavor and makes for an ideal Make-Ahead Breakfast.
Serve it simply with milk, atop ice cream, or in a Yogurt Berry Parfait. No matter how you dish it, this granola is a great way to enjoy more whole grains.
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There’s something so homey about homemade granola. It’s simple and quick to stir-up and fills the whole house with a pleasing aroma.
Since one of my sons was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, I’m in the process of transferring our favorite recipes to gluten free, like these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars and these hearty Pumpkin Biscuits.
While some gluten-free ingredients can be pricey, this gluten-free granola recipe is easy to convert, oats being the only thing that we need to buy specifically gluten-free.
Why Make This
It’s affordable. Even with the added cost of gluten-free oats, making your own granola is more affordable than purchasing commercial granola, especially the GF varieties.
It makes a great gift! I love browsing in chi-chi food boutiques, but I don’t like the prices they charge. So, instead, I’ve chosen to make my own delicious gifts to give to friends and family, this gluten-free granola being one of them.
It’s delicious. With orange zest, cinnamon, and dried cranberries, this granola is super tasty. Since it’s so make-ahead, it makes for a great meal prep breakfast.
Ingredients
- brown sugar – I use brown sugar to sweeten this granola, but you can also use maple syrup, like in my Maple Granola. Remember that you can make your own brown sugar if you run out, or just use granulated sugar and add a bit of molasses. If you’d like less sweetener in your granola, make this protein granola.
- oil – You need some fat to give your granola a bit of crunch. I’ve found that a neutral oil like avocado or sunflower works best.
- powdered milk – Otherwise known as dry milk, powdered milk adds protein to the mix. If you’d like to make this dairy-free or vegan, you can omit the milk or use dry coconut milk powder.
- cinnamon – Cinnamon adds some spice and a bit of fall/winter to the granola, making it a great holiday gift.
- vanilla extract – Vanilla is an easy way to add more flavor to your granola.
- salt – A little sweetness always need to be balanced out with some salt.
- orange zest – You want to use just the zest of the orange. Avoid the white layer underneath as that can be very bitter. You can substitute lime or lemon zest or omit it altogether if you don’t have an orange handy.
- rolled oats – You’ll need old fashioned, rolled oats. If you are making the granola gluten free for health reasons, be sure to buy oats that are labeled gluten-free.
- nuts – You can use any nut or combination of nuts. I like whole almonds. You can also omit them if need be.
- cranberries – I use dried cranberries. Be sure to add these to the granola after it’s been baked so they don’t burn. You can also substitute a different dried fruit if you prefer.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, oil, powdered milk, water, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and orange zest. Heat until well blended.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and nuts. Pour the sugar mixture over the oats and nuts mixture, stirring to combine.
- Spread the granola on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Cool on a rack.
- Once cool, stir in the cranberries. Store the cooked and cooled granola in an airtight container.
Storage
You can store the granola in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature. For longer storage, place the container of granola in the freezer.
Meal Prep Instructions
This is a great recipe for meal prep. Divide the granola into meal-size containers. Pack small containers of milk or yogurt alongside to combine at serving.
FAQs
How long you cook the granola depends on how much you’re making and what temperature you bake it at. Low heat is helpful as it allows the oats to crisp without burning. Generally speaking you’ll need 30 to 60 minutes to cook a batch of granola.
Old-fashioned rolled oats are best for making granola. Steel-cut and quick oats don’t have the right texture to complement granola. If making gluten-free granola, be sure that the rolled oats are specifically marked gluten-free. While oats are naturally so, they can become contaminated with gluten in the processing. Gluten-free oats cost a bit more, but are an important part of this recipe if making gluten-free for allergies, etc.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- brown sugar – $0.36
- oil – $0.16
- powdered milk – $0.08
- cinnamon – $0.10
- vanilla – $0.25
- salt – $0.01
- orange zest – $0.40
- rolled oats – $4.50
- nuts – 1.87
- cranberries – $1.00
Shopping at a mid-range grocery store at non-sale prices, you can expect to pay about $8.73 or 73 cents per serving for this bulk batch of gluten-free granola.
Save even more:
Nuts and cranberries can be costly. Consider these strategies from the Good Cheap Eats System to help you lower your costs even more:
- Use what you have. You don’t need to go out for a specific nut or seed if you don’t have it. Feel free to use whatever you’ve got in the house, varying the amounts to suit. You can also increase the proportion of oats since they’re so much cheaper than the other ingredients.
- Make a plan for leftover ingredients. Since nuts are somewhat of an investment, be sure that you’ll have a use for the rest of the package. Likewise, be sure to freeze the granola for longest storage if you don’t think you’ll eat it up in a couple weeks.
- Visit the store with the best prices. The cost of gluten-free oats, nuts, and cranberries can vary widely from store to store. Compare prices so you know where to stock up.
- Check the sales and clearance. When you see great prices, load up on these ingredients so you can have gluten free granola whenever you want.
More Make-Ahead Breakfasts
Gluten Free Granola
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup neutral oil
- ½ cup powdered milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange
- 5 cup rolled oats (make sure they are labeled gluten-free)
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, oil, powdered milk, water, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and orange zest. Heat until well blended.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and nuts.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the oats and nuts mixture, stirring to combine.
- Spread the granola on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Cool on a rack.
- Once cool, stir in the cranberries and serve with milk or yogurt.
- Store granola in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on December 3, 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Brooke Kingston
This is our family’s very favorite granola! I love to make batches and give them as gifts. The orange zest makes it sing! The only modification I make is to substitute orange juice for the water. I can use the whole orange up for the recipe. Thank you m, this is an absolute winner!!!
Jessica Fisher
Great idea to use the whole orange. Thanks so much for sharing, Brooke!
Sarah @ Feed My Family
Just made this this afternoon and the initial assessment is delicious! I’ve never tried dry milk in granola and thought that was interesting. I subbed some rice crispies for some of the oats and left out the nuts {per my family’s preferences and normal granola} and it’s great. I only stirred it once and ended up with some decent sized clumps, just the way we like it!
Jessica Fisher
I’ve been wanting to sub rice krispies as an experiment. Glad to know it works!
Mary Ellen
Is it really one Tablespoon of cinnamon or teaspoon? The cinnamon smell is knocking me out. Is that normal? I used my Saigon cinnamon.
Jessica Fisher
Yes, it’s one tablespoon, but feel free to use less if you prefer.
Sarah
Oh my.. I just took my slightly modified version out of the oven.. so so delicious and simple to make! Thanks! Will be blogging about it over at zoeslunchbox.com
Cassie
Hi Jessica! I made the cranberry orange granola today. It’s very tasty, but I was wondering what kind of texture you get out of yours. I tend to like granola that has clusters in it–where the oats and/or nuts have stuck together to make crunchy little chunks. What I got with this was a lot of delicious individual oats and nuts, but no clusters. Do you think substituting honey for the brown sugar would yield more “clustery” results?
Jessica Fisher
I don’t think it’s the sweetener. I just made some with brown sugar and got the clumps and sometimes when I use honey, I don’t. I think it has to do with the size of the pan and the amount of stirring. I also think it’s more of an art than a science.
Michelle
Hi Jessica,
I love reading your blog! I have a question about the granola. Can you use regular milk instead of powdered milk? What is the purpose of the powdered milk in this recipe?
Michelle
Jessica Fisher
You can omit it if you want. It adds calcium and protein, but omitting it won’t ruin the recipe.
Cassie
This may be an odd question…I’ve never seen milk powder in a granola recipe. What’s its roll? In other words, is it there for flavor, nutrition, bulk, etc.? I love the combo of orange and cranberry. My favorite Christmas cookie recipe is a cranberry-orange-dark chocolate cookie. Yum!
Merrilee
Yum! We just made it today for breakfast this week. I love the orange in it. Thanks for sharing. I found your blog from a link on another, but can’t remember which one now! 🙂
For Their Future
Oooo! i love garnola! I will have to get me some cranberries and orange zest now!
Thanks!
Amber
I can't wait to try this recipe – yummmmm! I do have a question though – Can I use a Silpat lined baking sheet instead of a greased one? I think I love my Silpat just as much as you do and I was planning on using it, but was worried about a potential, unforseen problem. Thanks for the wonderful site – I love it!
Homemakers Cottage
Oh, yum! My kids and I LOVE homemade granola… and this looks delicious!! Can't wait to try it out! ~Kristy
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The colour and the shape of the cranberries make it so festival. Great gift idea, thanks very much!
Lynn
This looks like a great gift, FishMama. Nice and healthy and you don't have to feel like you need to hurry and eat it before it goes bad. Great idea to do this linky carnival, too. (Is that the official name, "linky carnival"? 😉 )
FishMama
Jimi, we eat it dry, with yogurt, or with milk.
Jimi
The granola looks awesome! Do you just eat it like cereal, with milk?
We love giving food gifts at the holidays! I just hope our friends like receiving them. 🙂
Christian Frugal Mama
Yay! Thank you thank you thank you!! I warned my family they're all getting homemade stuff this year and I've been looking for ideas! I really appreciate this topic!
FishMama
I just use craisins.
Hoosier Homemade
Yum!!! That looks great! Do you buy dried cranberries? Like craraisins? Or dry them yourself. I have never tried to dry them.
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz