Chai Spiced Granola
This chai spiced granola is sweet and salty, packed with a variety of nuts and seeds, and coated in warming, aromatic spices!
It’s hard to go back to store-bought granola after making it at home. Not only is it super easy to make, but you can control the ingredients and switch up the flavors. Plus, there are no funky additives! I have recipes for honey granola and maple almond granola in my cookbook. But today, I’m making this warm and delicious chai spiced version.
I’ve been sprinkling this on endless yogurt bowls or anything where I want some crunch and sweet, warming flavor. And it stores perfectly for weeks. Aka — it’s perfect for meal prep!
Chai Spiced Granola Recipe Ingredients
There’s honestly so much room for creativity when making granola. But since I love chai spices, this is a fun and flavorful blend I think you’ll instantly fall in love with.
- Nuts: I’m using a blend of almonds, pecans, and cashews. But feel free to use other nuts of your choice.
- Seeds: Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are great for giving this granola a boost in vitamins and nutrients!
- Spices: Like my chai latte, you’ll need a mix of cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, and allspice.
- Sweetener & Flavors: Blackstrap molasses, honey, and vanilla extract act as the binding ingredient for all the nuts and seeds. But they also give this granola a sweet touch!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Make Granola
Blend the nuts and seeds. Pulse them in a food processor until they’ve been chopped to a medium texture. Alternatively, you can roughly chop them with a knife.
Stir everything together. Stir together the nut and seed mixture with the spices, blackstrap molasses, honey, and vanilla extract. Everything should be well-coated!
Divide and bake! Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spread the granola on top of each in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes at 275°F (135°C), then remove the sheet pans from the oven and stir the granola. Rotate your pans when you place them back in the oven and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Helpful tip: It can quickly go from golden to burned within a minute, so keep an eye on it. It won’t look any different when it’s done baking and will still be soft – that’s fine. It will harden once it cools.
Let it cool. Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before using or storing away.
Ways to Use Granola
- Make it a part of your breakfast routine. You can top this on yogurt bowls, chia pudding, smoothie bowls, cereal bowls, or even on top of fresh fruit!
- Add some crunch to your dessert. This is great for making fruit crisps (like my berry crisp), making it a part of chocolate bark, or sprinkling on top of things like ice cream.
- Eat it as a snack. Sometimes, I love to snack on a handful size when I want a quick crunchy bite throughout the day!
How to Store Granola
I like to store granola in these large glass jars. But any airtight container will work just fine! Here are two ways to store it.
- To store for the week: Store this granola in a large jar or container at room temperature for several weeks.
- Freezing for later: If you want to enjoy this for another month, this can be stored in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months!
More Healthy Snacks
As I always say, having homemade healthy snacks on hand is a good idea. So here are some favorites of mine to choose from!
- Trail Mix Granola Bars
- Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- No Bake Energy Balls
- Ultimate Seed Crackers dipped in this Classic Hummus
- Baked Plantain Chips (or Zucchini Chips!)
I can’t wait for you to make this delicious chai spiced granola! Once you do, let me know your thoughts and how you use it in the comment box below.
Chai Spiced Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- ¾ cup pecans
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup cashews
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons organic blackstrap molasses
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 275°F (135°C). Place your nuts and seeds into a food processor, and pulse until they've been chopped to a medium texture. Alternatively, you can roughly chop them with a knife.
- Place the nuts and seeds into a large mixing bowl. Add the spices, molasses, honey, and vanilla extract. Stir together thoroughly.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the granola mix evenly between the two pans in a single, flat layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the sheet pans from the oven and stir the granola. Rotate your pans when you place them back in the oven. Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, being careful not to burn the granola. Note: It can quickly go from golden to burned within a minute, so keep an eye on it. It won't look any different when it's done baking and will still be soft – that's fine. It will harden once it cools.
- Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. Place it in a sealed container and store it for future use.
Lisa’s Tips
- This is my favorite KitchenAid Food Processor that works so well for this recipe and many others!
- Each serving is about 1/3 cup.
Nutrition
Recipe originally posted May 2015, but updated to include new information.
Great recipe! Had to make some substitutions for what I had on hand, but the granola stills turned out fabulous! My 8 year old will also enjoy this flavor! Thanks for another great recipe!
Glad you and the kiddo loved this granola recipe.
love this granola, I did not have blackstrap so used grandmas molasses. I decided to dehydrate them instead of baking as to not burn them, they are excellent
Glad you enjoyed this granola recipe Grace!
Loved making this recipe. I substitute molasses for honey and it was delicious!! I have been eating it with my overnight granola, and alone. Thanks Lisa!
I made this recipe… OMG!! it is excellent. I could not find molasses and sub with more honey. it was great!
I modified slightly … reduced nuts and seeds by 1/2 and subbed same amount of oatmeal (rolled oats) plus added some coconut oil. I also added a bit of salt as my nuts and seeds were all unsalted.
Delicious! I have several granola recipes that I alternate … this one is wonderfully different. I will try it with no oatmeal … kind of candied, spiced nuts and seeds :)
I made this last week and am addicted to this chai spiced granola. Plan to make it again this week so I can share with my friends. Thank you for always write an east recipe to follow.
