Easy Sourdough Granola (Discard or Active Starter)

Making homemade sourdough granola is such an amazing way to use your extra sourdough starter! This recipe is easy, simple, full of flavor, perfectly sweetened and highly customizable. The mild sourness from the sourdough is absolutely delightful, plus using starter helps create wonderful crunchy clusters!

Other than making a batch of sourdough discard brownies, one of our favorite ways to use our extra sourdough discard is by mixing in homemade sourdough granola.

The mild sourness from the sourdough starter combined with the sweet maple syrup makes for such a delightful pairing. Plus, the starter helps puff the granola to a lighter and crunchier bite. Amazing!

Just like in these sourdough granola bars, sourdough adds more flavors and provides a great texture, but also, including some of your sourdough discard or fed starter to your granola mix will help bind the ingredients together. This allows you to use less sugar or fat to create beautiful crunchy clusters of granola that hold well.

On top of the sourdough starter, this recipe includes rolled oats, shredded coconut, nuts (I used almonds), maple syrup, a little coconut oil and some flavoring ingredients, such as cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt.

It makes for a forgiving easy recipe that you can tailor to your taste and customize with different flavors every time you make it.

I hope you give it a try! ❤️

Ingredients you will need

(See below in the recipe card for the measurements)

• Sourdough starter: you can use discard or fed and active starter, both will work and bring a different flavor profile to the granola.
• Rolled oats: I highly recommend using thick old-fashioned oats to make this recipe. Quick-cooking oats is slightly more processed than thick oats and your granola might lack texture.
• Nuts: I love almonds in granola, but pecans, hazelnuts, cashews or seeds, such as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, all work well. You can make a mix and match of different kinds.
• Shredded coconut: it adds an amazing texture and more flavor. Try to choose unsweetened coconut and feel free to use coconut flakes instead.
• Maple syrup: sweetener of choice. You could also swap for agave nectar, but I do not recommend using granulated sugar.
• Coconut oil: use refined or unrefined depending on if you are ok with a little extra coconut flavor. I do not recommend swapping for other kinds of oils: coconut oil turns to a solid state once cooled down, which helps create super crispy clusters.
• Vanilla extract: for flavor, optional.
• Cinnamon: I like a little cinnamon in my homemade granola, but you can use other spices if you prefer.

Why use sourdough starter or discard to make granola?

If you have been making bread using a sourdough starter, then you have noticed its slimy consistency. And this is exactly what makes sourdough starter amazing for making granola: it acts like a glue to bind the oat-nuts-coconut mixture.

The natural sticky texture is perfect to help create yummy clusters without having to add so much refined sugar and oils. I still added some maple syrup for sweetness and a little coconut oil to boost its crunchiness once cooled down, although the sourdough starter helps you significantly cut down on how much you need to use to reach amazing results.

Old sourdough discard vs fresh sourdough discard vs fed and active discard, what should I use?

That's the beauty of this recipe, it is so versatile that you can use many different kinds of starter. This recipe truly is a great way to use up whatever needs to be repurposed!

• Old discard: sourdough starter will increase in sourness as it spends more time in the fridge. This means that if you use an older discard, let's say 2 weeks old, then expect a stronger tangy flavor to your granola. This could be something you are looking for or you might want to add a little extra maple syrup to balance the flavor.
• Fresh discard: you can use fresh sourdough discard as well. This will give you a granola lighter in flavor, but with all the same health benefits and added crunchiness.
• Fed and bubbly sourdough starter: you can also use an active starter to make this recipe. You might have changed your mind and your new schedule does not allow making bread in the next day or so, so simply use your starter to make a quick granola. This will also give your granola a milder sour flavor.

How to make sourdough granola

(See below in the recipe card for the full recipe)

Preheat the oven to 300º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine

To a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter or discard, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Whisk to combine until completely uniform.

Then, add the rolled oats, shredded coconut, almonds, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.

Bake

Transfer the mixture over the prepared baking sheet and use a large spoon to spread out the granola on the baking sheet. You are looking to create a uniform single layer of granola that's also pretty tight. This can encourage the formation of clusters.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then, stir the granola while making sure to rotate the granola from the edges toward the center of the baking sheet since it tends to get darker quicker than in the middle.

Then, use the back of the spoon to spread out and press on the granola into a single layer as uniform as you can to help the formation of the clusters.

Bake again for 15 minutes and watch carefully: remove earlier if it tends to brown too fast.

Cool down

Once the granola is done baking, then keep the baking sheet on the stove untouched until it is completely cooled down. This is important: the granola will feel still too soft once just out of the oven, it has to cool down to turn crispy! Be patient!

Helpful tips

• Whenever you make bread, you can simply feed your starter a little more so you have extra to make granola.
• To make granola, it is important to bake at lower heat for longer. That way, the ingredients have enough time to dry out and get crispy without burning.
• Press on the mixture on the baking sheet while spreading it out, this helps make a more compact layer and encourages the formation of clusters!
• Always watch carefully your granola, especially toward the end of baking as it can burn quickly!
• Don't skip on cooling down the granola before enjoying or storing it, it is an important step! Otherwise, it won't be as crispy.

Variations

This granola recipe is pretty versatile and you can adjust the ingredients to customize the recipe to your taste. Here are a few ideas:

• Nuts/seeds: you can swap the almonds for other nuts or seeds that you like, such as pecans, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds (which can help to form better clusters) or hemp seeds.
• Grain: swap a small amount of the rolled oats for some puffed rice or puffed quinoa. They can add more texture and a nice added crunch!
• Spices: feel free to make your granola heavier in spice by adding more cinnamon or an extra dash of nutmeg, ground ginger, cardamom or cloves. Chai spice mix or pumpkin pie mix would also be great and a perfect addition in the fall.
• Chocolate: you can add a handful of chocolate chips once the granola is done baking and has completely cooled down (to prevent melting). That would make for a nice treat!
• Dried fruits: if you like dried fruit or would like your granola to be a little sweeter without adding more maple syrup, then feel free to add a large handful of raisins or dried cranberries after the granola is done baking and has completely cooled down (dried fruit burn easily in the oven).

Serving suggestions

This sourdough discard granola can be served in so many ways! You can make a big batch ahead of a busy week to serve:

• In cereal bowl with milk
• Over yogurt with fresh fruits
• In chia parfait to add a nice crunch
• Over frozen smoothie bowls
• Or just by hand as a quick snack!

Storage tips

Again, make sure to cool down the granola completely before transferring it to a storage container. I like glass containers, I think they keep food fresh longer compared to plastic. It should store well if sealed properly for about 2 weeks.

You can also freeze granola! Transfer the extra in a freezer-friendly bag or container and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the granola thaw at room temperature for a few hours before using.

More sourdough discard recipes you might like

• Sourdough discard brownies
• Sourdough peanut butter cookies
• Quick sourdough sandwich bread
• Sourdough carrot cake muffins
• Blueberry sourdough discard bread

I hope you like this sourdough discard granola recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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