Love granola but avoiding oats? This Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola is your new go-to. It’s rich in healthy fats and fibre and completely sugar free, making it the perfect healthy breakfast choice.
Sprinkle over yogurt, pile onto chia pudding, or snack by the handful - no oats, no gluten, no refined sugar, just delicious crunch, and flavour.
Looking for another grain-free granola option? Give my chocolate buckwheat granola a try next.
Jump to:
- ? Why You'll Love This Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola
- ? Ingredients
- ? Instructions
- ? Substitutions
- ⚖️ Variations
- ? Equipment
- ? Storing Your Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola
- ✨ Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola Top Tips
- ❓FAQ
- ? More Candida Diet Breakfast Recipes
- Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola (Oat-Free, Sugar-Free, Candida Diet)
? Why You'll Love This Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola
- Crunchy clusters without the oats - great if you’re grain-free, in the first stages of the Candida Diet or sensitive to oats.
- This granola is sweetened only with small amounts of xylitol and some cinnamon and vanilla – no dates, honey, or syrup in this recipe.
- Simple ingredients means you’ll be able to incorporate this recipe easily into your weekly meal-prep.
? Ingredients
Walnuts are buttery, toasty, and a great source of omega-3s.
Pecans add caramel notes and help build chunky clusters.
Almonds bring an almighty crunch and extra protein. I like to limit the use of almonds to ⅓ of the total nuts due to the fact they have more bite. A ratio of ⅓ almonds, ⅓ walnuts and ⅓ pecans gives the perfect variety of texture and bite.
Mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, linseed/flaxseed) – Boosts texture, minerals, and fibre.
Ground flaxseed – Acts as a natural binder for the clusters so that you won’t end up with loads of loose seeds at the bottom of the container.
Desiccated coconut – provides sweetness, texture, as well as a host of health benefits. Did you know that coconut is great on a Candida Diet thanks to its natural antibacterial effects?
Coconut oil lightly coats everything, so it crisps up nicely.
Cinnamon adds a warm sweet spice. Be sure to choose Ceylon cinnamon, not Cassia cinnamon.
Vanilla powder enhances the sweet flavour of the granola. I use my own homemade pure vanilla powder for this recipe, but you can substitute for vanilla extract provided it is free from sugar and alcohol.
Granulated xylitol is optional and used as a Candida Diet-friendly sugar-free sweetener.
See recipe card for quantities.
? Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet to prevent sticking and make clean-up easy. Combine the ground flaxseed with the water to form a paste.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the mixed nuts and seeds. There is no need to chop the nuts in advance, the larger pieces are preferred.
3. Gently warm the coconut oil to melt and add to the mixed nuts and seeds alongside the flaxseed paste, xylitol, vanilla powder and cinnamon.
Do not add the desiccated coconut yet.
4. Stir thoroughly so that everything is lightly coated. This step is important to ensure that the flaxseed paste is evenly distributed as it will act as a binder for the smaller seeds to stick to the nuts.
5. Spread the mixture out in an even layer on the prepared tray and bake for the initial 30 minutes.
6. After the initial bake, remove the nuts and seeds and top with the desiccated coconut. Give everything a mix and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool completely on the tray - it will crisp up further as it cools.
Hint: Don’t be tempted to add the desiccated coconut at the start of the bake. The small flakes and high fat content just mean that they cook too quickly. 10 minutes is just enough time for a lightly toasted flavour without burning them.
? Substitutions
- Other Candida-Diet friendly nuts to try include hazelnuts or macadamia nuts.
- Avoid using large quantities of Brazil nuts in your granola as they are very high in selenium, and although a valuable mineral, over-consumption can lead to selenium toxicity. The recommended daily serving size of Brazil nuts is 15g (equivalent to 3 seeds).
- Seeds: add hemp or chia and go sesame-free if needed.
⚖️ Variations
- This grain-free nut and seed granola is delicious served with some berries and a splash of almond milk. I also love to enjoy it with my homemade blueberry and lemon tofu yogurt.
