Apple Pie becomes an easy, healthy oil-free granola! This tastes and smells just like apple pie, but much quicker and easier to make. Full of wholesome ingredients and free of oil and gluten, this makes a hearty and healthy, but incredibly delicious granola.
Yes. This right here. Cinnamon Apple Pie Granola. Raise your hand if you love granola. Raise your hand if you love apple pie. If both of your hands are up, then you will be loving this granola like it’s your best bud. It will make your house smell amazinggggggg.
This oil-free apple pie granola is actually a combo of 2 of my recipes. First, my popular 5 Ingredient Cinnamon Granola. Seriously, can it get any easier than that? It just so happens to be oil-free too. I try to avoid oil at all costs and I definitely don’t want it in my granola. What works even better is using nut butters or seed butters. Not only do they impart a much richer flavor, they are a whole food with all the nutrition still in tact. They also help to make the granola clump together! It’s a win-win all around.
The 2nd recipe that I took inspiration from is my Vegan Gluten-free Apple Crisp. I make it every year and it’s a favorite of my hubby’s. It is so delicious and about 10 billion times healthier than the oil/butter/sugar filled crisps out there. It’s always a hit at the holidays and nobody is asking “where’s the sugar and butter?” They just gobble it up.
We were just devouring this on it’s own, but it would be super awesome as cereal with some fresh, cold almond milk. Yum.
Now. Go make some of this amazing oil-free apple pie granola and tell me that your house doesn’t smell like pure heaven and that it doesn’t totally taste like apple pie!
MORE VEGAN OIL-FREE GRANOLA RECIPES
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Oil-Free Apple Pie Granola
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup (120g) chopped honey crisp apple, into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 cups (200g) oats
- 1/2 cup (60g) pecans, chopped (You can sub sunflower kernels or pumpkin seeds for a nut-free version)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons (48g) creamy almond butter (You can sub sunbutter for a nut-free version)
- 2 tablespoons (40g) unsulphured regular molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/2 tablespoon (7g) vanilla (optional)
Note
- This granola has the perfect amount of sweetness to it that will remind you of apple pie. Please note that if you change any of the liquid ingredients, it can really affect the resulting texture and crunch. The combo of the syrup/molasses/almond butter gives the granola a nice crisp and clump effect.
Instructions
- First, peel and chop up your apple and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C) degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the oats, pecans (use sunflower seeds for nut-free), cinnamon and salt (allspice if using) to a large bowl and whisk until well combined, making sure the cinnamon coats all the oats well. Add the chopped apple and stir to coat the apple pieces really well.
- In a separate small bowl, add syrup, almond butter (or sunbutter), molasses and vanilla and stir until completely smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until all the oats and ingredients are well coated and wet. Make sure to get all the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the mixture over the lined pan and spread out evenly, about an 1/2 inch high. Bake for 15 minutes on the center rack. Remove and stir the granola around really well, making sure to get underneath so it cooks evenly. Add back to the oven and bake 15 more minutes, watching closely the last couple of minutes to make sure the edges don't burn.
- Let cool 15 minutes before eating, as it will crisp up as it cools. Store in a sealed container or ziplock bag. Note: Because this has apples in it, it will make the granola soften some by the next day (if you have any left!) so I just simply added it back to the oven for just another minute or so to rewarm and make crispy again. This is totally optional, but I liked the feeling of eating the warm "apple pie" straight from the oven.
Gotta make this! Yummy! ~Kristen @eat_juicy
Dang! Thought I had everything but I do not have reg molasses just blackstrap. I’ll have to get some!
Aww man! Sorry, I just think the blackstrap molasses would be way too strong of a flavor and take away from the apple pie flavor. Get the regular, you’ll be glad you did 🙂
I make this recipe with unsulphured blackstrap molasses all the time and it is delicious. I don’t find it overpowering at all, but I do add extra pecans and apples, and cook a bit longer
So glad to hear that Frankie!
This granola is delicious! So much flavour! Taste just like apple pie! It would be good with almond milk or dare I say vanilla coconut ice cream on top! I am going to try it both ways, if it lasts long enough. 😊
So awesome to hear Debbie!!
Thank you Kristen! x
This is a “must make”. I love granola, apple and cinnamon so this is a definite “will make” as soon as possible!
Me too! I just can’t get enough! Thanks Cindy!
Brandi I love this granola, I had both my hands up. Love them both and the idea of eating a bowl of apple pie for breakfast is very appealing to me for sure. This is like an apple crisp. Delicious.
Thank you Suzanne! Haha….both hands up 🙂 Yes, it’s definitely similar to my apple crisp in flavor, but crunchier and no flour. It’s soooo yummy…Easier and quicker than a crisp too 🙂
If both of my hands are up, I won’t be able to EAT this :-)! Loving the apple chunks in there, girl. And loving how “fall” it is.
Lol!! Cute!
