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This small batch apple granola is crunchy and lightly sweet, with toasted walnuts and almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon, and chewy bits of fresh apple. It’s made with one apple and perfect for one or two people.
Featured Comment
“This granola recipe is amazing and I loved it!”
– Ashleigh
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Equipment: Rimmed baking sheet, small saucepan
- Cook Method: Baked
- Servings: 1 to 2
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: It tastes like apple pie in granola form, sweet apple and maple with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little clove, and a buttery, nutty finish.
A fresh apple, diced small and baked in with the oats, is what sets this granola apart. The pieces turn chewy and sweet in the oven and taste like the apple they came from, so there’s real apple in every spoonful.
Why You’ll Love This Apple Granola Recipe
This apple granola has been on One Dish Kitchen since 2015, and it’s still one of my favorite ways to use one apple. A handful tastes a lot like apple pie, with chewy, sweet pieces of apple baked in among maple oats and toasted nuts, and it disappears pretty quickly at my house.
I live in apple country, in the mountains around Hendersonville, North Carolina, and every fall I buy apples from the orchards nearby. Gala and Honeycrisp are the two I reach for most, but any apple you have will work, so use what’s in your fruit bowl. My kids loved this granola when they were living at home, and I still bake it the same way now.
Like all of my granola, it’s made from scratch with butter and maple syrup, no oil and no preservatives, which is where that buttery finish comes from. It’s made for one or two people, about 2½ cups, so you finish it while the apple pieces are still at their best.
Looking for more small batch granola recipes? Try my small batch butter pecan granola, small batch maple granola, small batch pumpkin spice granola, and small batch gingerbread granola.
Ingredients
Everything in this apple oat granola recipe comes from the pantry except the apple. For ways to use any leftover ingredients, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Apple: One large apple, diced into ½-inch pieces, gives you about 1 cup. Use any apple you like to eat, peeled or not. To dice it, cut the apple in half, cut out the core, cut each half into ½-inch thick slices, then cut the slices into ½-inch cubes. The pieces soften and sweeten as the granola bakes. Extra apples? Use them in a mini apple cake or single serve apple crisp.
Old-fashioned rolled oats: Oats are the base of the granola and hold their shape in the oven. Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick or instant, which bake up soft and powdery. Certified gluten-free oats work if you need them. Extra oats are good in small batch oatmeal cookies or blackberry crisp for one.
Shredded coconut: Unsweetened shredded coconut toasts along with the oats and adds a little texture and mild sweetness. Look for it in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips. Use leftover coconut in ambrosia for one or small batch morning glory muffins.
Walnuts and almonds: Both go in raw and toast in the oven, so there’s no need to roast them first. Buy them already chopped, or chop whole nuts into pieces about the size of a pea so they bake evenly with the oats. Pecans, cashews, or pumpkin seeds can take the place of either one.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar sweetens the granola and helps it bake to a deep golden color. To measure packed brown sugar, press it firmly into the measuring spoon until it holds its shape.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice: These four spices are what make the granola taste like apple pie. If you’d rather measure one jar than four, use 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice in place of all of them.
Salted butter: Butter is what coats the oats and gives this granola its rich flavor. Salted butter is what we use, so the recipe only needs a small pinch of extra salt.
Maple syrup: Use real maple syrup, the kind labeled pure, not pancake syrup. It sweetens the granola, binds the oats and nuts so they toast into crisp pieces, and gives this maple apple granola its flavor. Honey, agave, or brown rice syrup can stand in. Leftover maple syrup goes into a small pecan pie or small batch mulled cider,
Vanilla extract: Vanilla rounds out the sweetness. Stir it in after the butter and maple syrup come off the heat so its flavor doesn’t cook away.
Recipe Variations
A few swaps change the spice, the fruit, or make this apple pie granola work without nuts or dairy.
Apple Cinnamon Granola
Leave out the nutmeg, cloves, and allspice and use 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in their place. The apple and cinnamon carry the flavor on their own.
Dried Apple Granola
Leave the fresh apple out of the mix and bake the granola as written. Once it has cooled completely, stir in ¼ cup of chopped dried apple. Added after baking, the dried apple stays chewy instead of turning hard in the oven, and the granola keeps for up to 2 weeks on the counter because there’s no fresh fruit in it.
Nut-Free Apple Granola
Replace the walnuts and almonds with an equal amount of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. The seeds toast in the oven the same way and keep the crunch.
Vegan Apple Granola
Use the same amount of coconut oil or plant-based butter in place of the salted butter. The recipe already calls for a pinch of salt, so nothing else changes.
How To Make Small Batch Apple Granola
These photos and instructions show how to make fresh apple granola from one bowl and one saucepan. See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, walnuts, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves until the spices are mixed through.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the maple syrup and salt for about 30 seconds, until blended, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until every piece is coated.
- Add the diced apple and fold it in gently so the pieces stay whole.
- Spread the mixture in a thin, even layer on a rimmed sheet pan.
Pro Tip: The apple adds moisture, so give the granola room on the pan. A thin layer lets that moisture bake off and the granola comes out crisp.
- Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the oats and nuts are deep golden and the apple pieces have shrunk and look dry at the edges.
- Let the granola cool completely on the pan. It crisps as it cools. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Expert Tips
Keep the dice at ½ inch. Smaller pieces dry out and get tough, and bigger ones stay wet in the middle after 40 minutes. Even ½-inch pieces finish at the same time as the oats.
Stick to one cup of apple. The recipe is balanced so one large apple’s worth of fruit bakes off its moisture in 40 minutes. Adding a second apple leaves the granola soft no matter how long you bake it.
Store it in the fridge. The fresh apple means this granola doesn’t keep on the counter the way plain granola does. Once it’s completely cool, put it in an airtight container in the fridge, where it keeps for up to 2 weeks. If it softens, spread it on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 7 to 8 minutes to bring back the crunch.
