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Treat your kids to a nutritious breakfast or snack with this healthy pumpkin flaxseed granola recipe! This homemade granola recipe is full of nourishing seeds, nuts, and oats and is made with real pumpkin puree, making it absolutely perfect for fall!
Homemade Pumpkin and Flax Seed Granola
Ditch the store-bought granola and make your own with this pumpkin flaxseed granola recipe! It’s so much easier to make than you’d expect and has tons of fiber, healthy fats, and health benefits to support your child’s development.
This pumpkin granola tastes wonderful over a bit of yogurt at breakfast or you can serve it as a healthy after school snack!
Pumpkin flax seed granola
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Why We Love This Pumpkin Flax Granola Recipe
- Easy to make: My favorite thing about this pumpkin seed and flax granola is just how easy it is to make! Toss your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, mix your wet ingredients together, then coat the dry with the wet. Pour the granola onto a baking sheet and bake until the oats have a nice, crisp texture. That’s it!
- Nutritious: This pumpkin seed granola is a nutritional powerhouse! It contains essential fatty acids, fiber, and a variety of essential vitamins and minerals thanks to the pumpkin puree, nuts, and seeds. It’s a keeper!
- Fall flavors: Although I love to make granola all year long, the pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, maple syrup, and nuts and seeds make this healthy pumpkin spice granola a perfect breakfast cereal alternative to serve during the fall months!
Ingredient Notes
Dry ingredients:
- Old fashioned rolled oats: Like most granola recipes, this pumpkin granola starts with a base of old-fashioned oats. They’re typically very affordable and a great source of whole grains for your family’s digestive system.
- Pumpkin seeds: Use shelled green pumpkin seeds for a nutty texture and to add a variety of nutrients, including antioxidants and healthy fats.
- Pecans: Pecans taste amazing with a little maple syrup and warm spices. They also add a different texture that makes this granola fun to eat.
- Ground flaxseed: I recommend using ground flaxseed instead of whole flax seeds as the grinding process makes it easier to absorb their nutritional benefits and digest them. If you have whole flax, use a spice grinder to blend them up.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon tastes wonderful in any granola recipe and can help support healthy blood sugar levels.
- Pumpkin pie spice: A little pumpkin pie spice pairs perfectly with the pumpkin puree and adds a nice fall flavor to this pumpkin granola recipe.
- Salt: Salt will enhance the sweetness and flavor, making this granola even more flavorful and delicious.
Wet ingredients:
- Pumpkin puree: The best way to add pumpkin flavor to your crunchy granola is to use real pumpkin puree! It will dehydrate and bake down onto the oats, nuts and seeds and add lots of flavor and fiber.
- Melted coconut oil: You typically need a liquified fat to give your granola a crunchy texture and melted coconut oil is perfect in this pumpkin recipe.
- Honey & maple syrup: The two different sweeteners complement each other and add so much flavor this easy recipe. Be sure to use pure maple syrup instead of imitation maple, which is mostly corn syrup.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla is vital in any sweet recipe as it adds an enticing aroma that makes your dish taste even sweeter.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pumpkin seeds, pecans, flaxseed, spices, and salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, honey, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and slightly warm.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and quickly mix with a wooden spoon.
- Spread the mixture evenly across two baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or bake in two batches). Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans every 10 minutes. If you prefer chunkier granola, don’t stir the granola as it will break up the clusters. Instead, just rotate the pans.
- Once the granola is golden brown and fragrant, remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely. It will crisp up as it cools.
- Transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy served on yogurt, with milk, or however desired!
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- Don’t forget to rotate the pans of granola! This will help ensure that the granola cooks more evenly and helps to prevent it from burning.
- Be sure to keep an eye on the granola in the last few minutes of baking to ensure that it doesn’t burn. The nuts and granola around the edges are especially prone to burning, so remove the pan from the oven if the granola starts to brown too quickly.
- Once the granola has cooled, you can also toss in some chocolate chips, dried cranberries or raisins.
