Packed with toasted oats, and your choices of nuts, seeds and dried fruit, this super easy homemade muesli recipe is quick and simple to make. It’s also so much cheaper than buying muesli – plus you get to add exactly what muesli ingredients you like (and leave out those you don’t like!)

In the summer I love Swiss bircher muesli or refreshing raspberry Bircher. But you can’t beat a homemade granola recipe, or this simple toasted muesli without sugar for breakfast throughout the whole year.
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Why we love this recipe
- Making homemade muesli is much cheaper than buying it. You can really make it a budget breakfast – oats are an economical ingredient, and you can add the add ins which suit your budget.
- This is a sugar free muesli – it really doesn’t need any added sugar as the dried fruit adds all the sweetness you need. If you are making a nut and seed muesli without dried fruit then it is a completely no sugar muesli!
- Quick and easy recipe – takes 15 minutes to make, whip a batch up at the weekend and you have breakfast sorted for the next week. It is such a versatile recipe, you can play around with quantities and ratios to achieve the best muesli for you.
- Toasting the oats not only adds a lovely flavour and makes them slightly chewy, but also makes them easier to eat, stopping them from turning thick and heavy when mixed with milk.
- You can easily vary and alter this muesli recipe to suit your family’s tastes, or what ingredients you have in the cupboard. When you make your own muesli, you get to decide exactly what you want in it: lots of nuts, no nuts, different dried fruit. I used to make this for my young toddler son, leaving out the nuts, then as he’s got older adding chopped nuts.
- This recipe is vegan and, as long as your oats are gluten free, it is gluten free too.
Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Oats – after testing I have found that using a mixture of porridge oats / quick oats and rolled oats or jumbo oats makes the best muesli. However you can use which you prefer and suits your budget.
- Nuts – I often use almonds or cashews as they are cheaper nuts, but walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts would be delicious too. (Muesli is a useful recipe for using up the odds and ends in packets of nuts to save them going rancid.)
- Seeds – seeds add flavour and are great if you want a nut free muesli, and are also cheaper than nuts. I like to use pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and raw sunflower seeds.
- Dried fruit – sultanas or raisins are good for adding sweetness. You can use chopped dried apricots or dried figs or dates too.
How to make this muesli recipe
- Preheat the oven and roughly chop the almonds.
- Sprinkle the quick cook oats over a baking tray in an even layer and place in to the preheated oven for 3 minutes.
- TIP: You don’t need to line the tray.
- TIP: The oats should smell ‘oaty’ after 3 minutes in the oven. You want to remove them before they start to get any colour.
- Take the tray out of the oven, stir the oats, then sprinkle over the chopped almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Place back in the oven and cook for 5 minutes.
- When cold, stir in the chia seeds and sultanas or raisins.
- Store in an airtight jar or container for up to 3 weeks.
FAQ
Basic muesli is a mixture of oats with add ins such as dried fruits, nuts and seeds. It doesn’t contain any sweeteners like granola does. The oats in muesli can be cooked or uncooked.
Muesli has additional ingredients like nuts, seeds and dried fruit which increase the nutritional content. Both muesli and oatmeal can be a healthy breakfast, depending on what you add to them!
My recipe tips
- Roughly chop the almonds to make them easier to eat, otherwise you can end up with a mouthful of almonds that take a long time to chew. Plus it helps spread the nuts throughout the muesli so you can get away with slightly less nuts.
- You don’t want the oats to become too dark in colour as this will change their taste and make them tough to eat.
Use the oven when it’s cooling or been on to cook something else.
Ingredients – leave out the chia seeds, and if you are in the UK use all porridge oats rather than more expensive jumbo oats.
Add More Oats or more oats and seeds
Storage
Store in an airtight container such as a Tupperware, or plastic container with lid. You can also store muesli in a glass jar.
Variations
- Nut Free muesli: Leave out the nuts and add some more seeds.
- Fruit free muesli: Replace the fruit with extra nuts and seeds.
- Other add ins: chocolate chips, dried apple, blueberries, or cranberries.
- Coconut: coconut flakes or desiccated coconut is delicious in this muesli too! Sprinkle the coconut in about 2 minutes before the end of the cooking time – it only takes a minute or two to toast. Stir halfway through to ensure even cooking.
- Sweeter – if you like a sweeter breakfast, serve with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
Serving Ideas
- Take a jar of muesli in to work and top with milk before eating – the perfect portable breakfast!
- I love it with some fresh berries in the summer, and stewed pears in Autumn / winter.
- A spoonful of Greek yogurt and berry compote.
- For a vegan / dairy free breakfast – pour over dairy free milk such as unsweetened almond milk.
- Sprinkle it on top of yogurt for a healthy snack.
- Add a couple of handfuls of muesli to a crumble topping.
More easy breakfast recipes
Easy Muesli
Author: Robyn
Ingredients
- 160g (2 c) quick cook oats ($0.31 / £0.12)
- 200g (2 c) rolled oats or jumbo oats ($0.38 / £0.50)
- 120g (1½ c) almonds, roughly chopped, or other nuts ($1.80 / £1.01)
- 70g (½ c) sunflower seeds ($0.49 / £0.56)
- 30g (¼ c) pumpkin seeds ($0.41 / £0.24)
- 2 teaspoons Chia seeds, optional ($0.55 / £0.24)
- 200g (1 ¼ c) sultanas or raisins ($1.00 / £0.50)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan / 180˚C / 320˚F convection / 356˚F.
- Sprinkle the oats in an even layer on a baking tray and place in the preheated oven for 3 minutes. They should start to smell 'oaty' after this time.
- Take the tray out of the oven, stir the oats well, then add the chopped almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray.
- When completely cold, stir in the chia seeds and sultanas or raisins.
- Store in an airtight jar or container for up to 3 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?
I’d love to see your creation!
Or just leave a comment below!
Andrea says
I love homemade muesli! It’s such a healthy and delicious breakfast option. My kids will love this one!
Marcellina says
Yum! This looks delicious! I absolutely adore muesli and granola. I must look for some barley flakes – I’ve never used that in any of my recipes before.
Robyn says
Thankyou Marcellina! I bought them from a bulk health food store. They just add a little more texture to dishes such as this muesli.
Sally says
I love homemade musesli as you can control the ratios – I’m not a big fan of dried fruit so I like to make sure there are lots of nuts and seeds, so I like that your recipe is flexible 🙂
Robyn says
Thanks Sally, yes I love the flexibility of the recipe.
Sylvie says
Definitely a great breakfast option – so easy to make and much more delicious than all the muesli you could buy from the supermarket!
Robyn says
Thanks Sylvie!