Nut lovers unite! This easy sugar free granola made with almond butter, pecans, and unsweetened cranberries is your answer to breakfast on busy mornings. With no added sugar this homemade granola is a healthy start to the morning coupled with your favorite dairy free milk.
My boys love cereal. When we’re cruising down the cereal aisle they’re eyes are drawn to the brightly colored cereal boxes with characters they recognize from their favorite shows. Without fail they request to put one of those boxes in our cart. They haven’t gotten to bring a box home yet but they keep trying.
Cereal is an easy and quick breakfast in the morning. It always feels like we’re against the clock to get out the door in time to make it to school and off to work. Pour a bowl of cereal and you’ve got breakfast ready in no time. But a heavy dose of sugar in the morning is no way to start the day.
I searched high and low for a sugar free granola in the store made with whole food ingredients but I struggled to find one that met all my criteria which included whole food ingredients, no oil, and no added sugar.
I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I decided to make my own granola and have complete control over the ingredients. This sugar free granola recipe is nutty, naturally sweet, and totally satisfying! It’s a delicious plant-based breakfast idea and knocks those store bought cereals and granolas out of the running.
Sugar Free Granola vs. Store Bought Granola
I used to think making my own granola would be time consuming and difficult, but I was wrong! Not only is it easy and fast to make your own granola, you probably have all the ingredients you need in your pantry now.
You can also customize your granola to your taste. If you like a certain kind of nut or dried fruit, you can easily throw it in.
Is granola OK to eat on a plant-based diet?
This homemade sugar free granola is okay to eat if you follow a plant-based or vegan lifestyle. One serving of homemade granola has 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, and healthy unsaturated fats from the added nuts and seeds. This version of granola has less than 7 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of added sugar. Leave the cranberries out of the granola and you have a completely sugar free granola. That’s about 17 grams less sugar than the average store bought granola.
If your desire is weight loss, store bought granola is not ideal. It has a significant amount of oil and sugar added that increases its calories compared to eating a bowl of oatmeal.
If you decide to eat granola when on a weight loss plan whether that’s store bought or homemade be sure to measure out your serving size. It’s easy to fill a big cereal bowl with a cup and a half of granola and not realize you’re consuming three servings. Stick to a 1/2 cup serving of granola a day.
Can granola be healthy?
It can be a healthy snack or breakfast option if you make it at home and stick to the recommended serving size. While it does contain healthy fats, and is lower in sugar, you can easily go overboard on your serving size..
Tips and Tricks to Making and Keeping Homemade Granola
After making your homemade sugar free granola be sure to allow it to cool completely and store in an air tight container. I love using these airtight mason jars with clips. They come with cute chalkboard labels and a chalkboard marker, and look adorable on your kitchen counter! If you keep the granola in an airtight container it can last for up to two months.
Double it Up
When I make this recipe I double it. That’s because my whole family loves this homemade granola, especially my oldest son. He enjoys topping it with berries and coconut milk.
Ingredients for Sugar Free Granola:
- Gluten-Free Oats
- Almond Butter
- No sugar added dried cranberries
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Chia Seeds
- Pecans
- Vanilla Extract
Tools You’ll Need to Make Sugar Free Granola
You won’t need any obscure kitchen tools to make this recipe. Just a cookie sheet, a big mixing bowl, and a spatula.
When it comes to cookie sheets and other pans I’ve been moving away from nonstick variety. Why? Nonstick cookware is covered in Teflon. That’s what keeps the food from sticking to the pan, convenient, but not so safe. When teflon is heated to 600°F it releases potentially dangerous fumes. Why take the risk! Go for a natural cookie sheet like this one from Nordic Ware. Looking for a great spatula set to stir your sticky granola with ease? These OXO Good Grips come in a set of three different sizes.
How to Make Sugar Free Granola – Step by Step
- Preheat oven to 300 F.
- Pour oats, cranberries, chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds into a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Pour almond butter and vanilla extract over mixture. Combine until all oats are wet. Add 1 tablespoon of almond butter if all oats are not wet.
- Spread evenly on a sheet pan.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes careful not to burn.
- Allow to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.
Sugar Free Granola | Vegan Gluten-Free and Oil-Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats If you have a gluten sensitivity use gluten free oats.
- 1/2 cup raw pecans chopped
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup dried sugar-free cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Combine oats, chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and cranberries.
- Pour almond butter and vanilla extract over oat mixture. Stir to combine until oats are wet.
- Spread mixture evenly over a cookie sheet.
- Place in oven and toast for 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the oats.
- Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before storing granola in an air tight container.
Notes
- Add your own favorite sugar-free dried fruit, and raw nuts.
- If oat mixture needs more moisture add 1 tablespoon of almond butter until all oats are wet.
Nutrition
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER EASY BREAKFAST RECIPES!
If you’ve tried my Sugar Free Granola recipe, please rate it and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Granola is my go-to breakfast – I can’t get enough of the stuff! Love the sound of this homemade recipe – will give it a go!
I just made this. It was ridiculous easy. I had all the supplies and my kids (ages 7 and 2) are going nuts over it. Winner!
I love good clean eats! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I love making my own granola! Your versions looks truly delicious, will have to give it a go! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Pecans are on of my all time favourite nuts so this granola is right up my alley! Yum, can’t wait to give this a go, thanks for sharing.
Homemade granola is best that is for sure. Love the combination and the addition of the pecans, I love a lot of pecans in my granola!
Mmmmmm! Now this sounds like a really yummy and healthy breakfast option. I will definitely be checking this recipe out!
Melt the Almond butter?? Otherwise it doesn’t really POUR
Yes, depending on the type of almond butter you have. Some are more runny than others. I usually buy the kind at Trader Joe’s or Costco, and both those almond butters are rather liquid in consistency. However, if your almond butter is more of a peanut butter consistency you may need to warm or melt it a bit in order for it to pour.
I’m a pretty good baker and this recipe did not work out for me. Maybe cause I doubled rhe recipe. I would think you would need to heat up the almond butter for it to coat the oats. When the time went off the granola was still separate. This did not look like granola. I am very happy I do not have picky kids, cause they still ate it over yogurt.
I’m sorry to hear your oats did not stick together the way you had hoped. This recipe doesn’t use oil, or maple syrup, so the only binding ingredient is the almond butter. For a more cluster like granola add 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil, and a 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Hope this helps if you decide to give this recipe a try again!