Healthy Gluten Free Granola

This gluten free granola recipe is easy to make and requires a few ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. It’s perfect with yogurt, in a smoothie bowl, as cereal, or just as a simple, healthy snack!

I’ve been on a yogurt and granola kick lately. I may have made one too many batches of my banana bread granola, so I figured it was time for a new granola recipe.

It’s This gluten free granola is far better than any store bought granola I’ve had and it happens to be vegan, refined sugar free, and has the best flavor. And did I mention how deliciously CRISPY it gets?! Ugh, drooling.

So many store bought granolas have questionable ingredients and lots of added sugar, but this homemade recipe is sweetened only with pure maple syrup, has lots of healthy fats and delicious whole grains.

Serve it up with some yogurt and my homemade chia jam or use it as a topper for my sweet potato smoothie and you’re in for a treat. If you love this recipe, try my protein granola next!

Key Ingredients

Granola can be made from a lot of things, but most granola recipes have oats, nuts, seeds, a source of fat and a sweetener. We’re keeping things real simple (and healthy!) for this recipe.

Oats. Oats make up the base of a lot of granola recipes. I suggest rolled oats, not quick or steel cut oats. Be sure to use certified gluten free as needed! If you want an oat free granola, give my paleo granola a try!

Nuts/seeds. I used a mix of pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds and coconut. Feel free to sub in pecans, walnuts or whatever you prefer!

Nut butter. I love using almond butter, but peanut, sunflower seed butter, cashew all work.

Maple syrup. Since this recipe is refined sugar free, we’ll use maple syrup to sweeten. I do not recommend a granulated sugar like coconut sugar here.

You can easily swap the maple syrup for honey, pumpkin seeds for sunflower, almonds for walnuts etc. If you’re feeling fancy, throw in some nutmeg or other spices, orange zest, dried fruit or chocolate!

How to make gluten free granola

Whisk wet ingredients. Combine all of the wet ingredients into a bowl. The maple syrup, almond butter, melted coconut oil and vanilla. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients. Add in all of the remaining ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated.

Transfer to baking sheet.Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Bake. Bake for 15 minutes, spread the mixture around, and then bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

You’ll know the granola is done when the edges are golden brown. It will continue to crispy as it cools, so don’t worry if it seems soft as it comes out of the oven. Let cool completely before storing.

Storage & baking tips

Once prepared, this vegan granola will keep for about 1-2 weeks. You can store it either at room temperature or in the fridge.

However, I find that it stays a bit crispier at room temperature. Either way, be sure to store it in an air tight container to ensure it does not get stale.

If you want the granola to have very large clusters, don’t mix it up at the 15 minute mark. Let it cook untouched for the full 25 or so minutes and then after it cools, break it into clusters.

When it comes out of the oven, it might seem slightly underdone, but it will continue to crisp up quite a bit as it cools.

If you notice it getting at all stale, just pop it back on a baking tray and in the oven for about 5-10 minutes so it crisps back up!

Substitutions and variations

You can substitute the slivered almonds for any other nut such as pecans, walnuts or even whole almonds. Granola in general is very customizable, you can even add in some chocolate chips if you’d like!

If you do go the chocolate chip route, you want to throw them in after the granola bake and has mostly cooled, then stir it around so they melt a bit. Trust me, it’s so good! Just make sure the granola has cooled so the chocolate doesn’t burn.

You can use any nut or seed butter in place of the almond butter. This recipe is delicious with peanut butter or sunflower seed butter if you have allergies.

Try these recipes next!

• Baked PB & J Oatmeal
• Gluten Free Banana Pancakes
• Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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