Swap Butter for Oil

• Equal parts melted butter or margarine are simple substitutes for the oil in any granola recipe recipe. Melt an equal amount of butter in a small pot or in the microwave and toss with your oats as you would the oil. This adds a rich, buttery flavor to your granola and also increases the fat content. You can also brown the butter until it smells slightly nutty and appears golden brown in a small saucepan before using it for an even more complex, richer flavor.

A Side of Bacon With Granola

• Bacon is turning up in very unlikely places, such as brownies and caramel, for example. You can substitute its fat for other fats, like oil and butter, when baking cookies, cakes, muffins or other baked goods. When you cook bacon, you're left with at least a few tablespoons of rendered bacon fat. Instead of throwing this away, re-melt it and use it in a granola recipe as you would oil.

Egg Whites for Crunch

• Oil helps your granola become crunchy in the oven. If you're not using any fat at all in your granola, the addition of one or two egg whites can help provide the crunch factor by coating the oats and other ingredients and hardening in the oven as the granola bakes. Egg whites also help the oats stick together, forming small clumps, and they add a healthy protein to the mix. If you don't have egg whites on hand, or you don't want to add them to your granola, substitute seeds and nuts to ensure a crunchy texture.

Non-Fat Granola

• You can make a completely non-fat granola with no oil, butter or egg whites. Combine about 1/2 cup of water or juice with the sugars in your recipe in a small pot and simmer until the mixture thickens into a simple syrup. Then toss the sugary syrup with the oats and other ingredients and bake as normal. Non-fat granola is less crunchy in texture and less rich in flavor, resembling muesli. To compensate for the lack of fat, try adding in other flavors, such as vanilla or other extracts, spices or dried fruit.