Cooking and Serving: 40 minutes | 7 cups
Ingredients
Nicole’s Recipe Notes | Is muesli good for you? | Serving suggestions
Description
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 7 cups
Ingredients
Nicole’s Recipe Notes
What is muesli?
Is muesli good for you?
Serving suggestions
Expert tips
Easy Muesli Recipe
Notes
* Ingredients and substitutions
* Is muesli good for you?
* Serving suggestions
* Storage instructions
Muesli has been around for over 100 years, and in that time, the basic recipe
has undergone all kinds of adjustments. Here’s why I love this recipe:
* Affordable — Compare the price of store-bought cereal from the local grocery
store versus the prices of the individual ingredients in this recipe, and
you’ll see that it really does pay to make your own muesli.
* Naturally gluten free — So long as you choose gluten free oats
recipe is completely free of gluten. Even popular preparation methods, like
cereal and “overnight oats
* Vegan and dairy free too — When prepared as written, this muesli recipe is
also naturally vegan and dairy free. If you want to soak it, just reach for a
dairy free milk, like almond milk or coconut milk.
* Quick & easy — The most complicated part of this recipe (and I use that term
lightly) is baking the ingredients to give them that pleasant toasted flavor.
Technically, you can even skip that step, but I highly recommend that you
* Easy to customize — We’ve all got our individual tastes, and this homemade
muesli recipe celebrates that. Don’t like sunflower seeds? Love dried fruits?
Add or omit ingredients as you see fit, and I promise, the finished product
will still taste amazing.
This easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry
ingredients, and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast
easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry ingredients,
and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast topping.
INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
The fresh fruit, honey, and milk at the end of the ingredients list are all
optional ingredients that can replace with whatever you like, or left out
entirely. You can customize this recipe ingredients below, within the guidelines listed here:
Nuts and seeds: I’ve grouped nuts and seeds together, even as I’ve kept most of
the other ingredients separate from one another in toasting and storing. As long
as they’re all chopped into similar sizes, and are all raw and unsalted, nuts
and seeds are interchangeable with one another in this recipe.
Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are nut-free alternatives to nuts, so feel
free to use tons of those. Roasted, unsalted soybeans are also a great addition,
but I’d buy them already roasted. Otherwise, you’ll have to soak, dry and then
roast them. That’s a lot of work for one ingredient in a multi-ingredient
Coconut flakes: Unsweetened coconut flakes add a really nice depth of flavor
when they’re toasted, and they’re really beautiful, too, when you toast them. If
you want or need to replace them, you can use more oats, or more nuts and seeds.
Hemp seeds: You can replace the hemp seeds with any number of small seeds, like
flax, chia or sunflower seeds. They add texture and tons of nutrition to this
Oats: This recipe is naturally gluten free as long as you use certified gluten
free oats, but if you’re not following a gluten free diet, you can use any sort
of oats you like. If you’re not comfortable eating oats on a gluten free diet,
or simply can’t have them, you can replace them in any recipe that calls for
In this recipe, if I were to replace oats, I’d likely use beaten rice, or poha.
You can also replace the oats with more coconut flakes. Crisp rice cereal
good option if you toast it like coconut flakes. Just don’t soak the muesli in
milk, yogurt or water before serving it.
Dried apricots: I chose chopped, dried apricots for this recipe because I love
the way they taste, and their color. They add a chewy texture, too, that
balances out the other ingredients whether you soak the muesli or not.
I also really like dried cranberries infused with apple juice. You can, of
course, use any other dried fruit that you like.
Adding spices: You can add another dimension to your homemade muesli recipe by
adding spices. When it’s cooler out, I love warmer options like cinnamon,
cloves, and nutmeg, plus pumpkin spice muesli for chilly fall mornings, too.
Adding sweetness: If you’ve got a sweet tooth, don’t add granulated sugar to
this homemade muesli. Instead, top it with some fresh fruit like sliced bananas
or goji berries, a handful of chocolate chips, or a drizzle of honey or maple
This easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry
ingredients, and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast
easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry ingredients,
and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast topping.
