Great tip! I'll use it in my adaption of the NYTimes recipe.

Thanks Faith. I was just looking for a solution to this dilemma last Friday. Egg white was my first thought, too, so it's nice to know it works.

Faith, thank you. Can't wait to try your granola recipe.

Wondering if it would be okay to add the fruit after it's baked (mixed in while still hot, but then left alone overnight). I just think baking the dried fruit with the rest of the granola makes for some too-chewy/very hard dried fruit!

@jayaymeye, I mix in the fruit the next day, after I've broked up the big clusters.

Is there any way to do this and keep a recipe vegan? I know it's sort of possible to produce clusters with honey, but some vegans don't consider that vegan.

I tried honey and vegan or not, it didn't work. If the egg white thing wasn't the ticket, I was thinking of trying some sort of fruit puree. I've read suggestions of applesauce, but I also thought of date or raisin puree. Would prolly want to cut down on the sweetener in this case.

I wonder if the flax seed/water egg substitute would have the same effect:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/egg-substitutes-in-baking-try-flax-seed-095072

Is the egg white binding shelf stable? Is there a potential for food poisoning if the granola is left out of the refrigerator? I'm not sure about the idea from a safety issue. Splatgirl is correct...applesauce or fruit purees will clump up the granola very well and not carry potential food poisoning issues.

The egg white 'binding' should be fine at room temp as it gets baked in with the granola.

The last time I made the NYTimes recipe I used some water to break up a boulder of brown sugar that had formed in the bag. An unplanned side effect of the extra liquid seems to be much chunkier granola! I'm going to try using a sugar syrup again next time to see if I get the same pleasant results.

As long as you cook it, leaving this stuff out should be no different from putting cookies in a jar.

What I do is divide the finished, cooked tray in half. Scoop half into a giant bowl to cool and leave the other half pressed in the tray. When it cools, the tray half is stuck together and then I break it up into smaller chunks. (FYI, I use the NYT recipe )

Yum! Looks delicious. I was just thinking this morning about what I could make for a portable breakfast because with the time change I find myself lagging in the morning. I will make this recipe this weekend, thanks!

yes yes yes this works! Its all relative depending on the size of your batch, I needed two egg whites, but it adds great protien and you get great chunks! so glad you posted this.

An egg-free way to make your homemade granola clumpy:
Before you add the wet ingredients to your granola, put about half of the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse it until it is the consistency of bread crumbs, then combine it back with the unprocessed dry ingredients and continue the recipe. I like to bake it on a cookie sheet with a lip, pressing the granola down and compacting it as much as possible.

Another egg-free option:

I found that adding a little flour and baking my granola at LOW heat makes it chunky. I use this recipe that bakes at 275:
http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2010/02/chewy-granola-with-cranberries-and.html

This made great big clumps. I usually make one batch of this and one of the nytimes olive oil granola, and then combine them. The chunky granola is too sweet for me all by itself.

This year I added granola to my list of things to do in order to be more selfsustaining.I love the idea of clumps,I can't believe I couldn't figure this out.We are only two people so,granola gets made every other week. We might have to pump up production now that we know how to make a more snacky version...........thanks much

I make granola bars quite often and the 'glue' is natural peanut butter (I just make my own by running unsalted roasted peanuts in my mini food processor until they form a paste), honey, brown sugar and a little water. It works very well once you get the process down.

This is an awesome idea.. I also had been doing the flour-water method (also using the yummy supper recipe as a guideline) but I'm excited to try the egg white method too.

As far as the potential food poisoning issue... agreed that as long as it's fully cooked it should be shelf-stable for at least a few days or whatever, but if you make larger batches of granola (as I do) I might worry? Because I'm crazy and/or paranoid? In any case, I remember reading somewhere that storing granola in the freezer was the best way to make it stay crunchy as long as possible, so that's where I've always kept mine. Cooked egg whites in there with the oats etc. should be fine, too.

