Granola is something I have always loved. Granola bars, clusters or cereal – I’ll eat it all. But when you’re trying to cut carbs, one glance at the nutrition label for traditional granola will make you put it back on the shelf. Thankfully, keto granola is here fill that need!
What makes this granola keto friendly?
Looking at the nutrition label for my favorite store-bought granola, the top 3 ingredients are: oats, sugar, rice. Can you say Carb City?
This granola uses no grains and no sugar.
By using a variety of nuts to provide the wonderful crunch we want and expect from our granola, we substitute healthy fats for all those carbs.
How to make keto granola
This recipe is adapted from Wholesome Yum, and the original uses a food processor to do all the chopping and mixing. And I tried it that way. But I definitely have a tendency to over-process when I do, which results in a mixture that is much too fine. I like CRUNCH in my granola!
So instead, I just use already-chopped nuts. My local grocery store always has them, and sometimes there might be one of the nut types I end up chopping myself. No biggee! This gives me complete control over the size of the nuts, and keeps it all nice and crunchy.
Mix the chopped nuts in a big bowl with the seeds (sunflower and pepitas). Then add flaxseed meal and erythritol and mix together.
Then add the wet ingredients: egg white, melted butter and vanilla. (I like to whisk the egg white very well before adding it, so I don’t end up with a big glob of egg white in one spot and nowhere else.) Once this is mixed well, all the nuts and seeds will be evenly coated and slightly damp.
Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets – I use 2 to be able to really spread out the granola. We are trying for crunch, after all. 😀
Bake the granola at 325F until lightly browned, especially at the edges.
Allow the granola to cool completely before breaking it apart. It will crisp up significantly as it cools.
Variations and substitutions
There are many ways you can make this your own! Use whatever combination of nuts and seeds you prefer, just keep about the same proportions. For instance, for one batch I didn’t have any sunflower seeds, so I doubled the amount of pepitas. Here are a few more ideas:
- Macadamia nuts
- Walnuts
- Flaxseeds (whole)
- Chia seeds
I also got stuck once in the middle of making this and realized I did not have any flaxseed meal in the house. A quick trip to my local grocery store was unsuccessful, so I substituted ¼ cup chia seeds plus ¼ cup whole flaxseeds in place of the flaxseed meal. Turned out great!
Serving ideas
Granola makes a great cereal, with a little milk and fruit. Just remember, this keto version is very calorie-dense, so eat just ¼ cup serving. It does fill you up! Pour a little almond milk over for a quick keto-friendly breakfast.
For a non-keto breakfast, it’s great with yogurt and fruit, or to garnish a smoothie bowl.
But to be honest, I usually just eat it as a snack. Just the granola, it’s enough for me!
It’s so good!!
Keto Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup pepitas
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 6 Tablespoons erythritol I use Swerve granular
- ½ cup flaxseed meal golden
- 1 egg white large, whipped
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the nuts and seeds in a large bowl and mix.
- Add flaxseed meal and erythritol and stir to mix well.
- Add egg white. Whisk vanilla with the melted butter and then add to the bowl.
- Stir to thoroughly combine, until the entire mixture is slightly damp and coated with the wet ingredients.
- Spread the mixture thinly onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake 15-18 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
- Allow to cool completely, then break apart. (mixture will be soft right out of the oven but becomes crisp as it cools)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Other keto friendly snack ideas:
What is erythritol and is it considered safe to eat?
Erythritol differs from most other sugar alcohols in that most of it is absorbed into the bloodstream before reaching the colon. This avoids the bloating and digestive upset caused by many other sugar alcohols. Multiple studies on erythritol indicate that it is safe to eat. (Healthline)
