This delicious paleo low carb granola recipe whips up in less than 30 minutes. Dairy-free and grain-free. See just how easy it is to make this healthy keto breakfast with my new how-to video!
Cereal. It’s what we all grew up eating for breakfast, right? And when you decide to follow a low carb, paleo or keto diet, you find yourself stumped. You wake up, bleary-eyed, and head downstairs. You pour yourself a cup of coffee, take a few sips and reach for the cupboard. You open it and you suddenly pull up short. Where are the boxes of cereal? They’re not there! Your tired brain can’t quite handle this information so early in the morning. It refuses to believe that you could be so silly as to let yourself run out of that ultimate breakfast food. Why on earth didn’t you put it on the grocery list last time? Oh wait…that’s right. Because cereal and grains aren’t paleo or keto approved. Oh damn. Now what?
Easy Low Carb Granola Recipe
I think you know what I am going to say here. Make your own! Let’s face it, if you are on specialized diet, you can’t just head to the store and pick up convenience foods like cereal and bread. You can sometimes order them online but I always look at the ingredients and think “Well, gee. I could make that!”. I absolutely HATE spending money on something I know I could make easily enough at home. “Easily” being the operative word here. And when it comes to homemade cereal, you can indeed easily make it at home. This low carb Paleo Granola recipe whips up in less than half an hour. So even if you just got up, all bleary-eyed and in need of caffeine, you could have your cereal. Better yet, if you make a big batch, you can store it in the fridge for several weeks.
I’ve made a few different kinds of low carb granola and cereal, and I had one reader thank me for making it without coconut. Guess he wasn’t a coconut fan, but I sure am and it got me pondering a tasty version with some large flaked coconut. And some coconut oil, to really play up that flavour, because I adore it. Then some cacao nibs to add a hint of chocolatey flavour, which pairs so well with coconut. If you haven’t tried cacao nibs (also called cocoa nibs) yet, I think you should. They are chocolatey but not sweet and make a great addition to cookies and cakes, and of course, granola. And they are virtually all fiber, so they make a great low carb food. Just don’t buy them at discount places like Marshalls. I bought a bag that tasted burnt and were just awful. If I hadn’t known what real cacao nibs tasted like, I would have written them off altogether. It’s worth paying a little more for a quality bag if you really want the cacao nib experience!
Paleo Coconut Cacao Nib Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups nuts almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc
- 1 cup mixed seeds sunflower, pepitas, hemp, etc
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup cacao nibs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine almonds and other nuts or seeds. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some bigger pieces in there too.
- Transfer to a large bowl and add almond flour, flaked coconut, sweetener of choice, and salt. Drizzle with coconut oil and stir to combine.
- Add egg, and toss until mixture begins to clump together. Stir in cacao nibs
- Spread mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
- Remove and let cool.
Lin says
This sounds great. I get a little tired of eggs for breakfast! I do need to know if the nuts you use are raw, or if it you use pre-roasted nuts (salted or unsalted) . I plan to make this soon, so I hope to find out if it makes a difference whether I use raw or roasted nuts.
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Raw nuts because they get toasted as you bake the granola.
Lin says
Thanks!
I just ordered all the ingredients I didn’t have on hand through Netrition. Looking forward for making a big batch for low-carb me and some for Paleo daughter.
Lisa @ Flour Me With Love says
This looks delicious! I normally eat eggs in the morning, and now I’ll have something new!
Bonnie says
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. I love granola and miss it in my low carb world. I’m making this over the weekend, and might get crazy and throw some chia seeds in it!
Isis says
I know it would make the carb count a little higher, but do you think this would be good with the addition of freeze-dried raspberries? If so, when would you recommend adding them? (I am thinking at the end once the granola is baked or else they might get soggy from the egg/oil…?)
Carolyn says
Yes, I think that would be great and I would only add them at the end. That way, they’d stay crunchy.
tea says
Wow – breakfasts have been a challenge within the last year…
I found a recipe for TVP “oatmeal” and – egads, that was really awful (no offense to those who love it – just didn’t work for me). I found that I missed cereal, but that it wasn’t as bad during the cold months — but I was wondering what I was going to do on another summer morning. I can imagine this with a big dollop of yogurt, instead of plain milk (which is how I tend to eat granola – everything is a parfait!) – all crunchy and lovely. Yum. Thank you much.