In its most basic form, muesli is like a Swiss granola. But rather than the
clumpy, stickiness of granola, muesli is typically made from raw or near-raw
individual nuts, seeds, and rolled oats. It’s up to you what nuts and seeds you
IS MUESLI GOOD FOR YOU?
So, whenever I used to put a new recipe in front of my oldest child, she was
gracious enough to try it. My first clue that she liked it is if she asks…”is
I love that she cares about health and nutrition. Unfortunately, I’m not a
nutritionist, but I do want to give her the answer to the question she’s really
asking: “can I eat this often and not feel bad about it?”
Some recipes, like traditional chocolate cake
chocolate chip cookies
aren’t good for you and aren’t meant to be. They’re treats, and whether you eat
them once a year or every day, you know that you’re not feeding your body what
But there are plenty of recipes that fall into the middle ground between healthy
… and not. Sometimes it’s a matter of what else you eat throughout the day that
determines the health of a particular meal.
Other times, it’s a matter of what you pair it with. Eating a salad covered in
cheese, dressing, and croutons just is not going to help your overall health.
Whether you consider this muesli to be healthy also depends upon what sort of
eating rules you’re trying to stick to. This muesli recipe is indeed healthy as
it’s packed with healthy fats and whole grains, and it has no added sugar,
refined or otherwise.
The dried apricots add natural sweetness, but you can limit those as much as you
like. Same goes for the honey
serving suggestion. And this muesli is really satisfying and should keep you
full for quite a while.
This easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry
ingredients, and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast
easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry ingredients,
and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast topping.
I know I’m repeating myself, but muesli really is so versatile, even in
preparation. You can even melt some chocolate and combine with the muesli to
make a gluten free muesli alternative to plain old cornflake cakes!
You can serve it cold, preparing a DIY muesli cereal minutes in milk, almond milk, or water before eating. This method softens the
oats just a bit, but still gives you plenty of chew.
If you’re not a fan of “cereal” or “oatmeal”, or you’d like something more
substantial in the morning, you can still enjoy muesli. Try sprinkling it over
smoothies and yogurt. You can even have some at lunch: Muesli is an awesome
salad topper, and it tastes great over toast with avocado or a nut butter.
I typically prefer cold muesli like a breakfast cereal, but I also sometimes
cook the toasted oats separately in water on the stovetop (I like a 1 cup of
oats to 1 1/2 cups of water ratio) until creamy. Then, I add the other
ingredients to the top when serving.
Overhead image of raw oats on a tray
image of raw oats on a tray
You really don’t need too many tips to make awesome gluten free muesli. It’s so
quick and easy, and very difficult to get wrong. Nevertheless, here are my top
SKIP THE FOOD PROCESSOR
I chop my nuts and seeds with a knife rather than a food processor. You want
them to remain crunchy, and a food processor has a tendency to turn nuts and
seeds into dust rather quickly.
If you can find them, buy raw nut pieces rather than whole nuts. They’re less
expensive, and it saves you the trouble of having to chop them!
Even though I find that my mixtures easily last two weeks or longer when I store
the muesli ingredients in glass jars, there’s no denying that it’s freshest in
its first week. For this reason, I set aside a little time each weekend to make
my muesli oats for the coming week.
This easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry
ingredients, and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast
easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry ingredients,
and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast topping.
Use muesli as the basis for a simple granola bar recipe. Since the ingredients
in granola and muesli are so similar, but muesli is simpler, I’m more likely to
make muesli than granola.
I can also use it as the base for my no bake granola bars. Just measure out 2
cups of the toasted oats, add 1/2 cup oat flour, toasted coconut flakes, and the
honey, coconut oil, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla.
You can either use the crisp rice cereal as directed in the recipe or replace it
no-bake, most of the bulk-forming ingredients are interchangeable. For a more
complete discussion of how granola bars are made, have a look at my gluten free
This easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry
ingredients, and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast
easy homemade muesli recipe is made with just a few basic pantry ingredients,
and you can use it to make porridge or enjoy it as a breakfast topping.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
muesli recipe in bowl
Make this easy muesli, and save big bucks! Spend just 30 minutes on the weekend
putting together this gluten free muesli recipe to have breakfast for the week.
