This Keto low carb granola has irresistible crunchy clusters. It is packed with nuts and seeds and high in protein – if you have a cereal craving, try this delicious grain free sugar free granola for breakfast! You can prep a big batch in only 10 minutes.
We’ve all heard about just how bad breakfast cereals and granolas are for you. They are high in carbs and full of sugar, no matter how wonderful the health claims on their cartons may sound.
A bowl of Kellogg’s and Co will spike your insulin levels, give you a brief energy boost and dump you shortly after, leaving you hungry again for a mid-morning snack. Not a great way to start the day!
Which brings us to the question – is granola a low carb food?
The answer is simple. Absolutely! If you make your own.
This keto granola takes only 10 minutes to prepare and it’s jam-packed with low carb, sugar free goodness. Not a single grain in sight 🙂
Instead on loading up on carbs for breakfast, you’ll be feasting on nutrient-dense nuts, seeds and coconut chips. The recipe is not only low in carbs, but also high in fibre due to a generous portion of flax. Even better, it’s also high in protein thanks to a scoop of unflavoured whey protein powder.
Friends, this low carb granola will SUPERCHARGE you.
How to make low carb granola – step by step:
1.) Get all your ingredients ready. Then pulse the nuts in a food processor (or with a stick blender in a bowl) until you are left with smaller and larger pieces. After that, do the same with the pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
2.) Combine your nuts and seeds, unsweetened coconut chips (I used pre-toasted chips), flaxseed, protein powder, smooth almond butter and some water in a large mixing bowl with a spatula.
3.) See how nice and moist the mix looks? Now it’s time to up the flavour with some granulated sweetener, vanilla extract and freeze dried raspberries.
4.) Press the low carb granola firmly and evenly onto a baking sheet which you’ve lined with parchment paper.
5.) This is how your uber healthy sugar free granola looks after you’ve baked it for 30 minutes!
6.) See how firm it has become? Crunchy clusters coming up!!
7.) Once the granola has cooled down, break it into larger and smaller clusters, however you like it most. Then add another 2 tbsp of freeze dried raspberries for a burst of colour. There you go – you’ve got yourself a healthy, grain free breakfast “cereal”!
Recipe Notes:
Grain free granola is filling! That’s why I’ve kept the portion sizes fairly small (a heaped 1/3 cup or 50g). Trust me – it’s nutrient-dense and wholesome and will keep you going until lunch.
Always check and adjust your sweetener. If you’re just starting out on low carb, you may want to add a bit more. Once your taste buds adjust, a little sweetness goes a long way.
When you bake the freeze dried raspberries they lose their vibrant colour, but not their taste. I like the berry burst within the clusters, but wanted to add a few extra ones afterwards because you eat with your eyes, too 🙂
Check your low carb granola after about 20 minutes of baking! You don’t want the edges to burn, which can happen if they’re too thinly spread. Turn the baking tray around if necessary (ovens are always hotter at the back) or even remove the outer edges of the granola.
If you feel that the granola at the centre of the baking tray is not browned enough after 30 minutes, place it back into the oven and bake it a bit longer.
How to store low carb granola
Once it’s cooled, fill the granola into an airtight container or mason jar. It will keep for a few weeks (although it probably will be munched up much sooner than that).
Recipe variations and tips
If you can’t get hold of freeze dried raspberries (or strawberries), you can leave them out. If you do, I recommend you add a tbsp of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg or cardamom for extra flavour and an autumn/winter vibe.
Some low carb granola recipes use coconut oil as a fat. I have chosen the almond butter instead, because I feel it adds so much more flavour. But, if you dot have almond butter, you could replace it with coconut oil. Use less though as it is a purer fat. 4 tbsp should be plenty.
It’s also possible to replace the almond butter with peanut butter or any other nut or seed butter!
Ground chia seeds works in place of the flaxseed. I do recommend to use one or the other, because they are the “glue” that helps form the clusters.
How to serve low carb granola
We like to eat our granola with unsweetened almond milk or other dairy free milk such as coconut milk or hazelnut milk. It is also delicious with natural Greek yogurt and berries.
You can even use your keto granola as a topping for low carb crumbles. And if you add fibre syrup to the mix, you could also make delicious low carb granola bars with this recipe!
