Gluten Free Granola

This is the master recipe for gluten free granola that you've been looking for! Endlessly customizable, with the perfect crispy granola clusters everyone loves.

It's made with plenty of good olive oil, raw nuts and seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup and certified gluten free oats—or with many potential substitutions to suit any diet!

Why I love this gluten free granola recipe

The best granola is always crisp when you bite into it, can be served alone, as a topping for yogurt, or even as cereal with milk. If you're lucky enough to smell it baking, you'll never forget it.

There's a reason artisan-style granolas are sold at almost every farmer's market. It's as beautiful and delicious as a warm loaf of homebaked bread!

There are now quite a few packaged gluten free granolas that you can buy. But they're ridiculously expensive for a small bag—and I bet they have one or two ingredients you just don't like!

It's time you had a master gluten free granola recipe that you can make with everything you love, and nothing you don't. With my tips and tricks, and substitution suggestions, this is that recipe.

Why you should make your own gluten free granola

I feel like I could give you a million reasons why you should ditch store-bought granola and make it yourself. Instead, I've leave you with these:

• There's no high fructose corn syrup or excessive sugar
• There are no nasty preservatives or chemicals in this delicious granola
• Homemade gf granola is more affordable than store-bought granola
• It's so easy to make: just mix, spread, bake, cool, and eat!
• You can use up leftover pantry ingredients — swap as needed
• Gluten free granola is a healthy snack that satisfies your cravings for crunch
• Your kitchen is going to smell so amazing
• It's naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan — and you can skip the nuts!

Serving suggestions

• Breakfast: Add some milk, and you've got gluten free granola cereal, or sprinkle it on top of your smoothie.
• Lunch: Sprinkle granola clusters over yogurt, and add some fresh fruit for a hearty, protein-packed meal
• Dessert: Granola is excellent sprinkled over ice cream. Add some mini chocolate chips, too.

Does granola have gluten?

Before we go any farther, let's answer the question that's on everyone's mind: Is granola gluten free? Do you have to shop for special ingredients to ensure these crunchy, caramelized morsels of goodness are safe for celiacs?

I'm happy to say that most granola is naturally gluten free — as long as you source your ingredients carefully, especially the oats.

Why is some granola not gluten free?

Some granola is made with oats that are contaminated with gluten in the growing and/or manufacturing process. Other granola is not gluten free because it is made with wheat flour, wheat starch, or another contaminated or gluten-containing ingredient, making the granola not gluten free.

Oats are a controversial ingredient in the gluten free world. I talk about all the surprising truths about oats in another post, but what I'll say here is this: I'm comfortable using gluten free oats when cooking for my family. It's okay if you aren't, and you can always try using a substitute for oats.

If oats are gluten free, why must some people with celiac disease avoid them?

Some people are sensitive or intolerant to the protein in oats, which is somewhat similar to gluten, the protein in wheat, barley, and rye. If you are on a gluten free diet and eating reliably gluten free oats and your body reacts poorly to eating oats, you may be sensitive them as well.

Gluten free granola ingredients

• Almonds – Granola should always be crunchy. So I usually make it with whole raw almonds that I chop roughly. Raw nuts that are solid like almonds bake slowly in the oven with all the other granola ingredients. They get coated with sugar, and come out crisp, but never hard. Softer raw nuts, like walnuts, pecans, or cashews can be used in place of almonds. Watch them carefully in the oven, though, as they burn rather easily.
• Raw seeds – My favorite seeds for this gf granola recipe are pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. But the beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever seeds you like best. Love sesame seeds? Throw them in! Want more omega-3s in your diet? Add flax seeds!
• Coconut chips – This recipe calls for coconut chips, not shredded coconut. Coconut chips are wide, flat crunchy coconut flakes that will make a believer out of even the most dedicated coconut hater.
• Old fashioned rolled oats – Traditional gluten free granola is made with certified gluten free oats. I buy Purity Protocol gluten free oats made by Bob's Red Mill (just be sure to get the one labeled gluten free!).
• Salt – A lot of people underestimate how powerful salt can be. Yes, it can ruin food if you add too much, but when used in small amounts as an enhancer, it's kind of like a secret weapon. Add less than a teaspoon to this recipe, and it balances the sweetness in the most perfect of ways.
• Sugar – Sugars do so much more in this gluten free granola recipe than sweeten the oats, nuts, seeds, and coconut! The three types of sugars (brown sugar, maple syrup, and Lyle’s Golden syrup or honey) help coat everything in a thin, crackly, browned layer. And without sugar, there are no crunchy granola clusters.
• Extra virgin olive oil – You can use nearly any fat to make this recipe, but I like extra virgin olive oil best. It’s flavorful in a complementary way.
• Dried fruit – The sky's the limit when it comes to dried fruit — you can make this gf granola sweet, sour, or tart, all based on the fruit you use. If you use raisins, cranberries, and other small fruits, don't worry about chopping them up. However, you'll want to dice larger dried fruit like apricots and dates.