* ¾ cup (90 g) raw almonds
* ½ cup (60 g) raw pistachio nut meats
* ½ cup (60 g) raw cashews, (pieces are fine)
* ¾ cup (60 g) raw pumpkin seeds
* 3 cups (300 g) old-fashioned rolled oats, (certified gluten free if
* 2 tablespoons (20 g) raw hemp seeds
* 1 cup (60 g) unsweetened coconut chips
* ¾ cup (180 g) dried apricots
* Fresh berries, honey, and milk, yogurt, and/or water, for serving
* Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line 3 medium-sized rimmed baking sheets with
unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
TOAST THE NUTS AND PUMPKIN SEEDS.
* Using a sharp chef’s knife, roughly chop the almonds, pistachios, cashews and
pumpkin seeds, and place on one of the baking sheets. Toss the nuts together
with your hands and spread into an even layer on the baking sheet.
* Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and toast for
about 15 minutes, or until very lightly toasted and fragrant. If the baking
sheet is small and the nuts are in a relatively thick layer, they will take
* Remove the nuts from the oven and set them aside to cool, then place in a
TOAST THE OATS AND HEMP SEEDS.
* On a second prepared baking sheet, place the oats and hemp seeds, and toss
them to combine. Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven
and toast, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until very lightly
golden brown (about 12 minutes).
* Remove from the oven, set aside to cool and place in a sealed glass jar.
TOAST THE COCONUT CHIPS.
* On the third prepared baking sheet, place the coconut chips, and spread them
into an even layer. Place in the center of the preheated oven and toast until
very lightly golden brown (about 5 minutes).
* Remove the pan from the oven, set the coconut chips aside to cool, then place
them in a sealed glass jar.
PREPARE THE DRIED FRUIT.
* Using a sharp chef’s knife or sharp kitchen shears, roughly chop the
apricots. Place them in a sealed glass jar.
* Store the prepared ingredients in their individual sealed jars at room
temperature for up to a week. Alternatively, the ingredients can all be
tossed together to combine and stored in a large glass jar.
* Serve milk, water or yogurt to cover the muesli. Allow the muesli to soak in the
liquid for about 10 minutes (or in the refrigerator, covered, overnight)
until the toasted oats are softened.
Nutrition information is without additional toppings like berries.
Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 671mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 11g |
Vitamin A: 548IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
Is muesli gluten free?
So long as you use gluten free ingredients, especially oats, muesli is
completely free of gluten. Make sure you also check the other products.
How is this different than granola?
Both muesli and granola are a combination of oats, nuts, and seeds, and are
traditionally eaten for breakfast. The main difference between muesli and
granola, though, is that muesli is loose and largely unsweetened in its
is typically seasoned with salt and spices. It’s made with sweeteners such as
honey and maple syrup, and baked until it clumps and holds together.
Muesli is a mixture of loose, unsweetened ingredients. I don’t mix all of the
ingredients until I’m ready to serve them. I have a family of 5, and everyone
has their own tastes and preferences.
Keeping most of the ingredients separate allows each family member to customize
their breakfast, which makes everything calm in the morning.
Can you use quick cooking oats?
I don’t recommend quick oats for this easy muesli recipe because they get mushy
when you soak them. They might be okay if you’re eating the muesli as a cereal,
but they’ll be awful if you soak them overnight.
Typically, the individual ingredients in muesli are combined, stored, and served
I prefer to combine the nuts and seeds together for toasting in the oven, and
then I store them together. But I keep the toasted coconut chips separate, as I
do the chopped, dried fruit.
I toast and store the hemp seeds together with the oats. But you could just as
easily toast and store them with the nuts and other seeds.
However you choose to package your individual ingredients, I find that they stay
fresh for 2 to 4 weeks when you keep them in glass jars or other another
airtight container at room temperature.
If you’re worried about leaving your muesli mix out, you can also refrigerate
the ingredients. This can easily extend the shelf life up to 3 months. If you’d
like a similar breakfast that you can bake and freeze, try our baked oatmeal