How To Store Granola To Retain Crunch & Flavor (2024)

Making your own granola is a good way to save money and cut down on your grocery bill. But maybe you’ve gone a little overboard and have some excess granola lying around. Or, maybe you want to make a large batch of granola all at once and portion it out as needed.

Both of these lead to the same question…

How do you store granola? To store granola, leave it to cool completely before storing it and keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. It will stay good for up to 6 months, depending on your climate and how you made the granola. You can also freeze granola.

How To Store Homemade Granola

There are two good ways to store granola long-term, either in the pantry or in the freezer. Generally speaking, it’s a bad idea to keep granola in the refrigerator because it can get soggy. I talk more about the perils of refrigeration later.

Related: How To Store Cereal

Since granola is dried, it’s shelf-stable and can be kept at room temperature. To store your homemade granola in the pantry:

1. Leave the granola to cool to room temperature before storing it to stop any condensation from making the granola soggy.
2. Once cool, place the granola in an airtight container. You can use any sealed container. I like cereal storage boxes best because they make for easy pouring. You can also use a Ziploc bag, but make sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag. Remove the air by squeezing or use a straw to suck the excess air out. Vacuum sealing is also a good option if you have the equipment (this greyon food saver is great)!
3. Seal the container or bag and put it in a dark, dry cupboard away from any major heat sources.
4. The granola will keep like this for up to 6 months. If you live in a hot, humid environment the shelf life will be more like 2-3 months. Test your granola every so often and if you notice it becoming stale consider freezing it to extend it’s life.

Placing granola in an airtight container minimizes the contact with outside air, which helps prevent the granola from becoming stale.

Granola contains nuts, which contain oils and can go rancid if left for too long.

Heat and light speed up how fast nuts go rancid and this is why I advise keeping your granola in a cool, dark place.

Make sure any nuts you use are fresh. If you use old nuts, they may already be well on their way to becoming rancid.

Related: How To Salt Nuts

It’s also very common to put dried fruit in granola. You can store granola with fruit as I described above, but if you’re planning on keeping it for a long time, you’re risking the granola going a bit soggy. I suggest keeping the fruit separately and adding it as and when you need it. This also means if one day you fancy the granola without the fruit, no problem!

Can you keep granola in the refrigerator?

Generally speaking, it’s a bad idea to store granola in a refrigerator. The moisture in the fridge can cause the granola to go soggy, and in extreme cases, moldy. Also, you risk the granola absorbing odors from other food in the fridge.

Related: How To Remove Garlic Smell From Plastic Containers

Plus, since granola is stable for months at room temperature, you don’t really get any benefit from keeping it in the refrigerator.

The exception to this rule is if you live somewhere very humid. Humidity will significantly shorten the life of your granola at room temperature. To get round this, you can keep it in the fridge. If you find it goes a bit soggy, you can crisp it up again before eating it.

How To Freeze Granola

Another way to combat humidity is to freeze your granola. Freezing granola is the best way to ensure it stays good for as long as possible. It’s great if you’re not sure exactly when you’re going to eat the granola.

To store granola in the freezer:

1. Leave the granola to cool to room temperature before storing it to stop any condensation from turning into ice crystals in the freezer. Any excess moisture will melt as you thaw the granola and make your cereal soggy.
2. Place the granola in an airtight container. I prefer to use ziploc bags because I can easily squeeze all the air out of them, and it allows me to freeze the granola in portion-sized sections. If you’re using a solid container, try to fill it up as much as possible to minimize empty space.
3. Label your container with the date so you know how long the granola has been in storage.
4. The granola will last six to eight months in the freezer but aim to eat it within 3 months for best quality.

There should be no noticeable change in the texture or taste of your granola after freezing. If you have quite a lot of dried fruit in the granola, you might notice the fruit goes a bit hard. If this bothers you, you can always leave the dried fruit out and add it once you thaw the granola.

To thaw the granola leave it out on the counter overnight.

You can also freeze the granola pre-baked and then bake it straight from frozen when you want to eat it. This will mean that you’re granola is always crispy, and there’s no risk of the freezer making it soggy.

How To Recrisp Soggy Granola

If you find that your granola is soggy for some reason, don’t panic. This doesn’t mean that your granola is ruined – far from it! First, you want to check that there’s no mold in your granola since moisture can lead to a buildup of mold. If there’s no mold, then you simply need to heat the granola back up.

To revive soggy granola:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Line a baking tray with foil and spread the granola out onto the foil. You want a thin layer of granola. You might need two baking trays if you have a lot of granola to crisp up
3. Bake for up to 5 minutes and then leave to cool. Once cool, the granola should have crisped up nicely. If you live somewhere particularly humid, it’s best to let the granola cool inside the oven where it’s dry. This prevents the humidity from ruining the granola before you get a chance to eat it.

Different people have different preferences regarding the crispiness of their granola, so feel free to adjust the times and temperatures given above. Since the granola has already been cooked, it can burn quite easily. I always keep an eye on the granola while it’s in the oven to make sure this doesn’t happen.

If you’re really in a rush, you can also use the microwave. Spread the granola out on a microwave-safe plate and microwave it for 10 seconds. This quickly heats up the oils so they can be reabsorbed by the oats and nuts. Tossing the granola in a frying pan has the same effect.

How To Store Granola Bars

Okay, so you made a large batch of granola bars. You‘ve set enough side for the next few days, but you have plenty left over that you still need to store. The bars can be kept at room temperature for a few weeks or in the freezer for longer-term storage.

To store granola bars:

1. Individually wrap each bar in wax paper and then place them in an airtight container.
2. Keep the bars in a cool, dry, and dark place such as a cupboard.
3. The granola bars will keep at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Individually wrapping the bars has two benefits.

• It keeps them from sticking together
• It prevents as much air as possible from getting to the bars.

If you want to use less parchment paper, you can simply place a sheet on top of the bars before adding another layer of bars. This will prevent sticking, but the bars may go stale a little quicker because of the extra air exposure.

How To Freeze Granola Bars

If you want to store the granola bars for longer than a month or live somewhere very humid, you’re better off freezing them.

To freeze granola bars:

1. Individually wrap each bar in wax paper and then place them in an airtight container. Wrapping the individual granola bars in this way ensures that they do not stick together. You do not want to spend time chipping or prying frozen granola bars apart.
2. Get as much air as possible out of your container. If you’re using a ziploc bag, you can squeeze the air out or suck it out with a straw. If you’re using a tupperware then fill the empty space with spare plastic bags or newspaper. The less air in your container, the lower the chance of freezer burn.
3. Label your containers so you can keep track of how long they have been in storage.
4. The granola bars will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
5. To thaw the granola bars, leave them out on the counter overnight.

How Long Does Granola Last

Granola is an incredibly long-lasting foodstuff since its made with dried ingredients.

When stored on the shelf in the proper container (either Ziploc or airtight), granola can last up to six months. And you can extend this for a further 3 months in the freezer.

Does Granola go bad?

If stored properly, granola shouldn’t go bad, but it will go stale over time. However, if it’s stored the wrong way, then moisture can infiltrate and cause mold.

Also, given the high-fat content in nuts, they’ll go rancid after a while. Rancid fat isn’t unsafe to eat, but it doesn’t taste nice. Heat and light are the main factors that affect rancidity, which is why it’s best to store granola in a cool dark place.

If you have soggy or stale granola, but there’s no mold, this isn’t bad granola. Soggy granola can easily be fixed by roasting it for a few minutes in the oven.

If you’re not sure if your granola is past its best, give it a smell and taste a small bit. Your instinct will tell you if it’s okay to eat.