Honey Walnut Fig Granola

Breakfast, Gluten-Free, Snack February 7, 2024 9 comments By Christine Manes

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 5 from 2 reviews

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If you love granola but don’t like the ingredients it typically entails (or the price tag of the healthy varieties!), then this recipe is for you. The flavor combination of honey + walnut + fig is magical. The honey takes off the bitter edge of the walnuts, and the figs add delicious flavor and chewy texture to the crunchy granola, just like other traditional dried fruits added to granola (like raisins).

Granola is easier to homemake than you may think, and it’s well worth it! Here are some of my top reasons for homemaking granola:

It’s cheaper than store-bought
It’s healthier than store-bought
It easy to make
You can create your own personal flavors
You can use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Have pecans instead of walnuts? No problem, just use the pecans! (and the examples of swaps can continue, but I won’t bore you)

I was on a homemade granola kick last year when I created this original homemade granola recipe. However, up until this week, I hadn’t made any granola in a while. I decided it’s time to have it on hand since my husband’s schedule at work changed – he doesn’t have time to make breakfast before leaving for work most days because he leaves so early now. So, granola to the rescue!

It’s a great breakfast food to have on hand because you can just put a handful of it on yogurt with some fresh berries and you have a breakfast made in 1 minute flat. Or you can just eat it with milk like a bowl of cereal – an even faster solution!

Ingredients

Figs – Use dried figs, not fresh.

Walnuts – You can also sub with any other nut.

Pumpkin seeds – These are my favorite seed for granola because they add color but don’t add strong flavor like sesame or sunflower would. They’re also packed with nutrients! If you don’t want pumpkin seeds, you can sub with more chopped nuts.

Oats – I recommend using rolled oats. I like to use sprouted rolled oats specifically because sprouted oats are easier to digest and more nutrient-dense.

Honey – For sweetness and also to make the granola ingredients stick together.

Coconut oil – So it doesn’t dry out too much in the oven. You can sub with butter or ghee if desired, but I don’t know how well it would work with a liquid oil like avocado oil – I think it would work best with an oil that is solid at room temperature like coconut oil, butter, or ghee.

Vanilla extract – For flavor.

Salt – For flavor.

Method

Preheat oven to 320ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the honey, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract together. Add the oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and salt and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and press it down, keeping it all together but flattening it out into about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick layer, making sure the layer is even and the edges aren’t any thinner than the middle. It helps to use a slightly wet spatula as it prevents sticking.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. It’s normal if the edges are super golden while the middle isn’t. Remove from the oven, keep in mind the granola won’t be crunchy yet.
After removing from the oven, sprinkle the dried figs on top. I pressed down some of the fig pieces into the granola. Let it cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. It will harden and crisp up during this time, so don’t worry if it’s not crispy yet. After fully cooled and hardened, break it up into clusters.
Please leave a review on the recipe card and a comment below if you made this recipe! It helps my website more than you know and I truly appreciate it!

Make it your own

Here are some simple modifications you can make to the granola.

Sub any other dried fruit in place of the figs. If it’s small, like raisins, then you may want to reduce it to 1/3 cup instead.
Replace the walnut with another nut such as pecans or almonds.
Use maple syrup instead of honey. Just keep in mind, maple syrup isn’t quite as sticky as honey, so it may not make as large of chunks, but it definitely still works!
Sub butter for the coconut oil.
Add cinnamon if desired.

How to store the granola

Store in a glass, airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. I recommend glass instead of plastic because it stays crunchy longer. You can use an airtight glass Tupperware, or you can store it in a large mason jar.

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Honey Walnut & Fig Granola (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Print Recipe

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5 from 2 reviews

The flavor combination of honey + walnut + fig is magical. The honey takes off the bitter edge of the walnuts, and the figs add delicious flavor and chewy texture to the crunchy granola, just like other traditional dried fruits added to granola (like raisins). Granola is easier to homemake than you may think, and it’s well worth it!

Author: Christine Manes
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 25
Total Time: 35
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: breakfast, snack
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Instructions

Preheat oven to 320ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk the honey, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract together. Add the oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and salt and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the baking sheet and press it down, keeping it all together but flattening it out into about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick layer, making sure the layer is even and the edges aren’t thinner than the middle. It helps to use a slightly wet spatula as it prevents sticking.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. It’s normal if the edges are super golden while the middle isn’t, it’ll all still become crunchy after fully cooling down. Remove from the oven, keeping in mind the granola won’t be crunchy yet.
After removing from the oven, sprinkle the dried figs on top. I pressed down some of the fig pieces into the granola. Let it cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. It will harden and crisp up during this time, so don’t worry if it’s not crispy yet. After fully cooled and hardened, break it up into clusters.
Please leave a review on the recipe card and a comment below if you made this recipe! It helps my website more than you know and I truly appreciate it!