Welcome to your new favorite breakfast. This easy low carb granola is packed with healthy fats, protein, and satisfying crunch – no oats required! Whether you’re craving a bowl of cereal in the morning or a tasty snack in the afternoon, this recipe delivers big flavor without the carbs.
If you need more ideas for high protein breakfasts, you’ll also love Chocolate Protein Muffins and Keto Pancake in a Mug. Great for busy weekday mornings.
I’ve always had a soft spot for homemade granola, and our house was almost never without a big container of it. When I switched to a low carb lifestyle, I thought granola was one of those foods I’d have to give up forever. But as I began to experiment with low carb ingredients, I realized that cereal didn’t have to be made with grains.
This Keto Peanut Butter Granola was my first foray into making low carb cereal, and it has stood the test of time. Readers love it, and so does my whole family. Whenever I make a batch, it disappears within a few days.
Since that time, I’ve created other delicious recipes like Keto Granola Clusters and Keto Cinnamon Cereal. But this peanut butter version might just be my all-time fave.
What readers are saying
“Absolutely delicious! I couldn’t wait to sample and while it was warm, I made myself a bowl. It’s easy to make and would definitely make it again. I would eat this a breakfast, but also a snack with maybe some sugar free chocolate or peanut butter chips!” — Sonia
Why we love this recipe
- Easy to make: Making your own keto granola is astonishingly easy, and it’s ready in 40 minutes.
- Ultra-satisfying: With plenty of healthy fats, protein, and delicious crunch, you won’t miss the high carb stuff!
- Free from: This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, and egg-free. And of course, contains no added sugars.
- Customizable: Not a fan of coconut? Allergic to almonds? You can easily switch out the various nuts and seeds to suit your tastes.
- Low carb: With only 4.1 grams net carbs, you can indulge in your favorite breakfast again!
Ingredient Notes
- Nuts and seeds: Chopped nuts and seeds are perfect for making that crunchy breakfast treat. The combination you use doesn’t matter much, although I do recommend using a mix for better texture. I like a combination of almonds, pecans, and sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
- Shredded coconut: Adding in something with a finer texture, such as shredded coconut or almond flour, helps bind the granola together a little more. You can also use flax seed meal or ground hemp seeds.
- Sweetener: It’s important to understand that different keto sweeteners will give you different results. If you want a crunchy texture, you need to use an erythritol-based sweetener. For a better understanding of how all the various sugar alternatives work in baking and cooking, check out my Ultimate Guide to Keto Sweeteners.
- Protein powder: You can skip it but I recommend it for both flavor and a boost of nutrition. You can also use egg white protein powder.
- Peanut butter: This is an egg-free recipe so stirring in a thick nut butter helps to hold the other ingredients together and create clusters. You don’t have to use peanut butter, as any nut butter will do.
- Butter: This also helps bind the granola, but you can switch it out for coconut oil as well.
Overview: How to Make This Recipe
- Process the nuts: Add the nuts and seeds in a food processor and process until they resemble coarse crumbs.
- Mix in the other dry ingredients: Transfer to bowl and stir in the shredded coconut, seeds, sweetener, and protein powder.
- Add the wet ingredients: Melt the peanut butter and butter together in the microwave then pour over the nut mixture and stir well. Stir in the water.
- Bake: Spread the mixture onto baking sheet and pressing it down firmly with your hands. Bake 30 minutes, stir mixture again, press it down and bake until done.
- Break into pieces: Let the granola cool completely then break up large clumps.
Tips for Success
Aside from the ingredients specified above, the other important trick to getting crunchy keto granola is pressing it down firmly. You will notice in the instructions that I have you press it before and during baking. This helps it clump and stick together, and bake crisp against the hot pan.
You also need to let it cool completely after baking. Keto baked goods always continue to firm up and crisp up as they cool.
Sweetener Notes: For crunchy keto granola, you really need an erythritol based sweetener. Any amount of allulose or xylitol will prevent the granola from crisping up properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conventional granola is made with grains and added sugar, so it’s not a keto-friendly food. However, you can make your own low carb granola with nuts, seeds, and non-nutritive sweeteners. There are also some store-bought brands, and my favorite of those is NuTrail.
The same way you serve conventional granola! I like mine with heavy cream but it’s great with non dairy milk or Greek yogurt. And sometimes we just like grabbing a handful of dry granola to snack on.
This keto peanut butter granola recipe has 7.9g of carbs and 3.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.1g net carbs per serving.
