This crunchy, chunky, homemade cinnamon pecan sugar free granola is gluten free, and has a delicious, toasted flavour. It's perfect as a snack, dessert, or breakfast, and is high in fibre and protein. Plus, it's candida diet friendly and has a secret ingredient - egg whites!
Now I absolutely love granola. I love the crunch, I love the warm, toasted flavour. But what I don’t love is how hard, or even impossible it is to find shop-bought granola that isn’t packed with sugar.
Even the “healthy” recipes still contain natural sugars such as maple syrup, honey, or dried fruit. None of which are permitted on a candida diet. That’s why I made it my mission to create a delicious, wholesome and sugar-free granola recipe for the candida diet. No more missing out!
The best thing about this recipe? It’s so easy to make. Simply combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, and bake. And just like that you have breakfast sorted for the rest of the week!
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📋 Ingredients
When it comes to making a delicious and healthy granola, there are a few key ingredients that you need, which we will run through:
Oats
Now some candida diet protocols exclude oats, however, the one that I followed did still include them. I use gluten-free, jumbo, organic oats. I find using the jumbo oats result in chunkier clusters.
If however you want to avoid oats completely for whatever reason, you can substitute them like-for-like with quinoa flakes.
Nuts and Seeds
For the seeds, there is no need to chop or pulse in this recipe, they can be kept as is. As for the nuts, it is up to you if you would prefer the nuts to be whole or partially chopped. I like using a combination of smaller nut pieces with the odd whole nut thrown in.
When combining nuts and seeds for granola, I like to use approximately one quarter of seeds to three quarters of nuts. You can therefore easily substitute for your favourite nuts or seeds using this same ratio. This doesn't need to be exact but is a good rule of thumb to follow.
Let me know which variations you decide to try!
Egg Whites
One of the ingredients in this recipe that may surprise you is egg whites. Egg whites are a great way to increase the protein in your granola, leading to more satiety.
In this recipe, the egg whites are the key to make the granola stick together into those brilliantly big clusters without the use of honey or syrup.
Why You Should Add Egg Whites to Granola:
1. They help to bind the ingredients together.
2. They make the granola crispier.
3. They help the granola to brown evenly.
4. Because of the extra dose of protein, you will feel satisfied for longer.
Can I Substitute the Egg Whites?
If you’re vegan or have an allergy to eggs, then fear not. You can still make this delicious sugar free granola; the clusters just won’t be quite as chunky. It will still be deliciously crispy, however!
To make this recipe egg free, all you need is a flax seed egg. For every egg white needed, simply substitute for 1 tablespoon of flaxseed, and 2.5 tablespoon water.
To make the flaxseed egg, leave the flaxseed and water to sit for a few minutes to form a gelatinous texture. Then it is ready to use in the recipe.
Ground Sweet Cinnamon
Try and find cinnamon specifically labelled “Ground Sweet Cinnamon”. It does not contain any sugar but is a variety of cinnamon which is milder in flavour, and therefore perfect for sweet dishes. It has the magic ability to add subtle sweetness without any sugar!
Coconut Oil
The coconut oil helps the granola to cook evenly and adds to the level of crispiness. I recommend using organic, cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil.
Xylitol
I have added a small amount of xylitol to this recipe as I feel that it enhances the sweet flavour, and works well with the cinnamon, however, you do not need to add any at all.
If you decide to substitute the xylitol for liquid stevia, then be sure to add the liquid stevia to the wet ingredients first, so that it will combine into the granola more evenly.
✨ Top Tips
- When spreading the mixture over the baking tray, be sure to press the mixture slightly into the tray. This helps the granola to form into dense clusters.
- Allow the granola to cool completely once cooked before transferring to your container. This is because the granola chunks are more fragile when still warm.
- I have specifically set a cooking temperature and time to be on a lower heat and for longer. This is so that the granola has a chance to get ultra-crispy, without scorching the nuts and seeds, which will spoil the flavour. The result is a beautiful, mellow, dry-roasted flavour to the granola.