Carolyn says
TVP – is that the textured vegetable protein? I haven’t been brave enough to try that… 🙂
Lori says
Because TVP is gross! 😂😂😂 My mom used to kept it in our food storage and used to use it to extend ground beef. To be fair, maybe it’s improved since the 70s, but I always thought it was nasty.
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
I love all the different flavors of granola that you can make! This one sounds great!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
Love some good homemade granola – and I’m a huge coconut fan!
Shelby says
This not only sounds great but looks awesome! I was just sitting here thinking I wanted some granola and I saw your post on G+ for this recipe. I want to make this one! I am not sure I’ve seen cocoa nibs yet though. Maybe I can find some on my Trader Joe’s trip tomorrow!
Carolyn says
I am not sure TJ’s carries them, but you can easily get them at amazon or Oh Nuts. They’re really useful!
Lin says
I just ordered the nibs today from Netrition.com
Felicia says
Can I use something other than ground flax seeds meal? Maybe a mixture of ground chia seeds and some other nut flour like walnut, cashew, or pecan?
Carolyn says
Sure, that would work. Chia maintains more moisture but it’s oven-baked so I think it will have the right consistency.
Felicia says
So what do you think the mixture of chia seeds to nut flour should be since you call for 1 cup of ground flax meal in your recipe? Maybe 1/2 cup Chia seeds and 1/2 cup of nut flour? Do the chia seeds need to be ground or should I use them whole?
Carolyn says
I think whole or ground would be okay. This is a pretty forgiving recipe, you can kind of do what you want with it. Ground will mean it clumps together a bit more but either way, you’ll have great nutrition and flavor.
Susan says
Made it, ate it, and of course, like all of your recipes: Delicious!!! This will be a staple at our house from now on.
FrenchSophie says
Hello Carolyn
once again thanks for your fantastic article. I’m trying to order `swere online but there’s no “confectioners” only “granular”. Can I still get the confectioners for your recipes ?
Thanks !
Carolyn says
I know…it will be back in stock VERY soon. For some of my recipes, you only need granulated. But for others, you definitely want the confectioners.
Lynn says
I know this is a really old comment, but for anyone just finding this recipe like I am, if you can’t find “confectioners/powdered” versions of your sugar substitute, invest in a coffee grinder! $12 on amazon and it powders granular sugar substitute beautifully in 15-20 seconds. 🙂
Oh and I made this recipe. Delicious!
Karen Anthony says
Delicious! I made this last night. It really is as good as any granola I’ve ever had! I can see this will be a huge improvement on bkft. Thanks, thanks & thanks, Karen
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Emily @ Life on Food says
This granola looks amazing. I have been trying to find a new recipe from granola. I think I just scored.
coco says
make this and love it! I ate it with a little unsweetend coconut milk and added some cinnamon and a dash of vanilla, excellent! I think I may try adding the cinnamon to the mix next time.
Lin says
Just made this after getting my cacao nibs in the mail. I had it fir breakfast this morning with Greek yogurt. Heavenly! Thanks!
Lin says
Just made this and I had it for breakfast this morning with Greek yogurt. Heavenly! Thanks!
Dawnab says
Lol my cacao nibs just arrived in the mail too ( we may have caused a run on them). Can I use already roasted nuts? I find I am buying lots of specialty ingredients lately and would like to us either items I already have on hand.
Arlene says
I have tried many of your recipes Carolyn and they’re all good (even if it’s something I wouldn’t make again). This recipe has to be one of your best. To have “cereal” again for breakfast is awesome! Can’t wait to share with one of my diabetic friends. I used half ground flax and half ground chia; added about a tsp. of cinnamon (I was a bit worried about the fishy taste of the flax); shredded coconut as I didn’t have flakes; and once it was baked, I threw in some hemp seeds just for fun and a handful of raisins/dried cranberries so that my husband would eat it (didn’t have cocoa nibs). It turned out absolutely amazing. This recipe is a prizewinner in my books! Thanks again. A note to those who can only find granular erythritol: grind it in your coffee grinder, then let it sit a few minutes so that you don’t have a cloud of the stuff when you take the cap off.
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it so much!
Annie says
Thank you very much, it´s the best granola ever!!
Carolyn says
Well, that’s nice to hear!
