Name: Apple Spice Granola (with Dates and Walnuts)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 cups rolled oats (NOT quick cooking); 1 cup coconut flakes, broken up a bit (large and unsweetened, not the bags of sweetened and shredded); 1 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped; 6 oz dried apple rings, chopped (about 2 cups) (non-sweetened- should be just dried apples); 3 oz apple chips, broken up a bit (see notes); 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds; 8 chopped dates (see notes); 1/2 tsp sea salt; 2 tsp cinnamon; 2 tsp apple spice blend (usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, allspice, ginger and cloves.); 2 tbsp honey (can sub maple syrup); 2 tbsp dark brown sugar; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

A low-sugar granola base of oats, pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes is toasted with olive oil and comes alive with apple and spice flavors from chewy dried apples, crunchy apple chips, spices, walnuts and dates. Go all in, top it with fresh apple, and eat it straight up with the milk of your choice. Slurp!

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pouring milk over apple spice granola in a bowl, with fresh picked apples nearby.

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super close up of apple granola on baking tray.

What you’ll love about this recipe!

🍎 So much apple: dried apple rings and crispy apple chips give this granola so much flavor and texture, not to mention if you top it with fresh apple cubes.
🍎 Spices: this recipe includes straight up cinnamon, but also includes “apple pie spice”, a powdered spice blend widely available, that usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, allspice, ginger and cloves.
🍎 Crunchy and chewy: its crunchy from so many of the toasted ingredients of course, but extra crispy from the apple chips, and chewy from the dried apple and dates.
🍎 Not too sweet or oily: if there’s one aspect of many homemade granolas that I think needs improvement it’s the tendency for them to include too much fat and sugar, leaving the granola almost greasy and certainly as sweet as many desserts. This recipe is based on my Low Sugar Olive Oil Granola (click to see), which, after much testing, has the perfect balance of these ingredients.

all the ingredients for the apple granola, measured and set on counter in bowls.

Above: The dry ingredients for Apple and spice granola are shown. What is not shown are the three wet ingredients heated and mixed separately. See step-by-step instructions.

Ingredient notes

The basics- all my granolas start with old fashioned oats, coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds. The nuts vary depending on the recipe. This recipe specifies walnuts. You could sub almonds, but the walnuts give a nice change of granola pace and pair well with apples.
Sweetener/Fat- to create that signature granola crunch of sweetness, but without too much of either, I’ve arrived at a perfect ratio of olive oil, honey and brown sugar. You can sub maple syrup if you one over the other. I chose honey hear to let the apple and spice flavors dominate. Maple syrup is stronger than honey.
Dried fruit- dates are used as well as both dried apples and what are called “apple chips”, which are either fried or dehydrated. Both work well. The fried ones aren’t so noticeable as having been fried. See recipe card notes for details.
Seasonings- both cinnamon and apple pie spice blend are used as well as salt, a key ingredient for the final flavor.

close up of the fruit add ins for the granola.

Step-by-step instructions

Mix the base ingredients: Mix oats, coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds. Chop the walnuts coarsely and add to the base ingredients.

Mix, heat liquid ingredients: Add oil, honey and brown sugar to small pan over medium heat, stirring with whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

mixing the base ingredients for granola.

Mix wet and dry ingredients: Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to carefully, slowly and thoroughly mix the wet ingredients into the granola base. The sizzling mixture should be added a bit at a time, then use the other hand to move the mixture of ingredients around.

Mixing in this way will ensure the oil and sweeteners will evenly coat the granola for a crispy and delicious finished product.

add melted sweet ingredients to dry ingredients for granola.

Bake the granola: Pour the granola mixture on a parchment lined pan (for easy clean up) and bake in preheated 300 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, stirring half way. Note that the dried apples, apple chips and chopped dates are NOT in the mixture to be baked and will be added to the granola after baking. The granola is done when it’s turned from pale colored to golden brown. See tips for creating clumpy granola.

Cool and add dried fruit: Once the granola has cooled for 10-20 minuted, add in all the dried fruit and apple chips.

tray of finished granola with dried fruit added in.

Tips for making this recipe

Using honey or maple syrup: I’m a huge fan of maple syrup, but recommend the milder flavored honey here so the apple and spice flavors come through. Maple syrup would overpower the flavors, but if you love it, go for it.
Cutting dried apples: using kitchen sheers to cut up the dried apple rings is very helpful since they will stick to a knife.
Mixing wet and dry: since this is a fairly healthy granola with a minimal amount of oil and sweetener, mixing slowly as mentioned above is crucial to evenly distributing the oil and sweetener throughout the granola ingredients. Taking the time to do this (a minute or two) will ensure your finished product is crispy and flavorful.
Low and slow baking: it’s important to follow the oven temperature of 300 degrees so that the ingredients don’t brown too fast, and to ensure the brown sugar doesn’t burn.
Tossing granola during baking: its pretty important to take a minute to toss around the granola mid way through baking to ensure even baking.
Chunky granola: since this granola is not overly sweet or oily, it is less likely to finish baking into clumps which some people prefer. The clumps form when the oil and sweetener bake into the ingredients. To encourage this behavior, you can push the ingredients closer together mid way, when tossing the granola. Leave the granola to fully cool, once removed from oven, before touching it, and you may get some nice clumps from the closeness of the ingredients causing more steaming and therefore sticking together.
Serving: Personally I think this particular recipe is wonderful with fresh chunks of apple added on top when serving, and served with good ‘ol milk of choice (versus a yogurt). But of course it’s good any old way.
Storing: You can store on the countertop in a glass canister with cover, or in a plastic covered container , or zip lock. No need to refrigerate. Ships well (I’ve done that a lot!).