How to Eat Granola - 20 Easy Ideas | Carrots & Cookies (2024)

There are so many ways to eat granola! I'll show you how to eat granola at home and when on the go!

Thankfully, granola is a super versatile, easy, and delicious option that can be enjoyed on its own, as an ingredient, or as a topping. It's the perfect breakfast food or snack for kids and adults, especially when it's homemade!

Whether you just made your first batch of chunky granola from scratch or bought a big bag of granola, you're probably wondering how you are going to eat all of it.

Look no further! Here you will find twenty ideas of how to eat granola. I will start by listing the simplest ideas and end with more creative ones.

Single Serving of Granola

This is as easy as it gets. Granola can be enjoyed on its own as a midday snack. This makes it perfect for when you are short on time. Just grab a handful of granola and go!

In my opinion, chunky granola made with honey has the best snackable crunchy texture because it's made in a way that gives you larger chunks of granola. Yum!

Granola with Milk

Serving granola just like breakfast cereal is one of the simplest ways to use up your favorite granola! Just pour a bowl of granola and add milk as you would with cereal. Serve it with a spoon. My favorite granola for eating as cereal is the granola made with maple syrup so it's not too chunky.

Granola with milk makes an easy breakfast for busy mornings whether at home or on vacation. It travels easy, so all you need to do is find milk when you get to your destination and breakfast is taken care of.

Dietitian Tip

When I started making my own granola a few years ago, I couldn't believe how easy it was or how much it made. My kids would see (and smell!) it come out of the oven and want to start eating it right away.

As a dietitian mom, you could only imagine how happy that made me, lol! Depending how it's made, granola can have a lot of health benefits because it contains fiber and healthy fats from nuts and seeds such as walnuts, almonds, or pumpkin seeds and, of course, oats.

And when you make your own, it's easier to control how much salt and sugar are added. My favorite chunky granola is made with honey, while my more traditional granola recipe is made with maple syrup. Both are easy, delicious, and made without salt! 😍

Granola with Yogurt

My kids' favorite way to eat granola is this: sprinkle crunchy granola on top of yogurt, traditional or Greek yogurt. They enjoy it as an easy breakfast or as an after-school snack.

Sometimes I pack granola in a small container so they can add granola to their yogurt that they often pack in their school lunches.

Granola with Fruit

Granola makes a delicious addition to a variety of fresh fruit, from bananas and apples to peaches and berries.

Option 1 Chop up your favorite fruits and top them with granola. If using seasonal berries, just rinse and drain. There's no need for chopping berries if you ask me 🙂

Option 2 Slice your favorite fruit if needed. Drizzle peanut butter and a small amount of honey on the sliced fruit, or seasonal berries. Top with granola.

Option 3 Serve it with yogurt as a dipping option when making fruit kabobs.

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

Granola is a 'must' for making the perfect fruit and yogurt parfait. Add a layer of granola between yogurt and fruit (fresh berries and banana slices are my favorite!). So easy!

Some fruit works better than others. And, if you aren't going to be eating it right away, consider waiting until just before you eat it to add the granola to keep it from getting soggy

Mixed in with Applesauce

Give your kids the option of mixing granola in with applesauce. Whether you are serving homemade applesauce or store-bought, it is fun to mix in!

Pancakes and Waffles

Serve it on the side when serving pancakes, French toast, or waffles to kids. Or, if you're feeling really adventurous, add some granola to the batter.

Giving kids options like what they want to top their pancakes with helps to increase food exposure and acceptance.

Fruit Crisps

Granola can easily be substituted for oat and flour mixture in many fruit crumble recipes.

Most fruit crumbles, like my Healthy Apple Crumble recipe, call for an oat and flour mixture as part of the topping. If you don't have oats and flour but you have granola on hand, make the switch and see how it works!

Ice Cream Topping

It may sound strange, but granola makes a crunchy topping that tastes so good! The combination of texture and flavors that granola offers makes it an excellent ice cream topping.

In Oatmeal

Granola adds sweetness and crunch to oatmeal. Sprinkle some on to a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal or homemade baked oatmeal.

Trail Mix

Simply add dried fruit, like raisins, craisins, or banana chips and nuts or seeds to granola. You'll have a homemade trail mix in an instant!

