For granola lovers, there’s nothing like this rich nutty goodness, with its hint of sweet and salty. So good. Sprinkle this crunchy best ever nut granola on top of a bowl of natural yogurt. Add to the nuts some other goodies of your choice such as roasted sesame seeds, a few berries, a few coconut flakes, and it’s becoming one of the best low carb breakfasts on earth. Moreover, nuts and seeds are packed with heart-healthy fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, all of which give you energy to start the day.
Nut granola is perfect with plain full-fat yogurt. Or mix nut granola with fruits to enrich these yogurt serving ideas from my blog. If you don’t eat dairy, it’s great with vegan yogurts as well, such as this home made tofu-based variety.
A word on ingredients
Personally, I just love nuts. After starting out on the low carb diet, I stopped eating oats. Instead, I chopped a handful of nuts every morning for my yogurt. A bit cumbersome, right? So, I decided it is time to make my own crunchy nut granola. I played around with the mix a bit to find my favourite combo of different nuts, spices and sweeteners. This recipe is the result, and it contains almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans, plus pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
As sweeteners I use coconut sugar and liquid honey. Of course, you get me here, honey is neither vegan nor low carb. Coconut sugar is basically sugar as well, albeit with a low glycemic index. Which means your body breaks down its carbs slowly, avoiding a harmful spike in blood sugar levels. Honey, oh well… it’s just good and we buy organic. Any good-quality liquid honey will be suitable, so choose a flavour that you love.
If you are on a plant-based diet, or on keto, or both, sub both the coconut sugar and the honey with a similar amount of any brown low carb sweetener. Or replace honey with maple syrup if you’re easy with a few carbs but prefer your nut granola vegan.
How to make nut granola
Ok, ready to chop and roast?
I recommend chopping the nuts by hand with a good knife. That way, you will have slightly coarser crumbs. Chopping also gives you more control than a blender – where the bottom tends to become more mushy than desirable. I also enjoy the chopping as I like to work my ingredients with my hands.
After you have chopped your nuts, place them in a large bowl. Add your the dry ingredients: Seeds, coconut sugar or keto sweetener, cinnamon powder and salt. Stir well.
We also add a spoonful of coconut oil to the granola. Make sure you have good-quality, preferably organic coconut oil at home. It is a key ingredient for many low carb or keto recipes. If your coconut oil is solid, warm it in the microwave or a small pan on very low heat. The oil should just turn liquid, not become very hot.
Then add the liquefied oil and honey, if using, to your nuts-and-seeds mix,to your nuts and thoroughly mix everything in. I use my hands to knead the mix as that helps to spread spices and liquid evenly. If you prefer not to get your hands dirty, use two spoons. Coconut oil and the honey will help the spices stick to your nuts and form some yummy granola-style crumbs.
Pre-heat your oven to 130 degrees celsius/260 degrees Fahrenheit. That is not very hot because the goal is to mildy roast your nuts, not to char them. Place your granola mix on a tray covered with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. When the oven is hot, shove the tray in.
You will soon notice an amazing scent of roasted nuts and cinnamon emerging from the inside the oven and filling your kitchen. So stick around and enjoy the fragrance! I always love smells evaporating from the oven, anticipating the delicacies inside. And this one is one of my favourite smells!
A note on amounts
Many granola recipes yield huge amounts which can last for months. I usually prefer smaller batches that are easier to roast – one tray for this recipe – and better to store. Nut granola is quite filling! So you’ll eat rather small portions. So I usually go for mixing a one-tray-one-mason-jar amount of nuts.
In the recipe card you can see the carb count of the whole batch, as it depends entirely on you how big a serving is. But those numbers will give you a feel about how many net carbs would be in one of your portions.
best ever nut granola
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 tray 1x
Description
Home-made nut granola! Easy and quick and utterly rich and delicious, with various nuts, seeds, and a hint of salt and sweetness. Perfect yogurt topping!
Ingredients
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pecan nuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp coconut sugar or brown keto sweetener (for example sukrin gold)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp liquid honey (optional, replace with brown keto sweetener if on a vegan or very low carb diet)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 130 degrees C (260 degrees F).
- Chop the nuts into small pieces and put them in a bowl. Mix them with seeds, coconut sugar/brown keto sweetener, cinnamon powder and salt.
- If your coconut oil is solid, warm it in the microwave or a small pan on very low heat. The oil should just turn liquid, not become very hot.
- Add oil and honey, if using, to your nuts and thoroughly mix everything in. I use my hands to knead the mix as that helps to spread spices and liquid evenly. If you prefer not to get your hands dirty, use two spoons.
- Spread the mix to a tray and roast for 25-30 minutes until crunchy. Try one after 25 minutes to see if they’re ready.
- Category: basics
- Method: chop and roast
- Cuisine: European/American