Molasses is the bomb and as you know I use it in a ton of my stuff so two thumbs up for this recipe!! Nice one friend!
Thanks girl! I LOVE molasses…my favorite use is in cookies…love the texture and depth of flavor it gives. I put it in my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes and it gives it a slightly, greater depth and a wonderful texture. 🙂
My daughter, whose not a fan of cereal bars or anything with nuts really liked this. I think it was the molasses. I too bake cookies with molasses and ginger which she also really likes. I guess I’ll have to bake another batch real soon and maybe hide it so I can have some too. Lol ( chopped the apple into tiny pieces so they would dry out and I liked the result. I also subbed some of the maple syrup with agave because I didn’t have quite enough in the house at the time, worked quite well.) thanks for sharing this with the world.
Oh Brandi, this looks phenomenal and I’m LOVING the chunks of apples in there! My kids would love this too!!!!
Thanks Melanie! It’s so good, I hope you try it!
Granola = MORE ADDICTING THAN DRUGS! So essentially you’re enabling some very dangerous recreational munching 😉
Hahaha! It sure does, doesn’t it! I’m a granola snob too, lol!
Your granola would definitely improve my mornings 😀
Breakfast is legit my favourite meal of the day!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Mine too Uru!! I love breakfast the most because I’m starvin marvin in the mornings!!
I just love homemade granola! When I see the boxed up granolas in the stores, those stating they are “healthy” I just shake my head, because why don’t people make their own! I make granola every week and am constantly switching it up and trying new ideas/recipes. I have finally been able to make it and NOT eat it all within a few days! I will definitely be trying out your recipe. I believe I can actually imagine the apple aroma right now… 🙂
Oh it smells sooooo good, heavenly good! I agree too…there is always so much oil and sugar added and preservatives and it never tastes that good. When it’s so easy to make at home, there really is no reason not to!
OH man, those chunks of apple!! This is a perfect fall recipe.
I would make this for the smell alone, ha ha! Bonus that it tastes delicious. 😉
Haha! I know right…seriously, the whole house smells divine! 🙂
I love making my own granola! I agree. Using nutbutter is way healthier (and tastier) than using oil. I never tried using fresh apple though, I always thought it would make them go soggy the next day but if you can simply heat them in the oven again to make them crunchy again, why the heck not!! Love it.
Thank you Keren! Nope, doesn’t make it soggy at all, thanks to the molasses and almond butter 🙂 It does soften a bit the next day because of the apple, but a quick reheat in the oven makes it perfect again, if you really want it crispy again. Super delish!
I’ve made a lot of your breakfast bars and granola recipes, and while they are all delicious, this is my household’s favorite! This is fresh and flavorful, and makes a great snack! Thank you for all of your great recipes!
Thank you so much Stephanie for the wonderful feedback! I’m so glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes, I love hearing feedback, so thank you!
OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! My house smells amazing! I just took a batch of this delicious granola out of the oven and it is, without surprise, incredible. All I had was blackstrap molasses (because that’s all we use), so I only used 1.5 TBSP and it was perfect. We’re molasses addicts in this house….combined with the cinnamon, this is perfect. I can’t wait to have some for a snack later or breakfast tomorrow!
Sorry for the delayed responsel! I’m trying to catch up on all my comments. Anyways, yippee!! Thanks so much for the awesome feedback..I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit and even happier to hear it worked out well with the blackstrap molasses! I will definitely try that next time! Thank you so much for making it!
I’ve been dying for an apple pie lately…but I don’t mind eating something that tastes and smells like Brandi’s dazzling apple pie! Your granola looks so delicious and I love allspice!
Thanks so much Rika! I love allspice too, omg, I add it to my Mexican Chili and it is one of my secrets to the flavor!
This looks seriously amazing Brandi. After reading about your cinnamon roll overnight oats (in your comment!) I clicked on the first cinnamony recipe I saw on your blog, haha! I love the fact that you’ve used almond butter to form the clusters. Such an awesome, healthy idea. I need to get on the granola making bandwagon. I do have a beautiful local supplier of small batch granola that I love but it’s awesome knowing exactly what you put into your breakfast! xx
Hi Gabby! I haven’t calculated the nutrition yet on this one, but I will try to get it up by tomorrow. Thank you! 🙂
Holy cow this is so good!! I am now motivated to make granola more often! The only change I made was to reduce the molasses by 1 tbsp and increase the maple syrup by the same amount because blackstrap molasses was all I had. Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe!
Wonderful April! I’m so happy to hear you loved this granola so much! Thank you so much for leaving feedback!
Omg, you’re a genius with recipe making, as always! This is so yummy!! I didn’t make this before because I don’t get almond butter often. I love it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, too! 😍
Made this tonight and it turned out fantastic! Thanks!
So happy to hear that, yay!
I have a dozen red delicious apples I’m trying to use. Could they be subbed for the honey crisp?
Yes!
Thank you! Trying it today! 🙂