Low Sugar Granola (Raw, Grain Free, Low Carb)

Do you eat granola because it’s touted as being healthy? As a functional medicine dietitian, I don’t always consider granola as a “health food”- but this one is. Learn more about this original healthy low sugar granola recipe.

Is Low Sugar Granola Good For You? Let’s Get Some Answers

A lot of store-bought granola can be a sugar bomb 💣 and should be considered dessert, NOT breakfast. And at the very least, not eaten with additional sugar (aka no sugary yogurts or more fruit).

Is granola good for weight loss?

This healthy granola recipe is nut and seed based, so it provides protein, healthy fat, and fiber (PFF). This trifecta of protein, fat and fiber is the absolute foundation for resetting to a healthy metabolism through blood sugar balance. NOTE: It’s actually SO important that I created my signature program, The 4 Method, with PFF at the very heart of the plan!

That means that this low sugar granola is GOOD for you and good for weight loss.

AND this healthy granola recipe is low in sugar— one 1/4 cup serving contains less than 3g of added sugar!

Another great feature of this low sugar granola recipe is that it takes less than 5 minutes to make a whole batch. Most granola needs time for baking in the oven. This one is ready to go when you want something sweet yet healthy.

How to Eat Your Low Sugar Granola

Easy Granola Recipe for Yogurt

For a healthy breakfast option, I suggest pairing 1/4 cup granola + 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt + 1 cup berries for a well balanced meal (high protein, healthy fat, fiber & carbs kept lower)

Healthy Granola with Milk

Personally, nothing comes close to the satisfying taste of this granola with cold whole milk. Try it out!

Low Sugar Granola Bars Recipe

Blend the mixture until small crumbs. For bars: press mixture into a glass dish and refrigerate. For balls: form balls with the mixture and refrigerate. 

I do NOT recommend most store-bought bars marketed as “healthy snack bars”. But this low sugar granola that is high in protein, healthy fat and fiber I DO recommend. Make this low sugar granola recipe into healthy snack bars for weight loss or simply to keep you satiated.

Tips for Chunky Granola

To prevent yourself from ending up with nut butter, follow this method for chunky granola.

Simply pulse the mixture a few times. Stop the blender and scrape down the sides to move any unblended nuts or seeds close to the blade. Pulse again and scrape. Repeat until a chunky granola takes shape.

Be sure to pulse rather than blend continuously, or else you will end up with something closer to peanut butter. But hey, I’ve accidentally done that before and it’s a whole new delicious recipe.

Healthy Granola Ingredients – Low Carb, Low Sugar Version

Nuts and Seeds

Use any kind you want. I like mix and matching depending on what I have on hand. This granola recipe is also a great way to use up those end-of-the-bag bits and crumbs of nuts and seeds.

You can do raw or roasted, salted or unsalted. (This granola recipe contains added salt in ingredients. Just adjust according to taste.)

To get some specific nutrients, I like to add the following:

• Pumpkin seeds for magnesium
• Sunflower seeds for vitamin E
• Brazil nuts for selenium
• Walnuts and flaxseeds for healthy omega-3 fats

Nutrition in Nuts and Seeds

Pumpkin seeds for magnesium: One ounce of pumpkin seeds contains 74 mg magnesium which is ~24% of the RDA of magnesium for women! Magnesium is needed in over 300 processes in the body, including stress management and blood sugar balance — hello metabolic support!

Sunflower seeds for vitamin E: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds contains 6 mg vitamin E which is ~40% of the RDA of vitamin E for women! Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can help support skin and healthy progesterone levels.

Brazil nuts for selenium: Just 3-4 Brazil nuts (depending on size) contains all the selenium you need in a day. Selenium is essential for thyroid hormone balance, metabolism, and the immune system.

Walnuts and flaxseeds contain high levels of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.

Coconut Oil

I use unrefined virgin coconut oil for the best nutritional benefit. If you are worried about too much coconut flavor, I find that I don’t really taste the coconut flavor in this granola recipe. If you are open to a bit more of a savory flavor, use extra-virgin olive oil. This oil is packed with vitamin E and anti-inflammatory properties.

Sweetener of Choice

Choose honey, real maple syrup, or even stevia or other natural sugar free sweeteners. I like using honey since it helps the granola stick together a bit more. But the coconut oil helps with that plenty. So this healthy granola can works well when made with powdered stevia.

Salt and Spice (Makes Everything Nice)

Salt brings out the natural flavors in this recipe. With less sugar, salt helps kick up the flavor. Don’t skimp on the salt!

I also use cinnamon (my absolute favorite spice) for a subtle sweet flavor without sugar. Feel free to use other spices like ginger or spice blends like pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves).

No Needs for Oats

The low sugar granola recipe is also low carb. The nuts and seeds take the place of oats.

Chocolate Chips (Optional Add-In)

To keep it low sugar, use sugar free or 100% cacao chips (I love getting these from Trader Joe’s). Learn more about dark chocolate chips in my No-Added Sugar Banana Bread Bars recipe.

I hope you enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how this low sugar granola recipe turned out for you! Share a picture on Instagram – tag me @wonderfullymade.rd!