Nearly every weekend, my dad stops by Trader Joe’s to buy groceries for the week. He usually drives to the store slightly farther away in the neighboring town, partially because it’s closer to Grandma’s house… And partially because of the bigger parking lot!
Dad has his list memorized, and it only varies slightly depending on his work schedule, seasonal produce… And whether Mom wants to grill for dinner one night! But we always know his cart will be full of carrots, bananas, a loaf of bread, a pre-made lunch wrap, Mom’s favorite Valrhona dark chocolate bars, and Dad’s favorite granola.
He loves Trader Joe’s “Just the Clusters” line, where they fill boxes with different flavors of their popular oat-based granola. Although they offer quite a few varieties, like chocolate and ginger, Dad always prefers the vanilla almond and maple pecan boxes.
I must admit… He’s got great taste! Whenever I visit, I somehow find myself in the pantry, shaking out a handful of those sweet crunchy clusters for a snack. And for a small dessert after dinner. And for a pre-bedtime snack.
I think Dad already figured out to buy twice as many boxes when I come into town… Oops! ?
After returning from my last visit, I decided to create a healthier spin with the same flavors but no butter, oil or refined sugar. This Healthy Maple Pecan Granola was the result! It’s full of big clusters, just as crunchy as the Trader Joe’s original inspiration, but just 139 calories… And it’s extremely easy to make!
You just need one bowl and a fork… And I bet you even have most of the seven ingredients in your pantry already!
You’ll start with egg whites and pure maple syrup (like this!). I know—egg whites probably sound like a strange ingredient for granola! But they add extra protein and help bind together the ingredients for supremely crunchy clusters.
And no… You do NOT end up with bits of egg in your granola! It’s just like when you put eggs in cookie dough. You don’t end up with chunks of scrambled cooked eggs in your chocolate chip cookies, right? Same thing here! You thoroughly mix together the ingredients so you’ll never see bits of cooked egg in your granola. I promise!
To boost the maple flavor, you’ll also add in a bit of maple extract (like this!). You can typically find maple extract at the grocery store right next to the vanilla extract. Then I also recommend adding in cinnamon (this is my current obsession!). It creates such a warm, cozy, oh-so-irresistible flavor!
Now it’s time for the cereal part! You’ll use both old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if needed!) and brown rice cereal (like this!). I can almost hear you groaning… Egg whites and rice cereal in granola? Has Amy lost her mind??
Nope, definitely not! The brown rice cereal adds a big crunch to your granola clusters without any extra oil or butter. It’s such a great trick, and I use it in all of my granola recipes! (If you check the ingredients in your favorite store-bought granola cereals, I bet some of them use rice cereal as well!)
Here’s my best tip for big crunchy granola clusters… Bake your granola on a silicone baking mat (like this!) on a large rimmed baking sheet. I learned this trick from my friend Phi! Previously, I baked my granola in a square or rectangular cake pan, but I usually ended up with smaller clusters, with some of them borderline chewy.
The extra surface area of the rimmed baking sheet means you can spread your granola out into a thinner layer than in a cake pan… Which means it’ll cook faster, need less tossing with a spoon, and turn out much crunchier. The silicone baking mat really helps—and it makes clean up a breeze!
Once your granola finishes baking, sprinkle the pecan pieces on top. These are the ones I used! Pre-chopped in the perfect size. I love them! Remember, do NOT add the pecans to your granola before baking… They’ll end up burning in the oven!
This granola actually turned out even better than the Trader Joe’s kind… Which is so dangerous with me around. It almost never lasts more than a couple of days! ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your granola and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Maple Pecan Granola | | Print |
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp maple extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 cups (60g) crisp brown rice cereal
- 1 ½ cups (150g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
- ¼ cup (28g) finely diced pecans
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (recommended!) or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, cinnamon, and maple extract until the egg whites are broken up and slightly bubbly. Stir in the maple syrup. Pour in the brown rice cereal and oats, and gently stir with a spatula until both cereals are evenly coated.
- Spread the mixture evenly onto the prepared pan. Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes. Gently stir and move the clusters around the pan to break up the granola and prevent the bits closest to the edge from burning. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, then gently stir again. Bake for an additional 5-9 minutes (for a total of 35-39 minutes), or until the granola is golden and crunchy. Cool the granola completely to room temperature on the pan before sprinkling the diced pecans on top and transferring to an airtight container.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup… But then your granola won’t have a very strong maple flavor!
Regular crisp rice cereal (i.e. Rice Krispies) may be substituted in place of the brown rice cereal.
These are the pre-chopped pecans I used! Remember, do NOT add the pecans to your granola before baking… They’ll end up burning in the oven!
You do NOT end up with bits of egg in your granola! It’s just like when you put eggs in cookie dough. You don’t end up with chunks of scrambled cooked eggs in your chocolate chip cookies, right? Same thing here! You thoroughly mix together the ingredients so you’ll never see bits of cooked egg in your granola. I promise!
The brown rice cereal adds a big crunch to your granola clusters without any extra oil or butter. It’s such a great trick, and I use it in all of my granola recipes! (If you check the ingredients in your favorite store-bought granola cereals, I bet some of them use rice cereal as well!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Raspberry Almond Granola
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Granola
♡ Healthy 5-Ingredient Trail Mix Granola
♡ Healthy Almond Joy Granola
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Granola
♡ Healthy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Granola
♡ Healthy Honey Nut Granola
Hi, Amy!
I’m back with another raving review! The combination of techniques in your granola recipes really stand out, and I’ve never had such perfect results from my attempts to make crunchy, delicious, chunky, and wholesome granola. I’m going to copy and paste the same info on both recipes that I combined here (algorithm boost!), because I’m not a fan of the taste of stevia but I also wanted the benefits of your high protein granola recipe.
I used two egg whites, and made sure to mix the collagen peptides in well. The tip about using a spatula against the side of the bowl to work out the last little clumps was very helpful here! Collagen peptides are a new addition to my pantry, but they weren’t too difficult to find, and I didn’t taste them at all. I increased the maple syrup to 1/3 cup, and I also brought my refrigerated maple syrup up to room temperature just in case – I didn’t want it to make the protein powder clump up.
To account for the slight increase in liquid, I used 2 cups of quick oats. I couldn’t find brown rice crisp cereal, but the classic stuff provided excellent texture. I also used a bit more pecans than called for at the end, because I love those.
For the spices, I’ve noticed you talking about how great Saigon cinnamon is, and what I found was *roasted* Saigon cinnamon. This has a unique flavor but is significantly less spicy than regular cinnamon, so I use half of each to round it out. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg with the cinnamons.
It may sound like a lot of adjustments, but there’s absolutely no way I would have been able to accomplish this without your base recipes! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and what’s worked for you. This granola is going to become a regular part of my baking routine!
You’re incredibly kind, Art! It’s wonderful to hear from you again, and I’m so happy that you’re enjoying your granola. It’s such a huge compliment that you’d say these recipes had perfect results and that you think this granola will become a regular part of your baking routine — I’m honored! Thank you for taking the time to leave your reviews on both of my recipes and rate them as well. That means so much to me!! 🙂
You sound like a true natural in the kitchen — that was a brilliant move to bring your refrigerated maple syrup up to room temperature first! I’m thrilled to hear that using more maple syrup and oats did the trick and produced perfectly crunchy, chunky clusters. I really appreciate you taking the time to share all of these modifications that you made too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work out!
Out of curiosity, what brand of Saigon cinnamon did you use? It’s interesting that the roasted component made it taste less strong. I’d love to look into that… It’s the ex-scientist in me! 😉