I had to make this as soon as I saw the post on Instagram. It was absolutely yummy just as I thought it would be! I made a small batch at first and adjusted the spices accordingly and added some dried cranberries when it was completely cooled. My friends loved it! I’ll be making a lot more of this recipe ❤️
So glad you enjoyed this chai spiced granola Angelic!
We love it! My little ones snacked it the whole week and didnt even ask for chocolate :-)
Mostly we ate it with Joghurt and I substituted the almonds for what we had home – oats. Worked out perfectly
Hi Lisa,
Quick question… what can I sub the molasses with? We live abroad and molasses is something I can’t find easily.
It will likely work without it. Maybe just add a smidge more honey or maple syrup. Enjoy!
This will now be a staple for anything from a quick snack to overnight oat toppings, yogurt toppings, ice cream…it is fantastic!
Glad this granola recipe was a success Caroline!
So delicious and easy! I didn’t have enough nuts on hand so I put some rolled oats in to make up the difference. That spice blend is so flavourful and unique for a granola and I will absolutely make this again. I had it on some plain yogurt with a sliced banana and I am excited to try different fruit with it.
Happy to hear you’re loving this granola recipe!
So so good, I made a batch your way and a batch with Chinese five spice powder. Both yummy in my Greek yogurt. So easy.
Glad you enjoyed this granola recipe Hillary!
lol. I came here to get the recipe. Wa la .. it was posted on the main page. I am making this now. This recipe beats the store bought granola hands down even the one from Costco.
Excited for you to try this homemade granola Sharen!
How would I incorporate the oat pulp (from making oat milk) into the granola recipe?
I haven’t tried using the oat pulp yet.. but I think it would be better to leave the oats whole for this recipe.
Thank you for this recipe, Lisa. I can’t wait to try it. Is black molasses interchangeable with regular molasses? I’ve been researching but I’m more confused than ever. I am counting on you to help me figure this out 😃 Thank you very much!
Absolutely scrumptiously delicious! Going to give it to friends as gifts before I eat it all :) My only changes were adding a couple shakes of black pepper (always in chai and golden milk and love the taste) and a bit of salt (I’m a salt fanatic). Thanks!
This will be the perfect holiday gift!
This is my go-to granola recipe. I love it on granola with bananas and almond butter, but tonight I splurged and had it on vanilla ice cream. Delicious either way!
Glad you love this recipe Theresa!
I’m never buying granola again, this is the best thing I’ve ever had!! 🤤
I just don’t like cashews so I used some walnuts and macadamia instead and it worked perfectly 😊 and the maple syrup and molasses are a great combo, plus the smell! Yumm 😋
Thank you ♥
Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe, Barbora!
Hi Lisa,
I absolutely love this granola recipe!! However, I couldn’t find the blackstrap molasses. Do you have any ideas for replacing it?
Thank you!
Hi Marcela – blackstrap molasses is a bit of a unique ingredient. You could replace it with equal amounts of honey or maple syrup. Enjoy!
Hi Lisa, Do you need to activate the nuts and seeds before using them as in the recipe?
Thank you,
Hi Karina – you can, but I just use raw nuts in this recipes.
delicious! I added some oats as well. Even my husband has been gobbling it up!
Hi Dawn- Wonderful! Glad you both enjoyed this recipe :)
Does this granola have 1,200 kcals? What is the serving size?
Hi Pearl- This recipe is divided into 2 quarts for the nutritional information. So each quart is about 1,084 calories.
When this recipe came out i was soooo happy!! A gluten free, home made granola recipe.
What i love about the recipe is the addition of allspice in the spicemix. I do use it a lot in savory dishes but after trying it in my granola, i’ve never made it without it. 1/2 tsp may seem little but the flavour is just so perfect!
Hi Mallory – I’m so glad you’ve found a homemade granola recipe that you love! The allspice definitely makes this granola.
I used leftover pulp from making almond milk and it was a great way to use the remains and not waste anything. Very tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sarah- What a great idea! I’ll definitely have to try that next time :)
Have you ever substituted Blackstrap molasses with honey or maple syrup? I can’t do molasses and was wondering what would be a good substitute.
Thanks
They do have a different texture and flavor, but you could certainly give it a try! :)
Can you add gluten free oats to this recipe?
Yes, no problem!
Have just made this. That is amazing why? I don’t like granola! The ones from the shop I’ve tried are bland, uninspiring, laden with sugar. Didn’t have cashews on hand so used walnuts. The smell!!!! My god the smell!!! Have had a taste too, sooooooo unable to wait until tomorrow for the mango bowl.
Yes, that chai spiced smell gets me every time as well! Hope you enjoy it on the mango smoothie bowl!
This is soooo good, I was a little nervous making up a big batch of granola with all the spices, although I love chai, didn’t quite know if I would like it in granola, but so glad I tried this it is amazing!
Glad this recipe turned out to be a success Belinda! :)
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