Apple Nachos

Making apple nachos is easy. Start by laying thin apple slices on a plate either in a straight line or in a circle shape.

Next, drizzle peanut butter or other nut or seed butter on the front half of the apple slices. Sprinkle granola on top of the nut/seed butter.

Then, either drizzle the granola with honey or top it with mini chocolate chips. Eat it like you would nachos!

Smoothie with Granola

Try adding it to your favorite smoothie to give it an extra boost of fiber from the whole grains, healthy fats and added flavor. It's also an easy way to increase calories in a smoothie.

Personally, I think it would be a delicious addition to my Strawberry Peanut Butter Smoothie! Either blend it together with all of the other ingredients or simply top the smoothie with granola. It works either way!

And this Triple Berry Smoothie with Granola is also a 'must try'. Rebecca MS, RDN of Nourish Nutrition describes her smoothie as being "delicious, easy, and made with ingredients like yogurt, frozen berries, banana, and spinach that you may already have in your kitchen."

Smoothie Bowl Topping

Often times the best part of a smoothie bowl is getting to choose your toppings! The crunch from granola compliments the smooth and creamy texture of a smoothie bowl just perfectly.

Simply top a smoothie bowl with some of the crunchy goodness and you're set! Or, add it along with a few other toppings like sliced banana and peanut butter. Either way, it will be delicious!

If you've never made a smoothie bowl, you've got to try my Easy Strawberry Banana and Tropical Blue Smoothie Bowl recipes!

Acai Bowl Granola

Granola is a very popular acai bowl topping and for good reason!

Acai Bowls wouldn't be so popular if it weren't for all of the toppings! I don't know about you but I've never known anyone to order an acai bowl without the toppings. 😉

Next time you go out for an acai bowl, pay close attention to the topping options (they almost always include granola;).

That's because acai by itself (without any other fruit or sweetener added) is not sweet at all. It does have a beautiful color but without adding other fruit and toppings, you would be saying 'no thanks'.

Trust me on this one. Aside from adding fruit like banana to the acai smoothie bowl base, toppings like granola, chia seeds, peanut or almond butter, banana slices, berries, and chocolate chips are what give acai bowls it's fame.

Salad Topping

Granola can be used in place of croutons on top of salads. I agree with Sheri Berger RDN, CDCE as she says, "Topping Salad with granola is a great way to add crunch, fiber, protein, and a sweet touch!".

Afterall, most kids love crunch and almost all love everything sweet!

Sheri suggests topping baby spinach with grapefruit or Cutie segments, fresh strawberries, and granola. Then make a simple dressing by whisking together fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and honey or agave.

Drizzle a small amount of dressing on the salad and you're set!

Added to Muffins

Adding granola to muffin batter or other baked goods (like banana bread!) adds incredible flavor along with a boost of fiber and texture. Simply add one half of a cup of granola to muffin batter and mix well.

Try it and you'll see! Add one half of a cup of granola to one batch of my Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. It's so good!

When added to the batter, granola adds bulk to these muffins while keeping them moist.

The other option with muffins is to add a small amount of granola to the tops of muffins before you bake them.

In Energy Bites

Use granola to make energy bites as a quick snack. Mix together one cup of granola with about one-quarter cup of peanut butter and one or two tablespoons of chocolate chips.

Roll into one-inch round balls and refrigerate. No baking required!

They are a crunchy version of traditional energy bites (also known as bliss balls or peanut butter balls).

Topping for Truffles

Simply roll a homemade truffle in granola before you refrigerate. My Easy Vegan Chocolate Avocado Truffles are made with just chocolate and avocado before they are rolled into a topping of choice.

Granola would make a delicious topping for these! In fact, let your kids roll the truffles in the granola. They will be more likely to eat them if they help make them!

Breakfast Toast

Granola makes a tasty addition to breakfast toasts! Let your kids sprinkle the granola on to increase acceptance. They will feel like they made the whole breakfast themselves!

Simply spread a thin layer of nut or seed butter on a slice of toast. Then, add sliced strawberries or banana and a drizzle of honey. Top with granola and serve!

Granola FAQ's

More Easy Snack Recipes

Do you love all of these ideas of how to eat granola? Please leave a 5-star rating below or a review in the comments section!

Don't forget to snap a pic of how you use granola and tag @carrots.and.cookies on Instagram so I can see it. Enjoy!