Grain Free Granola, no added sugar
Grain Free Granola is great for breakfast sprinkled over yogurt or porridge and fruit or even smoothies. Suitable for gluten-free diets, it’s packed with coconut, seeds and nuts, but without the added sugar of commercial varieties. Made in less than 30 minutes, it keeps in a jar in my fridge for weeks – ready to quickly add texture and nutrition to my breakfast bowl or eat as a snack.
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Strictly speaking, my Grain Free Granola isn’t granola at all. Yes, after luring you in, I’ll have to admit that it bears little similarity to shop bought bags. That’s because they’re usually made up of clumps of oats bound together with sugars and vegetable oils. These oils often include disastrous palm oil.
A healthy breakfast?
Breakfast cereals like granola were invented in the USA at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Despite being industrially processed products and often containing large amounts of sugar, these cereals continue to have an unwarranted healthy image. If you’re someone who eats breakfast cereals labelled ‘whole grain’ and ‘no added sugar’ (e.g. Shredded Wheat) then perhaps you think they’re fine? But it’s worth noting the point made in the linked article that, due to their highly processed nature, they’re absorbed more quickly in the body and so can have a similar effect on your blood sugar to cornflakes.
For a highly fictionalized account of how these ‘healthy’ breakfast cereals came about, take a look at The Road to Wellville, a 1994 film based on the T.C. Boyle novel of the same name. It flopped at the box office, but I think it’s hilarious – especially Anthony Hopkins as John Harvey Kellogg.
Grain Free Granola with No Added Sugar
But my granola is very simple. It’s just coconut shavings, nuts and seeds baked in a little coconut oil, flavoured with whatever spices I fancy. If you don’t like coconut oil then it’s fine to use olive oil instead.
Along with the naturally sweet coconut, warming and sweet-tasting ground spices like cinnamon and ginger mean I don’t feel the need to add any extra sweetener. If you want it to taste a little sweeter, adding a sprinkle of vanilla extract to the mix can sometimes trick your brain into thinking that.
In the granola shown in this post, besides the coconut, I’ve added sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds plus pecan nuts. But you can use any combination of seeds and nuts you like.
Tip: Coconut shavings are best for crunch, but you can use desiccated if that’s all you have. Just add it nearer to the end of the baking time
As well as being the perfect topping for Homemade Yogurt, porridge and smoothies, I think crunchy Grain Free Granola also goes really well with my Creamy Chia Pudding.
But you don’t have to keep it just for breakfasts. This granola is great as a snack. Nibble on its own or sprinkle over apple slices spread with peanut butter or cream cheese.
Although I’ve kept my granola grain free, you don’t have to. If you like, add some rolled oats or other flakes like barley or rye and toast them along with the other ingredients.
A batch of my Grain Free Granola will last at least 2 weeks in the fridge. Just make sure it’s completely cold before you store it in a lidded jar or other container.
Fancy a savoury granola for salads, roasted veg & just about anything else? Try Savoury Granola
Grain Free Granola, no added sugar
With coconut, nuts and seeds, Grain Free Granola makes a great breakfast over yogurt, porridge or smoothies. Good for nibbling as a snack too. Made in under 30 minutes & keeps for weeks in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 15 g coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 tsp spices e.g. ground ginger & cinnamon
- 40 g nuts e.g. pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts roughly chopped
- 30 g pumpkin seeds
- 30 g sunflower seeds
- 20 g flax seeds
- 80 g coconut shavings
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4
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Melt the coconut oil in saucepan over a low heat then stir in the ground spices.
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Take the saucepan off the heat then stir in all the nuts and seeds (NOT the coconut shavings).
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Distribute the nut and seed mixture over the base of a baking tray in a single layer.
Put in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
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Remove the tray, stir the nuts and seeds and return to the oven for 3 minutes.
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Remove the tray, add the coconut shavings and stir well so that it's also coated in oil and spices.
Put the tray back in the oven and bake for a further 3 minutes.
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Stir again, then return to the oven until all the nuts, seeds and coconut are browned and crispy (8-10 min).
Note: the coconut can burn quickly, so best to check every 2 minutes.
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When done to your liking, remove the tray from the oven and set aside until the granola is completely cold (spread on kitchen towel if you want to remove some of the oil).
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When it's cold, transfer the granola to a jar and store in the fridge. Should keep for 2 weeks or more.
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