I have calculated one serving size as 1/3 cup or 50 grams. Net carbs are 3.7g per serving. This does not include the milk, yogurt or berries.
Check out my other granola and low carb breakfast “cereal” recipes:
- Sugar Free Peanut Butter Granola
- Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars
- Creamy Keto Low Carb Porridge
- Keto Cinnamon Crunch Cereal Recipe
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Low Carb Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 150g whole almonds
- 1 cup / 100g walnut halves
- 1 cup / 100g pecans
- 1/2 cup / 65g pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup / 65g sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup / 40g flaxseed milled
- 1/3 cup / 30g whey protein powder unflavoured
- 1 1/2 cup / 90g coconut flakes/chips unsweetened
- 1/3 cup / 80 g smooth almond butter
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml water
- 4 tbsp freeze dried raspberries
- 2 tbsp granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150 Celsius / 300 Fahrenheit
- Pulse the almonds, walnuts and pecans in a food processor until you have a mixture of smaller and larger pieces.
- Repeat the same with the pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
- Empty the nuts and seeds into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients (only reserve 2 tbsp of the raspberries for later) and mix with a spatula. The mixture should be sticky. If it's still dry, add another tbsp of water.
- Press firmly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until you have a flat surface.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned. Turn the baking sheet after 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool. Then break into small pieces, mix the remaining 2 tbsp of freeze dried raspberries and store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and purchase a product, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Free Londoner.
Angelina M Colon-Pack says
Can I use something other then the almond butter? Do not really care for almond butter. Thanks’
Katrin says
Hi Angelina, you can use peanut butter, a bit of coconut oil or indeed simply leave it out. I actually just made a batch of granola using and forgot the almond butter. It works without – it’ll get a little more crumbly though. It’s a really versatile recipe, just change it to suit your preferences. 😉
Carolyn says
This is the best keto-friendly granola I have tried! I pretty much followed the recipe as written with the following variations:
1. I used collagen peptide protein powder in place of the whey protein
2. I added about 1/4 tsp of salt
3. I stirred the granola about every 15 minutes while it was baking for even browning and a few times while it was cooling. It took about 40-50 minutes total baking time in my oven (including the time I had it out of the oven to stir it). It came out perfect with nice clusters and varying sizes of beautifully toasted of nuts/seeds.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Katrin says
Hi Carolyn, thanks for detailing all your recipe tweaks! This is always helpful to other readers, and interesting for me 🙂
Lynda Savage says
This recipe is so great and flexible. I add MCT oil, butter, nutracleanse, whey protein and just a bit of stevia mixed with xylitol .Then I make plain greek yogurt into vanilla yogurt, have them together and voila! keeps one very regular which I find challenging on the keto diet. Fresh blueberries are a nice add as well. I find of all the keto recipe sites I have the best results here. Thank you Karin.
Neeta says
HI katrin
This recipe looks awesome – if I wanted to make it into Granola bars how much fibre syrup should I add please? Thank you so much
Katrin says
Good question. I’d say maybe 3-4 tbsp? I would not use the sweetener if you use the fibre syrup. Have a taste and see if it’s good. We all have such a different idea of what’s just right.
hester says
Can I use pea protein instead or is it needed at all in this ? Thanks 🙂
Katrin says
YOu can use any kind of protein powder. Or you just leave it out (and use a bit less water, too).
Hester says
Hi , Are all nuts and seeds raw from the start or are any roasted to begin with?
thanks!
Katrin says
Hi Hester, everything is raw 🙂
Raven Rivera says
Has anyone ever tried replacing the almond butter with cacao butter? I have some cacao butter I need to use, plus who doesn’t like a light chocolate in their granola?! Would the consistency still work? I would imagine it would melt being heated, but obviously would cool at some point. Would that change also make it more perishable?
Katrin says
Hi, I think cacao butter could work really well. Give it a try! It should not make it more perishable, I would not worry about that.
rini9 says
Great recipe. Nice and crunchy and a portion is very filling. Thanks 🙂
Susi says
This granola is the best… my entire family no longer like the stuff you buy in the shops… It keeps me in the kitchen, because I’m the one that has to make it! It is perfect and I start every day with it… thank you for this recipe – and all the others too… 🙂
Katrin says
That’s so good to hear Susi!!! My son and I eat it every morning right now…. and he’s 15, so you can guess that a batch never lasts long 🙂
Tracey says
Hi, I have put the ingredients into my app to count fat, carbs etc and its saying the fat content is to high. I am not great with understanding the nutrient content. If only having 50g though does that mean you are not consuming to much fat?
