Christmas granola is the ultimate homemade holiday gift with big chunky clusters, festive flavors, and endless variations. Make cranberry and mixed fruit granola or chocolate chip coconut granola for gift giving, brunch entertaining, or Christmas morning breakfast that everyone will love.
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A Quick Look At This Recipe
- 📋 Recipe: Christmas Granola
- ⏲️ Ready In: 1 hour 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 90 minutes baking)
- 👪 Servings: 16 servings
- 🔪 Difficulty: Easy
- 💭 Top Tip: Don't over-stir during baking or you'll break up all the chunky clusters. Stir gently to keep big pieces intact!
Why You'll Love This Christmas Granola
- Perfect chunky clusters: The oat flour technique creates satisfying crunchy clusters that hold together beautifully.
- Three festive variations: Choose from gingerbread spice, cranberry fruit and nut, or chocolate coconut versions.
- Easy holiday gift: Package in mason jars or cellophane bags for impressive homemade hosting gifts.
- Budget friendly ingredients: Uses pantry staples to create gourmet results.
- Make ahead friendly: Stores for weeks, perfect for holiday planning.
I developed and tested this Christmas granola recipe back in 2013, and have made it every Christmas since-easily 50+ batches over the years. My family requests it every fall, friends specifically ask for jars as gifts, and it's never failed me. The secret to perfect clusters is minimal stirring and my unique oat flour technique that helps everything bind together beautifully. You can customize it with cranberries and dried fruit for a traditional holiday flavor, or go festive with chocolate chips and coconut for something special.
I love using this recipe as part of a yogurt and granola parfait breakfast board.
If you love easy breakfast recipes for the holidays, you might also enjoy these jelly donut pancakes, easy food processor scones, easy overnight French toast casserole, or pumpkin waffles for Christmas brunch entertaining.
Ingredients for Holiday Granola
- Quick rolled oats: Half gets ground into oat flour to create binding power for chunky clusters. The other half stays whole for texture. Substitue ¼ with large flake oats for even more texture.
- Raw nuts: Choose any combination totaling 3 cups. I use almonds, walnuts, and pecans, but pistachios, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds work great too.
- Brown sugar and butter: Creates the sweet coating that helps form clusters and adds rich flavor. We love using butter rather than oil, as it adds a rich buttery taste to the granola.
- Warm spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg bring cozy holiday flavor to the base recipe.
- Dried fruit and chocolate: Add after baking so they stay soft and don't get too crunchy. Cranberries, figs, raisins, coconut, and chocolate chips all work beautifully.
Three Festive Flavor Variations
Gingerbread Granola
For a real gingerbread flavor, increase the cinnamon to 1½ teaspoons, add ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, and a pinch of cloves to the base recipe. The warm spices make your kitchen smell like Christmas while baking.
Chocolate and Coconut Granola
After the granola cools completely, add chocolate chips and coconut flakes. Try white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips based on your preference. This version is always a huge hit.
Cranberry Granola
Add dried cranberries along with other dried fruit like chopped dried figs, raisins, and more flaked coconut after baking. You can use any winter dried fruit combination you prefer.
Expert Tips for Chunky Clusters
The key to great chunky granola with clusters is to not over-stir during baking. After the first 30 minutes, stir the granola so the top and edges don't burn.
On that initial first stir, keep some big chunks intact. You'll stir the mixture four more times during the 90 minute baking time, but always stir gently to preserve those satisfying clusters.
The oat flour technique is the other secret. Grinding half the oats creates a binding agent that helps form clusters without adding extra ingredients. This is what makes the difference between loose granola and the chunky kind everyone loves.
How To Make Christmas Granola
- Step 1: To start with, put 8 oz. of the rolled oats in a food processor and grind into oat flour.
- Step 2: Combine in a large bowl the oat flour, quick oats, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir.
- Step 3: In a small pan combine sugar, butter, and water and heat over a medium heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vanilla.
- Step 4: Pour the melted butter wet ingredients mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to fully combine. Let it sit 10 min.
- Step 5: Pour granola mixture onto a large cookie sheet in an even layer, and cook in a 300 degree oven for 25 to 30 min. Stir the mixture and keep cooking for a total of 1 ½ hours, until crunchy and dry, making sure to stir every 15 min. so the edges don't burn. Be careful not to over stir, you want to have some chunky clusters of granola.