Recipe tips & tricks

Even though making homemade granola is very simple, I've still got some tips that will ensure your granola comes out better than ever.

Use parchment paper to line your pan

If you've ever worked with melted sugars, you know that things get sticky in a hurry. That's great for the finished product as that's what gives this homemade granola its satisfying crunch, but it's not so great when it comes time to clean up.

For this reason, it's imperative that you line your baking sheet with parchment paper before pouring the granola onto it. When you're done, just throw away the paper — voilà!

Don't skip steps when you're making granola

You might be tempted to bake the granola for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, rather than in 10 minute intervals. Resist the temptation!

Ask me how I know that skipping the intervals leads to granola that's nearly burned on the underside and pale and lifeless on top…

If you don't stop the baking and stir the granola fully, the sugars melt to the bottom. You want to redistribute all that flavor to every beautiful, delicious cluster.

Always bake gf granola low and slow

Homemade granola is best made in a low, low (300°F) oven in 10 minute intervals, stirring in between, until it’s golden brown and caramelized. That way, it will never, ever burn.

Your granola is done baking when you say it is! I like to let mine bake until it becomes really fragrant, which signals that the nuts, seeds, oats, and coconut have browned.

After the granola is done baking, let it cool (for clusters!)

Your granola is done baking, and you've mixed in your choice of dried fruit. It's ready to eat, right?

Not just yet! You want to let the granola cool right there in the pan. The sugars solidify and the granola clumps in the most lovely way.

Once it's cool to the touch, you'll break it up into irregular clumps. This is the step that separates okay granola from the best gluten free granola!

How to store gluten free granola

As with anything you’ve baked until crisp (and you’d like to keep that way), store leftover granola in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.

Don't use a plastic container or any type of bowl without a lid — they'll allow your granola to absorb moisture and lose crispness.

So long as you keep your granola in an airtight glass container, you can store it on your kitchen countertop for up to two weeks (though I highly doubt a batch or even two will last nearly that long!)

Should you make more granola than you can finish in a couple of weeks, you can store the excess in the freezer. Put it in a heavy-duty, freezer-safe bag with all the air pushed out, and it will last up to three months on ice.

Popular ingredient substitution suggestions

Oat-free

If you’re avoiding oats for any reason, there are actually ways to find a substitute for oats in gluten free baking. Here, you’d likely use beaten rice in place of oats, since it holds its shape very well. If you can find buckwheat flakes, you can try replacing the oats with that too.

Oats may be gluten free when sourced properly, but they are a grain. If you’d like to make grain-free granola recipe, you’ll love our recipe for Paleo granola, which is entirely grain-free.

Coconut-free

Coconut chips are so nice, especially toasted. If you’re dead set against coconut, just replace them with more raw nuts and seeds, whatever kind you like.

Sugar alternatives

I don’t think you can use sugar alternatives to make granola. I doubt they’d caramelize in the oven and create clusters the same way as the sugars for which my recipe calls.

And everybody knows the clusters are the best part of granola.

This said, I do have ideas for how you can substitute the various sugars in the recipe.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup substitute

Lyle’s golden syrup is a much more neutral syrup than honey, and is similar in consistency. You can replace Lyle’s with honey or agave nectar.

You could even use light or dark corn syrup in its place, but most people prefer to avoid those sugars (even though they’re not the same as high fructose corn syrup, I promise!).

Pure maple syrup substitute

Pure maple syrup is ideal, since it has that rich, deep flavor everyone loves. It’s also thin enough to easily coat all the tasty morsels.

Maple syrup is expensive, though. You can replace it, too, with agave nectar, which should be much cheaper.

Light brown sugar substitute

If you’d prefer to make refined-sugar-free granola, try using coconut palm sugar. Coconut palm sugar has similar depth of flavor to the molasses in brown sugar.

It’s a coarse, granulated sugar, so grind it in a blender a bit first, or it won’t dissolve completely in the oven.

Replacing olive oil

You can use a neutral oil that’s liquid at room temperature, like grapeseed oil or even canola or vegetable oil. You can also use unrefined coconut oil, which is solid at cool room temperature, if you melt it first.

If your oil isn’t properly liquefied when you add it to the other ingredients, it will clump. You’ll have oily parts, and parts that are dry.

Nut-free

If you’d like to make gluten free nut-free granola, try replacing the almonds with more seeds (sunflower seeds are a good choice). You’ll want some more bulk, so also try adding more coconut chips.

Seed-free

You don’t have to use seeds, and you can replace them, by weight, with more oats or nuts.

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