- Give your granola a taste once it has cooled down. The granola clusters should be perfectly dry, crispy, and crunchy. If there is still a little chew there, simply pop them back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. You’ll be glad that you did!
🥡 Storage
Store your homemade granola in an airtight container - preferably made of glass, as this will preserve the flavour. The granola is at its best and most crunchy for the first few days, however, it can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 weeks and is still very delicious!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
My favourite way to serve my Crunchy Chunky Homemade Cinnamon Pecan Granola is with some dairy-free yogurt.
Why not try out this delicious Blueberry Lemon Yogurt recipe, that comes together in only 5 minutes and only requires three ingredients. It is also completely dairy and sugar free! Plus, it pairs beautifully with this granola - you won’t believe you’re not eating any sugar!
You could also enjoy with a splash of plant milk or plain as a snack on the go.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Be sure to rate and leave a comment below, and tag @anti_candida_kitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #anticandidakitchen. Happy cooking!
Crunchy Chunky Cinnamon Pecan Granola - Sugar Free
Ingredients
- 260 g jumbo organic oats
- 100 g pecans
- 40 g sunflower seeds
- 2 egg whites
- 3 teaspoon ground sweet cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil = approx. 20g melted
- 3 teaspoon xylitol
- Pinch of salt optional
Instructions
- Add the oats, nuts, seeds, cinnamon and xylitol and stir together.
- Next, combine the melted coconut oil and egg whites, and stir the mixture to combine.
- Spread the mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and gently press down onto parts of the mixture to help it to clump together.
- Bake the granola in at 150°C / 302°F for 40 minutes. The granola is cooked when the aroma of roasted nuts fills the room, and the granola has just started to become golden on the outside.
- Once baked, remove the granola from the oven and allow it to cool completely before touching. This ensures that the granola clumps remain intact.
- Once cooled, add the granola to an airtight glass container and store in a cool dark place.
Notes
Last step! If you make this recipe, will you do me a huge favour and leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review letting me know what you thought? It really helps! Thanks for your support!!
Disclaimer: Nutritional info is approximate and for general guidance only. Unit conversions are automatically generated and may not be accurate.
Lex says
Hello,
You say in the notes "I like to use the ratio of roughly one quarter of seeds to three quarters of nuts." However, in the recipe, you use 40 grams sunflower seeds and 100 grams pecans. That is not a ratio of 1:3. Please explain.
Lex
Carly says
Hey Lex! Thanks for your comment. So I mean of the total nuts + seeds, approx 1/4 is seeds and 3/4 is nuts. Where 1/4 seeds is the same as 1:3 seeds. In this recipe I did 140g total which using an exact fraction would be 35g seeds and 105g nuts but that felt far too precise so I rounded to the nearest 10... I will try and re-word my recipe notes so that it sounds less confusing, sorry about that! The main thing I was trying to get across is to have majority nuts for a more pleasant flavour 🙂 Carly
Kelly says
I make this one a regular basis! As well as the buckwheat granola. Both are delicious.
Carly says
Hi Kelly! Ah that is wonderful to hear, I am glad you like this recipe 😊 I really recommend the cinnamon pecan granola with the faux blueberry yogurt, it's a great combo! 💚
Andrea says
Here’s your recipe converted into cups and tablespoons (U.S. measurements):
• 2¾ cups jumbo organic oats (260 g)
• 1 cup pecans (100 g)
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds (40 g)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon ground sweet cinnamon (3 teaspoons)
• 1½ tablespoons coconut oil, melted (20 g)
• 1 tablespoon xylitol (3 teaspoons)
• Pinch of salt (optional)
Carly says
Andrea you are so thoughtful! Thank you for sharing these conversions, I am sure this will be really helpful to other readers. I am hoping to add cups to the blog in the not too distant future as I have received many messages that this would be helpful 💚