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Pumpkin Granola

Pumpkin Granola – Full of fall flavor and perfect for snacking, this crunchy homemade granola recipe is naturally sweetened, requires only a handful of ingredients, and is vegan, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and super easy to make!

top down view of a bowl with a serving of coconut yogurt and pumpkin granola with a gold spoon surrounded by items.

Get ready for your home to smell wonderful!

Easy homemade chunky healthy pumpkin granola made with a delicious mix of oats, pumpkin puree, pecans, pepitas, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, and allspice. This vegan and gluten free granola recipe makes the perfect crunchy snack or on-the-go breakfast!

And, of course, making granola at home is much better than buying it in the stores! You control the ingredients and can easily make an extra batch for the same amount a bag of pre-made granola costs. Win, win!

So gather your ingredients, and let’s make pumpkin granola!

top down view of all the ingredients needed to make the best pumpkin granola.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This healthy crunchy pumpkin granola recipe is packed with simple ingredients that keep it both vegan and refined sugar free and oil-free. Here’s everything you will need:

  • Oats. Old-fashioned oats are what we’ll be using. To make this gluten free, look for oats labeled Certified GF.
  • Pumpkin puree. Make sure to use only 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie puree. Use fresh or canned.
  • Pure maple syrup. This natural sweetener also works great at clumping and hardening the granola.
  • Pecans. This richly flavored nut pairs well with pumpkin puree and spices.
  • Pepitas. It is pumpkin granola, so what perfect seed to use than pumpkin seeds!
  • Cinnamon. Cinnamon is great, but feel free to use pumpkin pie spice if you prefer. You may even like to add both!
  • Allspice. If you don’t have allspice, nutmeg or smidge of ground clove will do nicely.
  • Salt. My favorite salt for just about everything is pink mineral salt, aka Himalayan Salt. It has beneficial minerals and trace elements you won’t find in other salts. Plus, it’s delicious!

Optional Ingredients: For another layer of flavor add vanilla extract and/or coconut flakes. See notes in the recipe card for more.

This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

top down view showing the process of adding wet mixture to dry ingredients to make pumpkin granola.

How To Make Pumpkin Granola

Making this granola recipe only takes a few simple steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, pecans, pepitas and spices.
  • In a 2-cup measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree and maple syrup, and pour into the dry ingredients (shown above).
top down view of a bowl with all ingredients for pumpkin granola added and mixed.
  • Mix well to combine.
top down view of oil free pumpkin granola spread on a baking sheet before going into the oven to bake.

Enjoy this granola and all the aroma that comes with making it!

Tips For Making Healthy Granola

  • Bake granola at a low temperature. This is to prevent burning but also to really get that nice golden flavor and texture. I bake my granola at 300 degrees F.
  • Mix well to coat. When mixing the dry and wet ingredients, be sure to mix well, coating each piece with the pumpkin-maple mixture for maximum flavor and clumpiness.
  • Clump the granola with your hands. Once you’ve added the granola to your baking sheet, use your hands to create small clumps before you bake.
  • Do not stir granola when it’s fresh from the oven. The granola will naturally harden and clump together as it cools, so give it time to clump together before stirring.
top down view of freshly made healthy pumpkin granola on a baking sheet.

Serving Suggestions

Besides scooping it by the handful and sneaking little bites here and there, try this pumpkin granola on top of smoothie bowls, layered into non-dairy yogurt parfaits, in a bowl with a bit of your favorite plant milk, or take on the road in a grab-and-go container.

How To Store Granola

You can store this healthy granola in a mason jar or an airtight container for up to 1 – 2 months (but trust me when I say it’s not going to last that long!).

top down view of glass mason jar filled with hea

More Granola Recipes!

If you try this easy pumpkin granola recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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PUMPKIN GRANOLA (VEGAN + OIL FREE)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

Full of flavor and perfect for snacking, this crunchy pumpkin granola is naturally sweetened and made with only a handful of ingredients!  It’s oil-free, refined sugar-free and easy to make.

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 16, 1/3 cup per serving 1x
  • Category: Breakfast, Snack
  • Method: Oven, Bake
  • Cuisine: Vegan, American

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup pepitas
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg
  • 1/41/2 teaspoon mineral salt
  • 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup 100% pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

Prep: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, pecans, pepitas and spices.

Wet ingredients: In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree and maple syrup.

Mix wet & dry: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, mix well to combine.

Layer: Spread the granola on rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake: Place in the oven at bake for 40 – 50 minutes, stirring half way through. Let cool, granola will harden as it cools.

Makes about 4 1/2.

Serves 9, about 1/2 cup per serving.

Store: Keep granola in a mason jar or an airtight container for up to a 1 – 2 months.

Notes

Additional add-ins:

  • 1 – 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (mix in with wet ingredients)
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes (add to dry ingredients)

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: I love my Silpat or these parchment liners for lining this rimmed baking sheet.

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11 Comments

  1. Priscilla says:

    So good, have the second batch in the oven!

  2. You indicate that this is 16 servings. But when I eat granola for breakfast I eat at least 2/3 of a cup, which would be about 7 servings, which would make it a pretty high-fat breakfast, even before adding plant milk. Maybe you just intended this as a topping?

    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Thanks Donna, for pointing that out! I’ve updated the amount to be nine servings, about 1/2 cup per serving. If you want to cut some fat from the recipe, I suggest using fewer pecans and/or pumpkin seeds. I hope that helps!

  3. I did not like granola until now. This is wonderful! Thank you for the recipe and Happy New Year!






  4. So so so good! This is my go-to pumpkin granola recipe from now on! I have been looking for an oil-free one and I found one that uses nut butters or tahini. I had tahini that I really had to use but I didn’t like that in the granola. It had a weird after-taste. This one is a winner! I doubled the amount of pumpkin pie spice because I love pumpkin and I don’t regret that one bit! The first tray was 20 minutes, rotate tray, then another 20 minutes at 300degrees but it was burnt on the edges so second tray was 15 minutes, rotate tray, and another 13 minutes, last 3 minutes had oven off. This was perfect for me! Thanks, Julie! ❤️






    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      So glad you’re enjoying this pumpkin granola! Thanks for sharing, Michelle!

  5. So good! I can’t stop eating it! I added chopped dates as well~ thank you for sharing!!






  6. Patty Eilers says:

    Very easy, tasty and quick! Will definitely make it again.






    1. Julie | The Simple Veganista says:

      Glad you like it, Patty! It’s one of my favorites. Cheers :)

  7. I make this pumpkin granola at least once per month. I share it w friends and they always love it too. I add a few different types of nuts: cashews, walnuts, pecans, peanuts and I chop 4 dates to give it a little sweetness.
    Thank You for a great year long recipe.

  8. Veganorganicgirl says:

    I am in love with this recipe and so excited to make it this weekend. I would love to buy a silpat, never knew it even existed! I want to be able to give you your profits from affiliate links but how do I do that using my smile url to support my charity. Please lmk and thanks for this amazing recipe.






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