- Because this recipe contains chunks of nuts and seeds, it should only be given to children over the age of 5 due to the risk of aspiration (food going into the lungs). Nuts and larger seeds require thorough chewing, and toddlers and preschool-aged children may not chew them sufficiently. If you’d like to serve the granola to toddlers, as a precaution, remove the pecans and pumpkin seeds from their serving (the ground flax seed is okay).
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can add pumpkin puree directly to your oat mixture before baking. This is a great way to add real pumpkin flavor and extra fiber to your granola. Since it adds some additional flavor, it will also allow you to use less sweetener.
Granola is a sure-fire recipe and almost always turns out well, but if you’re having issues getting crunchy granola, you may need to let it bake a little bit longer. Stick with a lower temperature and be patient! You want your granola to dry out completely before you take it out of the oven.
Also, keep in mind that the granola will crisp up as it cools, so if it looks golden brown, then you may just need to give it a few minutes to develop that crunchy texture.
Although we don’t often think about it, those teeny tiny seeds we like to include in recipes are actually not safe for kids on their own until they are 5 years old. Small nuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds can go straight into the lungs and cause children to aspirate if they aren’t chewed properly. You can modify this recipe to be safe for children under 5 by removing the pecans and pumpkin seeds.
Storage Guidelines
- Granola should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, like a bag or a glass jar, to keep it from absorbing moisture and losing its crunchy texture.
- When properly stored, homemade granola can last for several weeks.
Pumpkin Flax Granola Nutrition
This homemade pumpkin flaxseed granola recipe is a nutritious start to any day! These are the nutrition facts for a 1/4 cup serving:
- 152 calories
- 18g carbohydrates
- 3g protein
- 8g fat
- 3g fiber
- 7g sugar
Serving Suggestions
This pumpkin flax granola can be used in various ways to add flavor and texture. Some may seem ordinary and some may surprise you!
- Sprinkle over Greek yogurt and serve with fresh fruit
- Add some over homemade pudding or pumpkin pie hummus
- Sprinkle it over a pumpkin smoothie
- Toss some over baked apples
- Sprinkle some over a bagel with cream cheese
- Top a slice of toast with nut butter
- Spread some nut butter over a tortilla, add a banana and sprinkle of granola and roll
- Enjoy over smoothie bowls
- Eat it dry as a tasty snack
- Stir in dried fruit and apple chips for a homemade trail mix
Recipe Variations
- Make gluten-free granola: The only thing you need to do to ensure this pumpkin granola with pumpkin seeds is gluten free is to use certified gluten-free oats. Easy!
- Add more seeds: Although this recipe already has a variety of seeds and nuts, you can add even more! Try adding chia seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or hemp hearts to your granola mixture.
- Add protein powder: Stir in some protein powder into the granola mixture before cooking to give this pumpkin flax granola more protein.
More Similar Recipes
- Granola Breakfast Cups
- Oatmeal Pumpkin Waffles
- Blueberry Bliss Balls
- Banana Bread For Babies
- Apple Banana Carrot Muffins
- Baked Chocolate Chip Oatmeal
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Healthy Pumpkin Flax Seed Granola Recipe
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1/3 cup 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (slightly melted)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional add-ins
- Dried cranberries
- Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pumpkin seeds, pecans, flaxseed, spices, and salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, honey, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and slightly warm.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and quickly mix with a wooden spoon.
- Spread the mixture evenly across two baking sheets (or bake in two batches). Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans every 10 minutes. If you prefer chunkier granola, don’t stir the granola as it will break up the clusters. Instead, just rotate the pans.
- Once the granola is golden brown and fragrant, remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely. It will crisp up as it cools. Once cool, you can also mix in some dried cranberries, chocolate chips, or other add-ins, if desired.
- Transfer to an airtight container. Enjoy served on yogurt, with milk, or however desired!
This recipe is fantastic and approved by the whole family. We’ve added it to yogurt, cereal, banana & peanut butter wraps, toast, and I’m sure there’s been more. We ate it till there was none left and I’m ready to make the next batch. Thank you!
That’s amazing – I’m so happy your family has been loving the granola! Love all of the ways you’ve been putting it to use 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this feedback!