- If you’d like to make a chocolate version of the granola, simply add 1 tablespoon raw cacao + an extra 1 tablespoon xylitol to balance the cacao’s bitterness.
- Make a spiced chai version by adding ground ginger and ground cardamom with the cinnamon.
? Equipment
- Large mixing bowl, lined baking tray, spatula.
- No food processor needed; a rough chop on extra-large nuts is optional but not required.
? Storing Your Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola
It is important to allow the granola to cool fully before storing as any moisture trapped in the container will impact the crunch and shelf-life.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container made of glass or stainless steel for 1-2 weeks either at room temperature or preferably in the refrigerator (as this is the best way to store nuts and seeds).
✨ Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola Top Tips
- Bake the grain-free nut and seed granola low-and-slow at 150°C (300°F) as this prevents scorched nuts and keeps the flavours light.
- Be sure to only add the desiccated coconut for the final 10 minutes of baking as it cooks quicker than the nuts.
- If you decide you want to chop the nuts into smaller pieces, you may not need to cook for the entire 40 minutes.
❓FAQ
Yes! This grain-free nut and seed granola uses xylitol instead of syrups or dried fruit, and relies on nuts and seeds instead of grains making this a delicious treat for any stage of the candida diet.
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you! Be sure to rate and leave a comment below, alternatively, tag @anti_candida_kitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #anticandidakitchen. Happy cooking!
? More Candida Diet Breakfast Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Grain-Free Nut and Seed Granola (Oat-Free, Sugar-Free, Candida Diet)
Ingredients
- 300 g mixed nuts walnuts, pecans, almonds
- 70 g mixed seeds – pumpkin sunflower, sesame, linseed/flaxseed
- 20 g desiccated coconut
- 15 g ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoon water
- 25 g coconut oil gently melted
- 3 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
- 25 g granulated xylitol
- A pinch of vanilla powder or use extract if preferred
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 150°C (300°F). Line a large baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone sheet to prevent sticking. In a small bowl, stir the ground flaxseed with the water and leave it to thicken for a few minutes into a paste.
- Place the walnuts, pecans, almonds, and mixed seeds into a large mixing bowl. There’s no need to chop the nuts - keeping them in larger pieces makes the granola chunky and more satisfying.
- Melt the coconut oil and pour it over the nut mixture. Add in the flaxseed paste, xylitol, cinnamon, and vanilla. Hold back the desiccated coconut for now.
- Mix everything together thoroughly so the nuts and seeds are evenly coated. The flaxseed paste acts as a natural binder, helping the smaller seeds stick to the larger nuts during baking.
- Spread the mixture into an even layer on the prepared tray. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through so it cooks evenly.
- After the first bake, remove the tray and stir through the desiccated coconut. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes until lightly golden.
- Take out of the oven and allow the granola to cool completely on the tray - it will crisp up as it cools.
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!!
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional info is approximate and for general guidance only. Unit conversions are automatically generated and may not be accurate.
Elise says
Hi Carly i went t make this but the walnuts, almonds and pecans i got are all soaked in a priobotic so i dont want to put them in oven, can I still use them for this somehow?
Carly says
Hi Elise! I'm not entirely sure what you mean, are they activated nuts? Activated nuts are pre-soaked and then dried so would be fine in the recipe. Or do you mean you have soaked them yourself in which case they are not dry? Curious to hear what product you have! This recipe calls for raw nuts and seeds which are then roasted at a lower heat to bring out the flavour and give a crunchier texture. ?
Elise says
I got my nuts from a nutrition shop and it says they are long soaked with priobotic kombucha, and I read heating them can will kill priobotics.
So i just went to the supermarket and got normal raw almonds, pecans and walnuts and followed the recipe ?
And id never heard of Ceylon cinnamon until this recipe, so thankyou!
Was easy to make and scrumdiddlyumptious 🙂
Carly says
Hi Elise! Those nuts sound lovely! Do they taste different because of the kombucha? So interesting I have never heard of kombucha nuts before! You could always mix some of them into the prepared granola for a probiotic boost. So glad you enjoyed the recipe, I love it too and make it almost every week ?