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Crunchy, nutty, and sweet, this air fryer granola is great on top of yogurt and paired with berries. It’s flavored with almond, vanilla, and hints of cinnamon for a cozy, crispy treat.
Why You’ll Love this Air Fryer Granola
First of all, what’s not to love about using an air fryer? Fun fact, in my previous job I designed air fryers. So, if you’re like me, you want to try air frying just about everything — from caramelized pears to sugar cookies. I’ve shown you how to air fry cookie dough, how to air fry Beyond Burgers…we’ve even dehydrated strawberries in the air fryer.
And now I’m showing you how to make granola…you guessed it…in the air fryer! But, if you don’t have one, no worries, you can also bake this granola. Here are a few more reasons why we love this recipe:
Emily’s Recipe Notes:
- Quick & Easy: Air frying this granola helps cut down on both preheat time and cooking time so you can have your granola in your bowl in under 30 minutes!
- Crispiest Texture: The air fryer also does a great job at creating crispy, crunchy clusters of oats.
- Vegan, Dairy-free and Eggless: This granola recipe is made without honey. Instead, it uses maple syrup and brown rice syrup (or swap in vegan honey) to create sticky granola clusters.
- Super Versatile: Add in your favorite ingredients and use it in yogurt bowls or with fruit.
Ingredients
This recipe has less than 10 ingredients! Yet another reason to love it. Hopefully, you already have most of these ingredients on hand. Here are a few quick notes and some substitutions:
Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
This is the base of the granola. You can swap in quick oats if you’d prefer. I don’t recommend using steel cut oats – save those for these steel cut oat cookies instead :).
Sweetener of Choice
I’m using a combination of maple syrup and vegan honey in this recipe.
You can also use brown rice syrup, agave nectar, light corn syrup or another liquid sweetener of choice.
Nut Butter
A bit of nut butter helps hold the oats together and creates those big clusters we all know and love. I’m using peanut butter but you can also use almond butter.
Coconut Oil
This helps add some flavor and crisps up the oats.
Other Add-Ins
What’s amazing about homemade granola, in general, is that you can customize it to your liking. You can sub in any fun flavors or ingredients that you love and enjoy in your granola. Below are a few ideas for some add-ins you could try out:
- Chia Seeds or Flax Seed
- Pecans, Slivered Almonds or Walnuts
- Dried Fruits, like apple
- Cocoa Powder or Cacao Nibs, for chocolatey flavor
- Nutmeg, Cinnamon or Cardamom, or other spices
How to Make Granola in the Air Fryer
The prep time for this vegan cinnamon granola is super fast. All you need to do is combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and then transfer them to the basket.
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the raisins.
Stir together until all the oats are evenly covered in the nut butter and the syrups.
Transfer the mixture to the air fryer basket and spread the granola out into a thin, single layer. If the mixture doesn’t all fit in the basket, air fry the granola in two batches.
Air fry for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway. Let cool and then break it into big clusters!
Cooling & Serving the Air Fryer Granola
Let the granola cool completely in the basket. This will take about 15-25 minutes.
This air fryer granola is super tasty paired with dairy-free yogurt. I love unsweetened soy, almond, or coconut yogurt topped with blueberries.
It can also be eaten on its own with oat milk poured on top! The granola will stay fresh if stored in an air-tight container for about 1 month.
Tips & FAQs
Below are some tips, tricks, and faqs to help you make the best air fryer granola!
Yes! This recipe is dairy-free and vegan. It’s made without any honey. Instead, it uses maple syrup and vegan honey (or brown rice syrup) to form granola clusters.
If you can’t find or don’t have time to make vegan honey, you can use brown rice syrup, the same amount of light agave nectar, date syrup, honey (if not vegan) or light corn syrup. You could also use more maple syrup.
Note: If using agave or maple syrup the mixture won’t be quite as sticky, so the granola won’t form clusters as well.
Yes, this granola can be baked in a traditional oven instead of the air fryer. You’ll want to bake it at 300F for about 25-27 minutes, stirring halfway.
More Oat Based Recipes
Air Fryer Granola with Big Clusters
Rate this RecipeIngredients
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats, 230g
- ½ cup peanut butter, 120g- or other nut butter of choice
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil, 60g
- ¼ cup vegan honey, 60g, or brown rice syrup – see notes
- ½ cup maple syrup, 120g
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
Add-Ins
- ½ cup chopped pecans, 60g -walnuts or almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract, optional but recommended
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, optional
- ½ cup raisins, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 275°F. Prep your air fryer basket by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the raisins. Stir together until all the oats are evenly covered in the peanut butter and the syrups.2 ½ cups rolled oats, ½ cup peanut butter, ¼ cup melted coconut oil, ¼ cup vegan honey, ½ cup maple syrup, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp salt, ½ cup chopped pecans, ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, 1 tsp almond extract
- Transfer the mixture to the air fryer basket and spread the granola out into a thin, single layer. If the mixture doesn’t all fit in the basket, air fry the granola in two batches.
- The granola will naturally form clusters, but if you'd like even larger pieces roll about 1 tbsp of the mixture at a time together to form balls.
- Air fry for 20-23 minutes, stirring halfway through. (See notes on cooking time and temperature if baking).
- Let cool completely in the air fryer basket. Once cooled, stir in the raisins, if using.Store in an airtight container for up to a month at room temperature.½ cup raisins
Recipe notes
- Vegan Honey or Brown Rice Syrup: Substitute the same amount with maple syrup, corn syrup, date syrup or agave nectar. Vegan honey and brown rice syrup are both stickier than maple syrup or agave, which helps the granola form clusters.
- Coconut Oil: Melted coconut oil can be subbed for melted vegan butter. I don’t recommend using vegetable oil in its place.
- The thicker your granola layer is, the longer it will have to cook to get crunchy.
- The granola will fill slightly soft when removed from the air fryer. This is okay! It will become very crunchy after cooling.
- Baking Instructions: Preheat the oven to 300F. Transfer the mixture to a greased baking pan (or one lined with parchment). Bake for 25-27 minutes, stirring halfway.
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