Sugar-Free Granola Recipe

By Deryn Macey

5 from 4 votes

on Mar 11, 2020, Updated Sep 19, 2024

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This healthy sugar-free granola recipe is vegan, high in fiber, naturally sweetened with banana and makes a delicious breakfast or quick snack.

A berry smoothie topped with granola in a jar.

Table of Contents

This delicious homemade granola is high in fiber, sugar-free and makes a healthy alternative to store-bought granolas that may contain added sugar.

It’s also packed with nutrition thanks to healthy ingredients like rolled oats, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and banana, and super easy to make!

Enjoy with almond milk and sliced banana, sprinkled over coconut yogurt and topped with berries or just eaten plain for a snack! For homemade granola, this Peanut Butter Granola and Homemade Pumpkin Spice Granola are really yummy too.

Ingredient Notes

Here are a few things to consider about the ingredients in this recipe:

  1. Oats. Rolled oats, old fashioned oats or large flake oats are best.
  2. Seeds. I used 1/2 cup each hemp seeds plus 1/2 cup any nut or seed such as sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans or cashews.
  3. Raisins. The raisins add a nice touch of sweetness and goes well with the cinnamon and banana. Chopped dates or cranberries would also work.
  4. Banana. This recipe is best with an overripe, spotty banana. If you don’t have one ready, peel and freeze a ripe banana and then defrost so it’s soft and mushy.

Recipe Variations

  • Mix in chocolate chips after baking.
  • Add spices like pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and/or ginger.
  • Instead of raisins, hemp seeds and sunflower seeds, use any nut, seed and coconut mixture for a total of 1.5 cups – try pecan, coconut and date – yum!
  • Instead of raisins, try dried cherries, blueberries or cranberries or chopped dried apricots or dates.
  • Mix in crushed dried banana chips after baking.
  • Add up to 1/2 cup of shredded or flaked coconut.

Step by Step Instructions

Mash the banana into a smooth paste then mix with the melted coconut oil and vanilla until completely smooth.

Combine with the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until all of the oats are coated.

Adding coconut oil to a small bowl of mashed banana.

Evenly spread the mixture on a baking tray and place it in the oven to bake. Once it comes out of the oven, let cool fro 15 minutes then mix in the raisins.

Granola spread on a baking tray.

Tips for Baking

  • line the baking tray with parchment paper
  • use a lower oven temp – I suggest 300 degrees
  • spread the granola in one, even layer…you may need to use 2 baking trays if yours are on the smaller side
  • watch carefully after 20 minutes to prevent burning
  • let the granola cool completely on the pan before handling or storing – this is key for the best crunchy clumps!
Granola in a glass jar on a baking tray.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A berry smoothie topped with granola in a jar.
5 from 4 votes

Sugar-Free Granola Recipe

By: Deryn Macey
This delicious cinnamon raisin granola is naturally sweetened and packed with nutrition thanks to superfood ingredients like rolled oats, hemp seeds and sunflower seeds.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 8
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Ingredients 

  • 1 medium extra ripe, spotty banana or frozen ripe banana, 110 g
  • 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups rolled oats, 120 g
  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds, 65 g
  • 1/2 cup any chopped nuts or seeds, 70 g (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1-2 tbsp maple syrup or liquid stevia drops, to taste, try 10-20 drops, optional
  • 1/2 cup raisins, 80 g , or cranberries

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat oven to 300 F and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • If using a extra ripe, spotty banana, add to a large mixing bowl and mash until completely smooth. Add the melted coconut and vanilla and mix well to combine.
  • Add the oats, hemp seeds, additional nuts or seeds, cinnamon, salt and additional sweetener, if using. Mix well.
  • Spread the mixture in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Check frequently after 20 minutes in order to prevent burning. Once it's browned, fragrant and firm, you can pull it from the oven.
  • Let the granola cool on the pan on the pan for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the raisins (or dried cranberries). Give it a loose stir or break into chunks and serve right away or let cool completely before storing.

Notes

This homemade granola is easily customizable: Try swapping out the hemp seed for coconut, or using any other dried fruit instead of the raisins. Chopped dates, dried apricots or cranberries would be delicious. Any diced dried fruit makes a great choice, crushed banana chips would be amazing too! You can sub chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts for the sunflower seeds. You can also play around with the spices, try a combination of cinnamon and ginger, or maybe a pinch of nutmeg. If you want to get a little more decadent, try stirring in some chocolate chips once it’s baked and cooled!
The stevia drops or maple syrup are optional but recommended. I don’t find it sweet enough with just banana but I do have a bit of a sweet tooth so add at your own discretion. I really love the sweet and salty combo in this. 
Store the cooled granola in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8th of recipe, Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 12g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 7g
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

This recipe was originally published on May 7, 2016.

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18 Comments

  2. Great recipe! I didn’t have any ripe bananas, so I used apple sauce instead and it worked great! Definitely making this again.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    Very delicious!  I’ve been searching for so long for a low sugar healthy granola recipe and this one is perfect!  I used avocado oil, because it was all I had and skipped the raisins and added almonds instead.  I think this will be amazing sprinkled on baked squash for breakfast 🙂

    Reply

      1. 5 stars
        Wanted to mention that I make this recipe about once a week or so. I now use unsweetened sunflower seed butter or drippy almond butter instead of the oil and omit the maple syrup and add more cinnamon. It’s a house favourite for us 🙂

  4. Just made this today and it is really delicious! Love that it is low in sugar! Looking forward to topping my banana oatmeal with it in the morning, thanks for the great recipes!

    Reply

  5. I’ve made this granola twice now and it has become a staple in my day! Thank you so much for a delicious granola recipe that is low sugar while not sacrificing taste!

    Reply

  6. Just made this for the first time!.It smells great! I love the peanut butter granola too! I make it way too often!

    Reply

    1. Oooh, jealous that you have a fresh batch! I’m glad you liked it. I need to make the PB granola again asap! Thanks for your comment.

      Reply

  8. Great recipe! I’m looking for like this type of recipe where using oats. We also get calories, fat and protein also. We also can get protein from ***best tasting protein bars***.

    Reply

  9. I have to make this! And you have to create the peanut butter protein granola too! Because I need everything peanut butter.
    Any ideas how I could work the macros for this?
    Annie (from AnnietheTrainer)

    Reply

    1. Hi Annie – I made a little note on the recipe about the macros! I’d recommend weighing the entire recipe when you’re done then entering that as the number of servings. That when when you want some, just measure it out and put the grams as your servings size.

      Reply

    2. Awesome! I see nutrition breakdown now! Making a batch right now! You are the best, hope I don’t eat it all in one sitting.

      Reply