Granola substitutes

Plain old-fashioned rolled oats browned in a dry pan, or in a little butter or oil with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

Best for

yogurt parfaits, smoothie bowls, crumble toppings, sprinkling over fruit

Dry-toasted oats over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes, stirred often, taste nutty and are pleasantly crisp for the first half hour, though they will not form clusters. Adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup per cup of oats and toasting 8 to 10 minutes gets you much closer to real granola, including the clumping and the caramel note. This is not really a substitute so much as making granola quickly.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.