A gluten-free, vegan alternative to the egg white is ground, untoasted flax seed. Grind 1 T flax seeds in a coffee grinder, then blend with 3 T water. You must blend, not whisk, in order for the flax to gel and provide binding characteristics similar to egg. This substitution works well in baked goods, though I have not tried it in this granola recipe yet.

Another choice is rice flour, which is easily found in Asian grocery stores. Try adding 1 T rice flour with the rest of your dry ingredients, then press the granola into the pan and bake as directed in the recipe. Hope this helps!

I've had a similar scenario while loving to make and eat granola, never knew the trick to getting it to have the chunky clusters of oats. I made a batch this morning, and voila! Big oat and cinnamon sugar clusters in every bite. What worked for me was to add 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour to the dry ingredients, my recipe instructs to bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes. The other trick was to very gently stir, with a spoon, as not to break up the oats like you would with a fork. I only stir it the first after 10 and 20 minutes, and after 30 minutes let it cool completely, and break up the bigger chunks with a spoon. No more high priced gourmet granola for me, now that I know the secret to great granola!

I tried this recipe for chunky granola
http://thyme2cook.blogspot.com/2007/01/big-chunky-granola.html
The first time it was overdone and not chunky. Put the fruit in too early, too, which made it way too chewy, if chewy is even the word. A few days ago I tried it again, READ the recipe more carefully this time and tried turning the temp down on my oven - it came out a little underdone and still not chunky. Fruit was a lot better. I then tried your egg-white technique, rebaking my underdone granola in smaller batches and its just right! THANK YOU for the tip.

Like everyone here, I've been striving to get my granola to clump for years. I finally figured out what Faith mentioned: that you HAVE to let the granola cool completely before you break it up. This is key. However, I've had great success without using an egg white, flour, or any other ground addition. It's not too sweet and has the perfect crunch. I baked it on parchment paper for about an hour, or until it's really browned (almost just before it burns, so you have to keep a close eye) at 150C/300F. I used: 4.5 cups rolled oats, 1/3 c honey, 1/6 cup molasses, 1/6 cup maple syrup, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup walnut oil, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds. To make it vegans, sub the honey with agave nectar. Thanks Faith, I'm glad to know that the cooling really is key and that my granola isn't just a fluke. Happy baking!

I remember reading a while back that water is the secret to a clustery granola. I just added 2 tablespoons to the recommended granola recipe and it works.

Here is another great link to clumpy granola--http://www.happyolks.com/banana-hemp-granola/. I've made it many times and it's always great. The pureed banana works the same as egg white, and adds the perfect sweetness to boot. It's awesome!

I also found the egg white method to work for making clumpy granola. Here's a link to my experiment as well as a low-sugar granola recipe:

http://vegedibles.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/how-to-bump-up-the-clump-in-your-homemade-granola/

For egg-free chunky granola I use a pureed apple. My grain-free recipe is here ~ http://lusaorganics.typepad.com/clean/2012/06/grain-free-granola-gaps-and-paleo-legal.html

This is a great tip! I also love chunky granola, and have found that letting it cool is key. I usually leave it overnight, but covered. (I made the mistake of not covering once and it was not as good.) I've also found that the honey to sugar ratio is important. And I will definitely try this egg white tip. Thank you!

Here's how I do it: I make a normal batch (I never use egg whites), then after taking it out of the oven I take another baking sheet and put that directly on top of the cooling granola batch. I usually weigh it down with a couple of cast iron pans. The pressure helps it stick together. Then when it's cool, I break it apart! Easy peasy!

This didn't work for me at all. I actually followed the exact ingredients for the NY Times recipe that is linked. No stickiness whatsoever. I did stir the granola while it was baking so the edges wouldn't burn. I let it cool completely too. No clumping. And, I only used half of the batch with 1 egg white because I wanted some for cereal and some for snacking.

Any ideas?