Gluten free, grain-free, refined sugar-free paleo granola. This simple recipe incorporates nuts and seeds, plus – bonus points – you end up with huge granola clusters!
Do you ever get such a massive hankering for something crunchy that it can’t be contained, quenched, or satisfied with anything other than granola?
This happens to me regularly.
I go about my business eating my veggies and rice and salmon on a weekly basis, then all of a sudden, BOOM!
Mega need for something hard to chew on.
When these savage cravings occur, I head to the bulk bins at the store and buy up all the nuts and seeds to make my own paleo granola that is free of refined sugar and grains.
I love making homemade paleo granola because I have the ultimate control of how much sugar goes in. Plus, I enjoy experimenting with various nuts, seeds, and flavors.
So here’s my go-to paleo granola.
It’s super straight-forward, incorporating ingredients you can buy in bulk from any grocery store.
I love eating it with a splash of almond milk and fresh seasonal fruit. If you’re fine with dairy, this paleo granola makes for an amazing topping to yogurt!
This granola has the perfect crispy crunch, plus you achieve huge granola clusters.
Largely-sized clusters are a major highlight of granola.
Tips For Preparing This Recipe
- Use a variety of nuts and seeds. Raw walnuts, cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed…toss it all in!
- Use dried fruit and unsweetened coconut flakes. Both add natural sweetness and flavor without having to add processed sugar. Just be sure to use juice-sweetened dried fruit in order to keep this recipe paleo-friendly.
- Give your ingredients a good chop or run through the food processor. This will create itty bitty granola bits that make for great granola-ing.
- Use natural sweeteners. I used coconut sugar in my Walnut Granola Cluster recipe, honey in my Walnut & Date Granola recipe (and this one), and have also used pure maple syrup. Natural sweeteners a good granola make.
- Use an egg white and water. I know, it sounds strange. But it helps hold all of the ingredients together, and makes for a crispy granola with large clusters. We want the biggest clusters we can get.
How to Make Paleo Granola:
Whisk together the egg white and water in a bowl. Gather your paleo granola ingredients, you granola gathering fool 😉 .
Add the nutty and seedy ingredients to a blender or food processor (I use my Food Processor), and process for just a couple of seconds, grinding some of the nuts finely, and leaving many of the nuts chopped or whole.
Spread this granola mixture out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, creating an even layer, and bake.
Allow the granola to rest at least 30 minutes before breaking it into clusters using a spatula or wooden spoon. Be sure you let the granola sit when it’s out of the oven, as this is when the clustering magic happens.
You know the drill. It’s crunch time!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this gluten-free granola recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
More Healthy Gluten-Free Granola Recipes:
- Grain-Free Tahini Granola
- Cinnamon Raisin Paleo Granola
- Walnut Granola Clusters
- Pumpkin Spice Granola
- Cherry Maple Almond Granola
The BEST Paleo Granola
Ingredients
- 1 egg white lightly beaten, see note*
- 2 tablespoons water see note*
- 2 cups raw walnuts
- 2 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds pepitas
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup dried cranberries see note**
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil see note***
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey****
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the egg white with the water until bubbly and slightly foamy in a small bowl.
- Add all ingredients, including the egg white/water mixture EXCEPT for the cranberries to a food processor. Pulse until well chopped and combined, but leave mixture nice and chunky.
- Spread the granola mixture evenly on the parchment-lined baking sheet into an even layer and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden-brown and crispy.
- Remove granola from the oven and allow it to sit at least 20 minutes without stirring it – this is where the clustering happens, so be sure to not skip this step!!
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break the granola into clusters.
- Once cool, store the granola in a 2-quart sealable glass jar or zip lock bag.
- Eat granola with your favorite non-dairy milk or yogurt and fruit
Notes
Nutrition
Delicious! And easy! I don’t have a big food processor, so I use my immersion blender and put everything in a deep bowl. Works fine to switch out nuts and seed, keeping the volume of ingredients the same. By the way … when to the cranberries get added?
