Julie Clark
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Paleo Granola Recipe
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A nutty, crunchy, paleo granola recipe baked in coconut oil and sweetened with dates. Serve high protein recipe as a snack or for breakfast as cereal.
This paleo granola is ready in just 35 minutes and makes an easy, quick breakfast you can feel good about. It’s grain-free, dairy-free, gluten free, naturally sweetened with no added sugar, and perfectly crunchy for snacking straight from the jar.
You’ll also love our maple roasted pineapple, bacon wrapped dates and orange walnut stuffed dates.
My Go-To Naturally Sweetened Granola for Busy Mornings
One thing I always crave when warm weather hits is granola. This might seem strange since granola seems like a fall snack. Don’t worry…I crave it in the fall, too.
The thing is, homemade granola is one of the snacks I always take with us on summer vacation. We serve it with smoothie bowls and overnight oats for quick breakfasts.
Since we’ve been trying to limit grains for the past couple of years, I’ve found that when I eat my favorite brown sugar granola recipe, it doesn’t leave me feeling the best.
My granola-loving mind had to come up with a version that fits the paleo diet. I wanted that similar crunch and texture of my much-loved homemade cereal. I wanted it full of nuts and lightly sweetened, but sweetened naturally.
This recipe is a great way to start the day because it is full of protein and healthy fats. It keeps me feeling satiated until lunchtime. You’ll love it as much as our paleo energy bars that are similar, but made into bar form with eggs.
Enjoy! -Julie
Ingredients in Paleo Granola:
This grain free granola mixture is versatile, but here is what we love in ours:
- Pepitas. A very cool name for pumpkin seeds. It’s so much more fun to say, right?!
- Sunflower seeds. These should be seeds NOT in the shells.
- Unsweetened coconut flakes. Be sure to grab unsweetened or your granola will have added sugar.
- Sliced almonds. Or slivered…whichever you choose.
- Pecans. Or cashews or raw walnuts.
- Chopped dates. Make sure you buy pitted dates to make your life easier. Give them a good chop in the food processor. These act as a natural sweetener.
- Coconut Oil. This is the only oil we’ve tried so I can’t speak to any other oils.
- Vanilla and cinnamon. For flavoring. You can add more or less if you’d like.
A note on the salt. We buy all unsalted nuts and seeds. That way we can control the amount of salt in the paleo granola recipe.
Paleo Granola Recipe
Here’s a nutty, crunchy, paleo granola recipe baked in coconut oil and sweetened with dates. Serve this sugar-free recipe as a snack or for breakfast.
Servings 14
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds raw pepitas
- 1 cup sunflower seeds unsalted, not in shells
- 1 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1 cup sliced almonds unsalted
- 2 cups chopped pecans unsalted
- 20 pitted dates chopped finely
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- dash of sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup sliced almonds, 2 cups chopped pecans, 20 pitted dates
- Melt the coconut oil and pour it in a small bowl. Add the cinnamon, vanilla and salt (if none of the nuts are salted, I recommend a dash of salt). Stir well. Pour the oil mixture over the dry mixture and stir to combine and evenly coat. ⅓ cup coconut oil, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 3 teaspoons vanilla, dash of sea salt
- Spread the granola on a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to stir the granola on the pan, then bake an additional 5 minutes.
- Allow the granola to cool completely, then store it in an airtight container. This recipe makes about 7 cups of granola. The gluten-free granola is delicious over yogurt and fresh fruit or as cereal with almond milk.
Notes
*If any of the nuts or seeds you buy are salted, you will not want to add additional salt. Add salt to taste if the ingredients are unsalted.
If you’re looking for something different to sweeten the granola, try raisins, dried cranberries, pure maple syrup or honey.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 7 cups of granola, with 1 serving being ½ cup. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 495mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 2mg
How to Serve Granola
My favorite way to eat this healthy paleo granola recipe is to serve it with some cashew milk (our favorite milk alternative) and savor that cereal-like crunchiness. It’s a great paleo cereal substitute with some fresh berries.
This looks like a delicious recipe but it is not sugar-free…it has dates in it. Dates are *loaded* with sugar. Maybe you can say “naturally sweetened with dates” or something.
I’ve just made this granola and it’s delicious! I’m doing whole30 and really needed something different for breakfast. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I have made this four times in as many months.
It is spectacular every time!
I’ve gotten my mother in law addicted to it. 😋
I’m gifting it to my coworkers for Christmas, subbing dried cranberries (or adding in addition) to dates to have green (pepitas) and red for holiday look!
Thank you for sharing!