Apple Cinnamon Granola

Published: Feb 6, 2014 · Modified: Oct 30, 2025 by Rebecca Pytell · This post may contain affiliate links.

An easy Apple Cinnamon Granola recipe full of the classic warm and cozy flavors! This healthy gluten-free granola is vegan, allergy-free, and made with no added sugar. Naturally sweet and made with whole grains, real apples, and tons of cinnamon spice! Perfect for breakfast, snacking, or gifting all fall and winter season long!

There is nothing better than warm and cozy homemade granola baking in the oven on a crisp fall day. Make it gluten-free, packed with naturally sweet apples, and aromatic cinnamon spice, and the deal is sealed. This was my third time making homemade granola and my second recipe. I winged it as usual, using some new ingredients I recently picked up at the grocery store, and guys...this apple cinnamon combo was delicious!

The Best Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Granola

Granola is such a fun and easy snack or satisfying breakfast to make at home. When you make it yourself, you get to control what you want to put into it, making it as healthy as you want. No processed sugar, unhealthy oils, or high-calorie overprocessed junk ingredients. Just good old healthy whole grains, fats, and real flavor. Nothing artificial, just real clean food without allergens and certified gluten-free oats that everyone in the family can enjoy! This recipe is:

Gluten-Free
Vegan & Vegetarian
Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
Oil-Free
Naturally Sweet with No Added Sugar
Kid-Friendly
Quick, Easy, Simple 9 Ingredients
Customizable & Scalable For Crowds
Healthy Fall & Winter Snack, Breakfast or Edible Holiday Gift

Ingredients To Make Apple Cinnamon Granola At Home

Certified Gluten-Free Oats: Celiacs, remember, only consume certified gluten-free oats! We want to be making safe granola, not contaminated granola. If you are not a celiac, of course, feel free to use your normal variety of whole rolled oats.
Puffed Millet: My favorite low-calorie whole grain ingredient for bulking up granola so you can eat more...for less!
Freeze-Dried Apples: Crispy, crunchy, no sugar-added freeze-dried apple is seriously the best addition to a healthy cinnamon apple granola!
Hemp Seeds + Flax Seeds: Nut-free granola is hard to find, but when you make it at home, you can swap the otherwise healthy ingredients with allergy-friendly seeds! I used a combination of hulled hemp seeds (hemp hearts) and milled flaxseed.
Applesauce: If you want to make clumpy granola without egg whites, use applesauce! The applesauce here has multiple purposes: making the granola clumpy and clustery with its stickiness, sweet and appley without added sugar, and adding moisture without oil.
Spices: Cinnamon (obviously), a dash og nutmeg, and a dose of vanilla extract!

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Low and slow is the best way to bake granola without burning it. Don't rush the process with a high oven temperature.
If you want a sweeter granola, you can add a few drops of liquid stevia to keep it sugar-free, or a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or vegan honey. A little brown sugar (or sugar-free brown sugar) would be fabulous as well!
You can swap puffed millet with puffed rice, swap in spices like allspice or ginger, and use different seeds to your liking!
Mixing your granola during the baking process will lead to non-clumpy granola, which isn't wrong, by the way, but if you want clusters, make sure to pat the granola down in a single layer on your baking sheet and do not touch it! Allow it to cool completely before breaking it up and storing.
Storage: You can store granola for up to 1 month at room temperature in a sealed container like a glass jar, or up to 3 months in the fridge!

More Gluten-Free Apple Recipes: