For granola lovers, there’s nothing like this rich nutty goodness, with a hint of sweet and salty. So good. Best ever nut granola just for you to sprinkle 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. Also one of the healthiest, as 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. You can also mix nut granola with low carb fruits. Or add it to some other breakfast yogurt ideas like these from my blog. If you don’t eat dairy, it’s great with vegan yogurts as well, store-bought or home made like this tofu-based variety. I eat it a lot with soya yogurt and almond yogurt! Almost every morning.
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. Use all these nuts raw, plain – and peels on if possible (as you can see in the pic below, I am unable to get peels-on hazelnuts here in China. But that’s fine). You will roast and spice them yourself.
As sweeteners I use coconut sugar and maple syrup. Of course, you get me here, maple syrup is not 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. Maple syrup – oh well… it’s just good and we buy organic. I do use these two naughty ingredients, as the amounts are very small for each serving.
BUT: If you are on keto, sub both the coconut sugar and the honey with a similar amount of any brown low carb granulated sweetener.
You can also sub maple syrup with organic runny honey if you prefer that and don’t mind that the nut granola would no longer be strictly vegan that way.
As for the coconut oil, we use good quality extra virgin – and try to get organic if you can.
Cinnamon powder and salt are pretty straightforward pantry items. If you don’t have cinnamon powder, do go get it for this recipe, as it really makes a difference. You’ll smell it!
Instructions 🔪
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 compared to useing a blender. Chopping also gives you more control than a blender – inside which 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. Then, add your dry ingredients: Seeds, coconut sugar or keto sweetener, cinnamon powder and a pinch of salt. Stir well.
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.
Pour the liquefied oil and maple syrup, if using, into the bowl and thoroughly mix it 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 and mix for a few minutes. It takes a little while and a bit of working out to get the best result. The coconut oil and maple syrup 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 has reached the set temperature, 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 emanating from the oven and 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.
The carb count that you see in the recipe card is for one serving, assuming that you divide your mason jar into ten servings, which is roughly what i usually do. So multiply by ten and you get the total carb and nutrient amount of the whole recipe!
best ever nut granola
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 mason jar 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Home-made low carb 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
For one large mason jar:
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 maple syrup (optional, replace with brown keto sweetener if on a very low carb diet. Liquid honey is another option, yet no longer vegan)
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, quickly melt 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 maple syrup, 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.
Notes
The carb count is for one serving, assuming that you divide your mason jar into ten servings, which is roughly what i usually do. So multiply by ten and you get the total carb and nutrient amount of the whole recipe!
- Category: breakfast
- Method: chop and roast
- Cuisine: European/American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (1/10 of jar)
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 0.8g
- Fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 4.1g net carbs
- Protein: 5.4g