More delicious breakfast recipes
Keto Peanut Butter Granola
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (214.5 g) almonds
- 1 1/4 cups (148.5 g) pecans
- 1 cup (112 g) shredded coconut, or almond flour
- 1/2 cup (33.5 g) pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) granulated sweetener, (erythritol based)
- 1/3 cup (36 g) vanilla whey protein powder, (or egg white protein powder)
- 1/3 cup (86 g) peanut butter
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, (use coconut oil for dairy-free)
- 1/4 cup (59.15 g) water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºF and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, process the almonds, pecans, shredded coconut, and pumpkin seeds until they resemble coarse crumbs with some larger pieces. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the sweetener, and vanilla protein powder.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter together. Pour the melted peanut butter mixture over the nut mixture and stir well, tossing lightly. Stir in the water – at this point, the mixture should begin to clump toether.
- Spread the mixture out evenly on the prepared baking sheet and press it down firmly with your hands. Bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through and re-pressing it down. Remove and let cool competely.
- Break up any large clumps with your hands.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I was going to try this, then I looked at vanilla whey protein powder in the store and it seems to only come in a huge container with a rather high price. Too much to spend to try something. What sort of things can be substituted for the vanilla whey protein powder? (I have no idea what egg white protein powder is or where to find it.) I DO have powdered peanut butter, could that be used in place of ALL the whey powder? How about dried milk powder (instant or non-instant)?
Are there smaller containers of whey powder available somewhere?
It looks like an amazing recipe, I hope I can figure out how to try it.
Look online, it’s much easier to find smaller amounts.
Love, love, love this!! Use it as cereal, mixed with yogurt and as my go to Trail Mix. Delish!!!!!!!!!!
I love this recipe. It’s easy and crunchy, and goes well with my homemade yogurt. I was hoping for a bit more peanut butter-y flavor though. Maybe a little powdered peanut butter would give it the flavor I’m looking for?
You can certainly try that! Use it in place of the protein powder… the trouble is the more regular PB you add, the less crunchy it is.
Thank you very much for the feedback/response. I definitely like the crunch, so perhaps I’ll just sprinkle the peanut butter powder on just before I eat it with my yogurt. Thanks so much for all you do.
Another fabulous recipe! we both loved this served with cream or coconut milk and berries, along with adding a few pieces to our yogurt. So yummy!
Hi! can I omit the sunflower seeds? If so do I have to change or add something else. ty!
Feel free to add the same amount in another nut or seed.
The best granola ever! Yummo! Your recipes NEVER disappoint!
Hello: Is this crunchy granola? If so, how can I make a soft version? Easier on teeth?
Jenn
For a softer version, use some allulose and don’t cook it quite as long.
If licking the spoon is any indication of how delicious this granola is going to be…I cannot WAIT for it to come out of the oven! Super easy to put together.
Delish! Beats Lakanto peanut butter granola hands down, which is saying something because that stuff is pretty good. I did add about 1/4 cup pepitas simply because I like pepitas in granola :). Got a batch in the oven now and seriously thinking about mixing in some Bake Believe dark chocolate chips after it cools. Peanut butter cup granola 😂.
Excellent!
Amaaaaaazing!! This is a fantastic recipe!! How would you store this? In an airtight container on counter? Or in fridge? I’m thinking it might get a bit hard in the fridge, due to the butter in it…?
Airtight, on counter, for up to a week at least. Butter doesn’t spoil easily, unless you live in a really hot climate.
This is sooo delicious! I subbed in Brazil nuts and Walnuts too and added some cinnamon and nutmeg, and a splash of sea salt! Just the granola recipe I’ve been looking for. No grains! Perfect!
So happy I found this recipe while looking for some protein recipes for a friend. I tasted it before popping it into the oven and now I’m even more excited about it. WOW! It’s fantastic. Looking forward to keeping this on hand for snacking. No more looking longingly at the granola in the stores.
Your recipes NEVER disappoint. Thanks so much.
Thanks!
this looks so good,I miss and love granola. was wondering if you could put chia seeds and flaxseed in as well. thank you for all your incredible recipes.
Sure! It’s going to change the carb count but I am sure it’s delicious.
Hello! If I use plain whey protein powder, would you recommend adding vanilla and/or additional sweetener?
Yes, a little of both.
I made the Peanut Butter Granola yesterday and WOW! It was very simple and it turned out DELICIOUS! My wife loves it too!
Great combination of ingredients! I put the peanut butter into the nut mixture (my oversight) and then melted the butter! I then added the melted butter and mixed it all together! The results were still excellent! For once my error didn’t goof up things! Thanks for the recipe and for all of your recipes!
Delicious! Smells amazing. My husband walked in the kitchen and said it smelled like I was baking bread, and he was hungry now. I snack on this with blueberries and strawberries now and then. I sometimes add it to keto yogurt. My husband is having it right now with the berries and almond milk, like a bowl of cereal. Very fun, easy and delicious recipe.
Great to hear!
do these hold together and make granola bars if not mixed and broken apart?
No, not really.