Healthy Low-Sugar Granola

Why you will love this recipe

• Easy to prepare - once you gather all your ingredients it's just a matter of mixing and baking.
• Less expensive than store-bought - with today's food prices who doesn't want that?
• Customizable - as long as you keep the dry to wet ratios relatively the same you can switch up the bits and bites as much as you like!
• Low in sugar - This recipe only has 6 g of sugar per ¼ cup serving.
• High in protein - with 6 g of protein per ¼ cup serving, you can boost the protein content in your yogurt, oatmeal or anything you like.

This recipe is very versatile and customizable. Keeping the ratio of dry to wet ingredients relatively the same feel free to substitute or add in any of the following:

• Nuts of your choice. Be sure to use unsalted and untoasted nuts and seeds as they will toast during the baking time.
• Flax seeds or hemp hearts
• Dried fruit. If adding dried fruit, do so after the granola has baked to avoid it drying out.
• Add more protein with the addition of your favorite protein powder. Add up to ½ a cup to the mix before baking.
• Other sweeteners such as brown rice syrup or date syrup can be used. Any type of sugar can also be used but you will need to dissolve it first. Place the oil, honey or maple syrup if using, and sugar into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
• Nut butter - melt ¼ to ½ cup of your favorite nut butter with the oil and sweeteners to add more healthy fat and protein.
• Other oils - coconut oil or olive oil make great healthy fat substitutes. Keep in mind that both oils can add a slight flavor change and coconut oil may need to be melted first.
• Vanilla extract makes a lovely addition to the mix. Also feel free to bump up the cinnamon or ginger if you like a bit more spice.

1. Mix together the oil, honey, and maple syrup.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add the honey mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well to combine.
4. Spread on a parchment lined baking tray then bake, stirring every 15 minutes, for approximately 45 minutes.

Expert Tips

• Baking granola at a low temperature for a longer period of time ensures that everything bakes evenly and it doesn't burn.
• Stirring often also prevents burning and even baking.
• If you prefer a more "chunky" granola, press it down firmly right when you take it out of the oven and let it cool without stirring.
• If you like it even more crunchy with larger clusters beat one egg white and mix it into the oil and sweetener mixture. You can also increase the amount of sweetener by an extra ¼ cup or so. Play around with it!

Can I use quick oats to make granola?

Quick or instant oats won't work for granola. Old fashioned, rolled, or large flake oats are your best option. You can use steel cut oats keeping in mind the texture will be more firm and chewy.

How to store granola

Keep granola at room temperature, in a sealed container for 2 to 3 weeks. I like to keep mine in a glass jar just because it looks so darn good!

What to eat with homemade granola

My favorite way to enjoy this low-sugar granola is with plain Greek yogurt but any yogurt will do. Granola is also delicious with your favorite milk or sprinkled on top of oatmeal, pancakes or waffles. Try it on top of these High Protein Overnight Oats.