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Granola substitute

Best substitute

Rolled oats, toasted in a skillet

Use the same amount by volume as the granola you are replacing

Best for yogurt parfaits

Close match

The fastest real substitute is oats you toast yourself: rolled oats in a dry skillet for 5 minutes, or with a spoon of oil and a spoon of honey or maple syrup for 10 minutes in a pan, gives you the crunch and sweetness granola was providing. Muesli swaps 1:1 if you toast it briefly, crushed graham crackers or digestive biscuits work for a crumble topping, and toasted nuts and seeds cover the crunch if you do not need the sweetness.

Other granola substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Granola with ratios

  1. 2Muesli

    Taste and texture differ

    Use the same amount by volume

    A raw mix of rolled oats, dried fruit, nuts and seeds that has not been sweetened or baked.

    What changes
    Best for
    yogurt bowls, cereal with milk, overnight oats

    The ingredient list looks nearly identical, but muesli is soft and chewy rather than crunchy and it is barely sweet, so a parfait made with it tastes noticeably plainer and the texture goes from crisp to porridge-like. Toast it in a dry skillet for 5 minutes and add a small drizzle of honey to bring it much of the way back.

  2. 3Crushed graham crackers or digestive biscuits

    Taste and texture differ

    Use the same amount by volume

    Sweet wheat biscuits broken into rough pieces rather than fine crumbs.

    What changes
    Best for
    crumble and crisp toppings, yogurt parfaits, no-bake bar bases

    Sweeter than granola and sandier in the mouth, with a short snap instead of oaty chew. In a fruit crumble this is a genuinely good swap, especially with a little melted butter tossed through. In yogurt it dissolves within a couple of minutes, so add it at the table rather than in advance.

  3. 4Toasted nuts and seeds

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by volume, using about two thirds the amount if the recipe was sweet

    Roughly chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts plus pumpkin or sunflower seeds, toasted in a dry pan or a 350F oven for 8 minutes.

    What changes
    Best for
    yogurt and smoothie bowls, salad toppings, sprinkling over baked fruit

    Excellent crunch, better staying power in yogurt than granola itself, and richer. What is missing is the sweetness and the starchy bulk, so a bowl made this way tastes more savory and feels less filling. Add a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup to the bowl if that matters, and use a little less than the granola quantity because nuts are much denser.

  4. 5Crunchy breakfast cereal (cornflakes, bran flakes, Grape-Nuts-style)

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by volume

    Ordinary boxed cereal, lightly crushed so the pieces are granola-sized.

    What changes
    Best for
    yogurt parfaits, cereal bowls, crumble toppings, no-bake bars

    Delivers the crunch and roughly the right sweetness immediately with no cooking. The catch is that flaked cereals go limp within two or three minutes in yogurt or milk, much faster than granola, so this only works if you eat straight away. Nugget-style cereals like Grape-Nuts hold up far longer and are the better pick for a packed lunch.

  5. 6Oat and butter streusel

    Close match

    Use the same amount by volume of the granola called for

    A crumble topping of rolled oats, flour, brown sugar and cold butter rubbed together and baked with the dish.

    What changes
    Best for
    fruit crumbles and crisps, muffin and coffee cake toppings, baked oatmeal

    For anything going into an oven, this beats granola outright, because granola is already fully baked and tends to scorch and turn bitter with a second round of heat. Streusel browns as the fruit cooks and stays crisp on top. It is richer and more cakey than granola and no use as a cold topping.

What is Granola?

Granola is Granola is rolled oats tossed with a fat and a liquid sweetener, often with nuts and seeds, then baked until the mixture dries into crunchy toasted clusters.

Cooking tips

  • Granola is doing three separate jobs at once: crunch, sweetness and fat. Work out which one you actually need before you substitute. On yogurt it is mostly crunch and sweetness. In a homemade bar it is bulk plus something for the binder to grip. On a baked crumble it is fat and browning. The right swap is different in each case.
  • If you are using granola as a topping on something that goes into the oven, use a raw oat streusel instead. Store-bought granola is already toasted and its sugars burn quickly, which is why crumbles topped with granola often taste faintly scorched.
  • For homemade granola bars, granola is providing structure as well as flavor, so a swap needs to be similarly dry and rigid. Rolled oats work; muesli works; cornflakes work if you accept a lighter bar. Nuts alone do not, because there is not enough surface for the honey or nut butter binder to hold onto.
  • To make quick granola clusters, press the oat, oil and syrup mixture flat in the pan and leave it alone for the last 3 minutes rather than stirring. The clumps form as the sugar cools and sets, not while it is hot, so let it cool completely in the pan before breaking it up.
  • Toast any oat-based substitute right before you use it. Toasted oats are properly crisp for about an hour and then start to soften, which is the main reason commercial granola, which is baked much drier, keeps for weeks.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use plain oats instead of granola?

Yes, but toast them first. Raw rolled oats in yogurt are chalky and slightly gluey, which is nothing like granola. Five minutes in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirred often until they smell nutty and turn a shade darker, transforms them. Add a spoon of honey or maple syrup and a spoon of oil to the pan if you want the sweetness and the clumps too.

What is the difference between granola and muesli?

The same base ingredients, but granola is coated in fat and sweetener and baked until crunchy, while muesli is left raw and unsweetened. That means granola is crisp, sweet and higher in calories, and muesli is soft, plain and meant to be softened in milk or yogurt. Substituting muesli for granola will taste flat and go soggy unless you toast it and add a little sweetener.

Can I just leave the granola out?

If it is a topping, yes. A bowl of yogurt and fruit with no granola is a perfectly good bowl of yogurt and fruit, just softer and less filling. If it is an ingredient in a bar, a crust or a baked crumble, no, because there it is providing structure and bulk, and you will need to replace it with oats or crushed biscuits or the recipe will not set.

What can I use for granola in a crumble or crisp topping?

A raw oat streusel is the best answer: rub together rolled oats, a little flour, brown sugar and cold butter and scatter it over the fruit. Crushed graham crackers or digestive biscuits tossed with melted butter are the fastest answer. Avoid using actual store-bought granola here, since it is already baked and its sugar tends to burn before the fruit is done.

Which substitute stays crunchy longest in yogurt?

Toasted nuts and seeds, by a wide margin, followed by nugget-style cereals such as Grape-Nuts. Dry-toasted oats stay crisp for maybe ten minutes, crushed biscuits for two or three, and flaked cereals collapse almost immediately. If you are packing a parfait for later, use nuts and add anything oat-based separately.

Related substitutes

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