Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Granola, a simple vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free granola recipe that is perfect for fall. Add a bit of crunch to your next smoothie or breakfast bowl!
Who doesn’t love fall mornings? We love cool and crisp autumn mornings with a cup (or two) of hot coffee and a comforting breakfast. And nothing says fall mornings like a pumpkin seed granola with maple and cinnamon.
👉 Here are three reasons why you should be making granola with pumpkin seeds:
- You can store it for later. Granola is perfect for storing to keep on hand for easy snacks and toppings. All you have to do is place it in an airtight container and it will stay fresh for up to one month!
- It reduces food waste. Don’t toss the seeds you have leftover from pumpkins! You can roast them and enjoy as a snack, use as a topping for seasonal soups, and of course, toss them with granola for extra crunch.
- It’s easy to adjust. Use this easy granola recipe as a base and make it your own by adding different nut and seed variations and your favorite spices and sweeteners.
Are you ready for a delicious and crunchy fall pumpkin seed granola? Let’s do it!
🍁 Ingredients
You only need five simple ingredients to make this quick and easy granola:
- Oats: we used old fashioned rolled gluten-free oats as the base for this recipe, which are high in fiber and get extra crunchy when baked!
- Pumpkin seeds: you can find raw pumpkin seeds at most grocery stores, but we recommend using seeds leftover from your fall pumpkins. This is a great way to prevent food and packaging waste.
- Ground cinnamon: the best warm spice to use in autumn-themed recipes.
- Maple syrup: adds sweetness and helps ingredients stick together for the perfect granola!
- Dried cranberries: these bring a sweet, tart flavor to this granola recipe.
- Recommended tools: baking sheet, mixing bowl
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Preheat oven + prep ingredients
First, preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, toss the oats, pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon together. Mix well, then stir in the maple syrup and cinnamon to lightly coat the dry mixture.
2️⃣ Step Two: Roast until crunchy
Next, spread the granola mix on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. The granola should be dry and crunchy, but not burnt, when it’s done.
Granola roasting tip! Make sure to stir the granola often during baking, depending on the type of oats you use they may overcook easily. You’re looking for crispy oats, not brown and burned!
3️⃣ Step Three: Cool the granola + add cranberries
Remove the granola from the oven, set aside, and allow it to cool completely. Then toss with dried cranberries and enjoy!
Important! Do not bake granola mix with diced dried cranberries; only mix them in after baking. Baked dried cranberries burn easily.
❓ Recipe questions + quick tips
There are so many great ways to eat pumpkin seeds! You can simply roast them alone and enjoy them as a simple, crunchy snack. Or, you can add roasted pumpkin seeds to recipes like granola, toss them into salads, or use as a topping for soup. Pumpkin seeds are often used in baked goods and can be blended into sauces.
If you prefer, you can soak pumpkin seeds before roasting them. Soaking pumpkin seeds can help soften them, allowing them to get crispier when roasted. We didn’t soak our pumpkin seeds for this granola recipe and it still turned out delicious!
Pumpkin seeds have a variety of health benefits. First, they are high in fiber and are a great source of plant-based protein. Additionally, pumpkin seeds are a source of many vitamins and minerals including phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, and iron. Not to mention, they provide disease-fighting antioxidants and healthy fats.
Homemade granola is typically made from healthy ingredients, including oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. While these provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein, granola can be high in calories and is easy to overeat. We suggest eating granola in moderation; a handful is a reasonable portion size. You are also better off making granola from scratch because you can control the types of ingredients and the amount of sugar that’s in it.
👉 How to serve
The options are endless for how you can serve maple cinnamon granola. Get started with these ideas:
- Enjoy as a simple snack. Grab a handful of granola when you’re hungry between meals; it’s the perfect balanced snack that will keep you satisfied!
- Use as a breakfast topping. We love adding granola to breakfast dishes like yogurt parfaits, oatmeal bowls, and even pancakes and waffles. Granola can even be used as a topping for smoothies and fruit bowls!
- Eat as cereal. Combine pumpkin seed granola with your favorite milk or milk alternative for a crunchy cereal.
- Dessert topping. Mix it in with cake or brownie batter, use as an ingredient to make cookies, or add a couple of spoonfuls on top of ice cream.
- Get creative with toppings. Make this recipe your own by adding nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios, coconut), seeds (sunflower seeds, flax seeds), spices (vanilla, nutmeg, pumpkin spice), or sweets (honey, agave, brown sugar, raisins).
🧊 How to store
This granola is so delicious — it’s unlikely that you’ll have leftovers! But if you do, we suggest that you keep it in an airtight container and eat within one month. It could stay fresh for longer, but granola may go stale the longer that it’s stored.
You can keep granola in the refrigerator if you’d like, but it will maintain its quality when stored on the countertop at room temperature. We do not recommend freezing granola.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
Homemade pumpkin seed granola reduces food and packaging waste in and of itself. Here are some ways that you can make the recipe even more sustainable for your kitchen:
- Use eco-friendly bakeware: choosing environmentally cookware is key to a building a green kitchen, that’s why we love using our eco-friendly baking sheet.
- Opt for responsible ingredients: in addition to using organic ingredients from farms we know and trust when possible, we always buy USDA Grade A organic maple syrup to ensure proper maple extraction practices
🧡 More granola recipes
Looking for more granola recipes? We’ve got you covered:
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Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
Instructions
- Prep oven: Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Combine ingredients: Toss oats, pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon dry together to mix when, then stir in maple syrup and cinnamon to lightly coat dry mixture.
- Bake granola: Spread on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes, or until dry and crunchy but not burnt. Stir 1-2 times throughout cook time to cook evenly.
- Remove + stir in cranberries: Remove from oven and cool completely, then toss with chopped cranberries. Enjoy in and on smoothies, yogurt and oatmeal bowls…or with your favorite milk or milk alternative for a crunchy cereal.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe notes: Do not bake granola mix with diced dried cranberries; only mix them in after baking. Baked dried cranberries burn easily. Make sure to stir the granola often during baking, depending on the type of oats you use they may overcook easily. You’re looking for crispy oats, not brown and burned!
- Leftovers + storage: Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container for up to one month (possibly more, but granola may go stale the longer it’s stored).
- Nutrition notes: This Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Granola is high in fiber, plant-based protein, and is a good source of iron. It is vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, and contains healthy plant-based fats.
Nutrition Information
UPDATE: This post was originally published in November 2018 and updated for clarity in September 2022.
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