Katrin says
Nuts and seeds are high in fat. Apps like yours are great as a guideline, but I believe you also have to listen to your body and see how you feel. I tend to view my nutrition intake by day, not by meal – it just makes it easier. After a granola in the morning you might want a salad for lunch or a soup, and not another high fat dish. Also, the 50 grams are a guideline. People are interested in the net carb count of one portion, so I average it out. It’s a substantial portion that will keep you satiated. But again, a small woman will not need as much food as a tall man, so it’s all relative.
If you are worried you’re consuming too much fat with 50g of this granola (which is actually not that high), just have a bit less of it. …… if you follow a Ketogenic diet, around 70% of your calories per day should be coming from fat. This diet is VERY effective for weight loss, as long as you stay away from carbs and sugar.
If you want to read a bit more about fat intake and low carb/Keto diets, check out this link. I hope this helps!
Sue says
This is amazing – perhaps not perfect first time, but that’s how you learn about how best to cook it. I took off the well cooked outer pieces and put the rest back into a cool oven. It didn’t all come out in “clusters” but I just mixed it in with the rest and it still tastes great. Had my first “meal” with a mix of marscapone and greek yogurt with some sweetener – it was gorgeous and so filling. Thank you so much for a fabulous recipe.
Katrin says
You’re welcome Sue!! I love mascarpone and greek yoghurt mixed together – sounds like an amazing breakfast!!
Susi says
My granola is not really crunchy… I have put it back into a low oven to try to ‘dry’ it out… can you imagine what I might have done wrong?
Katrin says
Hi Susi, just leave it in the oven for longer. If you added a bit too much water, if your oven is smaller and therefore the granola layer in the tray is thicker, if your oven is a little less hot than mine…. it can all have an impact on how long it takes. Break it up a bit and move the bits around. Turn them over. Just try to get it to brown evenly. Eventually it will be crunchy! One more thing… once it is browned, do remove it from the oven. The granola does “crunch” up as it cools down.
Deborah Reasoner says
I love this granola. I have tried several of your recipes and they are all delicious!!!
Katrin says
That’s so good to hear Deborah! Happy new year 🙂
Kristy Koenig says
Hi Katrin, do you measure the flax before or after milling?
Thanks!
Katrin says
I always buy my flax milled, so measure it afterwards.
Debbie says
Do you have to add the protein powder? I don’t like the taste, even the unflavored
Katrin says
No, you don’t. It should work without. Don’t miss out on the flax though – it helps with making it stick together so you get clusters. A thought – you could possibly substitute with a bit of ground chia seeds
Vic says
The recipe works very well and is good. I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners so a sprinkle of course finishing salt works for me making it a salty snack which I prefer.
This one is a keeper.
Katrin says
Hi Vic, of course, I should add that you don’t HAVE to use sweetener if you don’t want to. I’m glad you like it! With a pinch of salt, it would taste great sprinkled over a salad or soup, too
Sophie says
Absolutely delicious! This is the crunchiest low carb granola I’ve ever made! SO much better than the recipe I’ve been using. Thanks!!
Katrin says
I’m glad you like the recipe Sophie 🙂 I think it’s the flax that makes it extra crunchy.
Toni says
Making this right now. I didn’t have pecans so I used macadamias and I subbed the almond butter with peanut butter. Flavoured it with cinnamon, ginger and cloves. My kitchen smells like Christmas just now !
Katrin says
Using ginger & cloves sounds like a fantastic idea!!! Perfect for the cold season
Donna Adams says
Hi Katrin 🙂 If I am not a fan of walnuts or pecans would this work if I just skipped them? Or subbed in extra sunflower or pumpkin seeds in addition to the amounts already in the recipe (I have plenty of those from the seed bread, which I love!) Thank you, you do such a great service to us all <3
Katrin says
Hi Donna, just use some seeds instead, or any other nuts you like. It’s just about keeping a similar wet/dry ratio.
Patti says
I have vanilla Perfect Keto MCT powder, could I use this?
Thanks
Katrin says
I don’t know this product, but I‘m sure you can add it along with the other ingredients