Troubleshooting
Here’s how to get homemade apple granola crisp all the way through with the apple pieces chewy, every time.
Why is my apple granola soft?
Apple granola comes out soft when the moisture from the fresh apple doesn’t bake off, usually because the granola was piled too thick on the pan or pulled from the oven too soon. Spread it in a thin, even layer and give it the full 40 minutes, stirring every 10. If it’s still soft once it has cooled completely, return it to a 300°F oven for 5 to 10 more minutes and cool it again.
Why did the apple pieces turn hard or burn?
Apple pieces turn hard or burn when they’re cut too small or the oven runs hot. Dice the apple into ½-inch pieces so they stay tender through the full bake, and check your oven with an oven thermometer if the edges darken before the 40 minutes are up. Pieces that look dry at the edges are done; pieces that look dark brown went too far.
Why did my apple granola get soft after a day or two?
Apple granola softens in storage because the fresh apple keeps releasing moisture into the container. Cool the granola completely before you seal it, and store it in the fridge rather than on the counter. If it has lost its crunch, spread it on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 7 to 8 minutes, then cool it again before storing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, fresh apple can go into granola before it bakes. Dice one apple into ½-inch pieces and fold it in with the coated oats, then bake at a low 300°F so the moisture from the apple cooks off while the oats toast.
Any apple you like to eat works in granola. Gala and Honeycrisp are the two I use most because they’re sweet and hold their shape in the oven, but a tart apple like Granny Smith works too if you prefer less sweetness.
Apple granola keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. Because it’s made with fresh apple, it doesn’t keep at room temperature the way plain granola does.
No, apple granola made with fresh apple doesn’t freeze well, because the apple pieces turn soft and wet when thawed. To freeze a batch, leave the apple out, bake the granola as written, and freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
No, you can leave the peel on. Peeled apple gives a softer piece and unpeeled holds its shape a little better, so it comes down to the texture you want.
Yes, dried apple works in place of fresh. Leave the fresh apple out, bake the granola, and stir in ¼ cup of chopped dried apple once it has cooled so it stays chewy. The Dried Apple Granola variation above has the details.
Apple granola forms clusters when you leave it undisturbed on the pan after the last stir and let it cool completely before breaking it up. Stir at each 10-minute interval while it bakes, then press a few sections together with the back of a spoon after the final pull and let it cool without touching it.
Apple granola goes with plain Greek yogurt, a splash of cold milk, or a spoonful over small batch baked apples. It’s also good over peanut butter oatmeal, a tropical smoothie, or vanilla ice cream for one.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
RELATED: 20 Single Serving Breakfast Recipes Worth Waking Up For
If you’ve tried this baked apple granola or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Small Batch Apple Granola
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup chopped almonds
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup diced apples (1 large apple)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, walnuts, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves until the spices are mixed through.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Stir in the maple syrup and salt for about 30 seconds, until blended, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until every piece is coated.
- Add the diced apple and fold it in gently so the pieces stay whole.
- Spread the mixture in a thin, even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the oats and nuts are deep golden and the apple pieces have shrunk and look dry at the edges.
- Let the granola cool completely on the baking sheet, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge.Yields about 2½ cups.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is so good! I like to make mine into clusters- mixed crunchy blobs of yum. Great on vanilla ice cream too.
I’m so glad you love our granola recipe. Thank you for your feedback!
This is SO delicious. I love that you put fresh apples in it! I usually put dried fruit in my granola but have never thought to add fresh in. I loved it.
Thanks, Ariana. I love the addition of fresh apples.
This granola recipe is amazing and I loved it!
Thank you, Ashleigh!
This is a super easy snack or breakfast!
Thanks, Kristyn!
I am loving this pie inspired breakfast, what a great fall treat!
Thanks, Emily!
We have a huge apple tree in our yard and I’m always looking for new recipes. This was perfect!
How lucky you are, Deb. I’d love to be able to walk outside and pick fresh apples from our tree.
So we went apple picking last weekend, and I have been looking for apple recipes. This one came at the perfect time.
My kids loved this!
Fun!! I have never thought to use fresh apples in my granola. We make granola all the time and I am always looking for new granola ideas! This is so perfect for this time of year.
I started out thinking I would use dried apples in this recipe but forgot them at the store. The fresh apples were all I had and I’m so glad because I think it’s better this way. Thanks, Erin!
Dear Joanie, I love the idea of apple pie for breakfast! This is so delicious.
Thank you, Allie. It disappears pretty quickly at my house.
I LOVE apple pie but even more when it’s in granola form. I would love to top my yogurt with a bunch of this…yum!
It’s so good over yogurt. Thanks, girl!
Winner Winner!! I’m going to have to make this ASAP! My kids will be so happy 😉
Yay! My kids love it. Thanks, Gwen!
Ooooh this is divine!!
Thank you, Amanda!
This sounds so terrific – just absolutely perfect for fall! And I’ll bet that it makes your kitchen smell heavenly as it’s baking! I definitely think it’s perfect for breakfast or for snacking, and I can just really imagine that it would be stellar over some vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert … so many possibilities! Yum!
Thanks so much, Shelley!
I love apple pie and granola is one of my addictions. Can’t wait to make up a big ol’ batch to enjoy.
Thank you, Amy. Granola is one of my addictions too 🙂
Joanie, I am really digging this idea! Many people have excess apples right now and this is an easy way to use them up. And something different than the standard apple pie (which there is nothing wrong with!)
Thanks, Kacey. It’s a great way to use fresh apples.
any time you can have breakfast that tastes like pie, well that is a good day
That’s so true, Heather. Thank you.
Now this is granola I can get into! Absolutely delicious!
Thanks, Paula!