- Step 6: When it's finished cooking, let it cool completely, and then add in the dried fruit, and chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container, like a glass jar.
Packaging Christmas Granola Gifts
When to Make for Gifting: Bake up to 3 weeks ahead and store in airtight containers. I always make mine the first week of December, then package 3-5 days before giving to ensure peak freshness. For December 25th gifts, I package December 20-22. This timing means the granola is still perfectly crunchy and fragrant when your recipients open their jars.
Mason jar presentation: Fill clean mason jars with granola, breaking any large clusters to fit if needed. Tie festive ribbons around the neck and attach handmade tags. Recipients can reuse the jars after enjoying the granola.
Cellophane bags: Package granola in clear cellophane gift bags tied with festive ribbons for simple presentation. Add cute gift tags for a personal touch.
Recipe card addition: Include a printed recipe card with your gift so friends can make their own batch later.
Hosting gift idea: Bring a jar when attending holiday parties instead of flowers or wine. Food gifts show thoughtfulness and are always appreciated.
This approach to homemade gift giving means you can make one big batch and have plenty for multiple gifts plus extra to keep for yourself. It's the kind of easy entertaining that feels special without adding holiday stress.
Along with our Christmas granola, I made up a batch of my husbands famous pancakes - find the recipe here.
I love this kind of easy entertaining, this holiday granola perfect for a no-fuss Christmas get-together.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this granola with yogurt, honey or maple syrup, and fresh fruit for an easy Christmas brunch. It's also delicious with smooth cottage cheese or simply with milk as cereal. Try it as an ice cream topping for a festive dessert, or enjoy it by the handful as a snack.
For a complete Christmas brunch spread, pair it with small batch pancakes or Baileys French toast.
With homemade Christmas granola for giving or enjoying yourself, life really is a party!
More Breakfast Inspiration
Frequently Asked Questions
Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container like a glass jar. It will keep fresh for up to 3 weeks at room temperature.
Yes! This granola is perfect for making ahead. Bake it up to 3 weeks before you need it and store in airtight containers until ready to gift or serve.
There are two keys to getting the perfect chunks. First, make sure you let the granola sit for 10 minutes before spreading it onto the baking sheet to bake. The liquids will absorb into the oat flour and bind it all together to form the chunks in the first place. And secondly, don't over-stir. Stir gently and keep large chunks intact.
Yes. I've made this with quick oats, instant oats, and rolled oats, and it always turns out fine. Use what you have.
Try raisins, chopped dates, dried apricots, dried cherries, or any dried fruit that you like. Just be sure to add them after baking so they stay soft, not crunchy.
Fill mason jars or cellophane bags with cooled granola. Tie with festive ribbons and add handmade tags. One batch fills approximately 4 pint-sized mason jars.
Yes, use certified gluten free oats to make this recipe gluten free.
If you try this Christmas Granola or any other ideas on my blog, leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Recipe
Christmas Granola
Ingredients
- 1 lb. quick rolled oats or 12 oz of quick rolled oats and 4 oz large flake oats
- 3 cups chopped raw nuts I used almonds, walnuts, and pecans
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dried fruit I used cranberries, chopped figs, raisins and flaked coconut for half, and chocolate chips and coconut for the other half
Instructions
- To start with put half your quick oats (8 oz.) in a food processor and grind into oat flour.1 lb. quick rolled oats
- Combine in a large bowl the oat flour, quick oats, nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir.3 cups chopped raw nuts, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 lb. quick rolled oats
- In a small pan combine sugar, butter, salt, and water and heat over a medium heat until it boils, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup butter, ⅓ cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the melted butter wet ingredients mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to fully combine. Let it sit 10 min.
- Pour granola mixture onto a large cookie sheet in an even layer, and cook in a 300 degree oven for 25-30 min. Stir the mixture and keep cooking for a total of 1 ½ hours, until crunchy and dry, making sure to stir every 15 min. so the edges don't burn. Be careful not to over stir, you want to have some chucky clusters of granola.
- When it's finished cooking, let it cool completely, and then add in the dried fruit, and/or chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container, like a glass jar.dried fruit
Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist says
Our very favourite granola recipe. We make this all the time. I know your family will love it too!
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great recipe to make for friends on the weekend!