Hi Sharon! I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy it! I’ve added the cranberries before baking the granola (so with the rest of the ingredients) and I have also added them after. I feel it tastes great both ways, but I think I prefer adding the dried cranberries after baking so that they stay chewy rather than drying out 🙂
I rarely write comments however this recipe is so good that it deserves attention. This granola is the best I have ever had. It is just as described, crunchy and delicious. Once you have made it once you will find it easier to make the next time. I used 1/4 maple syrup and that was enough. I baked it for double the time suggested, it was a dark golden. I store it in a ziplock bag and it lasts my hubby and I 4 days. We have it with almond milk and a banana. It is filing and satisfying.
This recipe is amazing. I never made granola before this and it turned out perfect. I can’t eat eggs, so I added more honey and omitted the cocoanut flakes (personal preference). I think next time I’ll make it the same but try a little less honey. It’s not super sweet which I am ok with. I also threw in Himalaya Sea Salt (coarse) and it added a perfect balance!
I’m so happy you like it, Debra! I prefer my granola less sweet too…I figure I can always add some honey or pure maple syrup when I’m looking for something sweeter. Thanks so much for your sweet note! xo
Hi, would this work without any added sweetener? I have chronic SIBO and have been told to avoid even naural sweeteners ? maybe some extra vanilla would do the trick?
Hi Jennifer,
You can definitely omit the sweetener as long as you’re okay with the granola not being very sweet. As someone who doesn’t consume very much sugar myself, I find things like unsweetened granola to still taste sweet, because my taste buds are used to it now. I hope you enjoy the granola, and good luck fighting SIBO! I know first hand how difficult it can be, yet how rewarding it is to be rid of it!
This is so delicious! Wondering if this would freeze well? I don’t want any to go to waste!
Hi Liz,
I think it would freeze well, although I’ve never tried. I think it would be worth a shot! 😀
Hi, do you have the nutritional information for this recipe? 🙂
Yesss, tried this today as I was looking for another grain free breakfast option. I substituted almonds and pecans for the other nuts and added in an additional cup of hazelnuts and raw buckwheat. I upped the oil (a blend of extra light olive oil and avocado oil) slightly but decreased the maple syrup to 1/4 cup, added in dried unsweetened cherries and raisins and baked for about 26 minutes. It is absolutely perfect!! I will add it to homemade almond milk yogurt or almond milk for more of a cereal 🙂 .
Hi Stef, I love the sound of all of your adaptations! I love that you took creativity into your own hands – so awesome! Thank you so much for the kind note! xo
Delicious! Such an easy and amazing recipe. Thanks so much, Julia!
You’re very welcome! I hope you love it!
Thanks for the post. Good ideas for breakfast. Keep post Julia
LOVE this stuff so much! It has great flexibility with the nuts that you can add. I have made it before as written, and today I am making it for a Crossfit baby shower. I added 1 cup each of: cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pecans. I also used dried cherries instead of cranberries! So good! Thanks for a great recipe!:-)
Just found this little gem of a recipe and followed it exact. All I can say is I am NEVER buying granola in the store again! Absolutely amazing! I recently (about 2 months ago) turned to the paleo way of eating (although I do add some cheese here & there), and this recipe was just what I needed to satisfy my need for CRUNCH! Thanks a ton!
Wahooooooo SO happy to hear it! And you’re very welcome! 😀
Thank You for the recipe! I made it with the addition of hemp seeds for protein, swapped almonds for cashews, and used coconut oil for extra coconut flavor! So delicious with some yogurt and berries! My batch took more like 40-45 mins with frequent stirring to reach desired brown-ness. I was concerned when it came out of the oven that it still seemed soggy but was happy to find it crisped up as it cooled! Yay! Just a questions though, did anyone else find that their granola seemed to lose its sweetness after it was baked? I tasted the granola before I baked it and thought it was sweet enough with the amount of honey I used, but when it was all baked and ready it tasted like I hadn’t used any sweetener! Anyone have the same issue? Thanks!
Hi Audrey, thanks for all your feedback! I find the granola to be not very sweet either, so I typically eat it with a drizzle of honey or pure maple syrup on top. I usually eat it with almond milk or yogurt. Hope this helps and thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience! 😀