Isis says
First of all, I hadn’t tried cacao nibs before this (and I have to confess, I didn’t even know what they were)…but they are GOOD! On a separate note, the granola is just plain awesome. Since I went low-carb and tried almond milk for the first time, I have dreamed about having it over a bowl of granola. Like literally, every time I had almond milk, it crossed my mind. Glad i held out for a low-carb version, though – now I can enjoy it with no guilt or worry about my blood sugar, and, it rocks with the almond milk! Here’s a tip, though: I have made this recipe twice. The first time I ground the nut/seed mixture into way too small of pieces, so there wasn’t a whole lot of “crunch” to the granola . On the second go-round, I actually hand-chopped all the nuts so some were very small and others were big and chunky. It was kind of labor-intensive, but it was worth it.
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Kellie says
How would 1 serving be measured? 1/2 cup? 3/4?
Carolyn says
Hi there. It says right at the top of the recipe, about 1/3 cup (pretty standard for granola, which is heavier and more filling than traditional cereal).
Kellie says
Sorry I missed that. Thank you!
sydney says
Hi! This looks great. I am wondering how long this keeps (because of the eggs) and if it needs to be refrigerated when stored. Thank you!
Carolyn says
It keeps for at least 5 days on the counter. The egg is cooked into it, so it’s not raw and shouldn’t be of concern.
Cici says
1 & 1/2 cups of whole or sliced almonds?
Carolyn says
Whole. If I don’t specify sliced or slivered, then it will always be whole.
Cici says
Gotcha. Thx.
Cici says
THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING! I had cereal for breakfast today, people!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it!
Steve says
You specify this as a PALEO recipe, HOWEVER to be paleo, you have to have ALL not synthetic, non-artificial, non-processed ingredients.
Swerve Sweetener is NOT paleo — far from it.
The closest zero-calorie sweetener to being true paleo is stevia, it is no-artificial, non-processed, and was used by paleo natives in South America. It is also FAR safer for you!
Carolyn says
Did you actually read the option for coconut sugar in the recipe??? As someone who has an advanced degree in paleoanthropology, I am well aware that Swerve is not paleo, which is why there is a second option. But I am also someone who has diabetes, I have to be mindful of my blood sugar levels. Erythritol, which is the main component of Swerve, is naturally occurring and it is safe. As safe as stevia (which, by the way, can actually lower blood sugar and cause T1 diabetics issues!). Did you know that erythritol is found in the human fetus in high levels? You may want to check your facts before declaring that one sweetener is “FAR safer for you”.
Sue says
What is the option for coconut sugar? I’m sorry but I don’t see it in the recipe. 🙂
Katie says
I love this granola! It has the perfect crunch and flavor. I can’t believe I used to have cereal and milk every day for breakfast growing up — so much sugar! I love eating a ketogenic diet and this granola will be a staple in my house. I had it with almond milk – yum. Thanks!
Charlotte says
YEP…..making this SOON!!!!!!
Jo says
Is there some low carb way to make your granola into bars?
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried that. You might try mixing in some nut butter and and egg and then baking it.
Kathy says
Have made this granola using almonds, pecans and pumpkin seeds plus the other ingredients and it is delicious. Added cinnamon which I hear is supposed to be good for us diabetics. It makes a large amount so I keep the extra in the freezer and take out a one third cup when it is on my breakfast rotation. Highly recommend it.
Jen says
Cacao nib should not be heated,
It is a Superfood, a Healthy food BUT only in its RAW state – unheated, NO trans fats, NO sugars, NO dairy etc.
http://www.superfoods.co.za/cacao-bean.htm
Kiki says
I LOVED this — low carb but definitely NOT low calorie but with all the nuts and fiber, a little goes a long way and kept me full until lunch. I used almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts. Some of the nuts were raw (almonds, walnuts) and some roasted (sunflower seeds and hazelnuts) but it still turned out great. Cacao nibs are not cheap (they cost about $10 per cup) so I would probably substitute with some chopped up dark chocolate next time.
Azalea says
I eat this every morning with vanilla unsweetened Almond Breeze. But I omitted the cacao nibs because they are a little bitter to me…which is not appealing early in the morning. But I sprinkle a few dried cranberries in my cereal bowl. I love it!
sirah says
Sounds great. Defenitly gonna try this. One question: you use flaxseed meal. I can’t seem to find that here (Netherlands). At least not by that name. Can I use broken flaxseed also?
Carolyn says
Sure, that should be fine.
Jane says
How many calories are in a serving?
Carolyn says
240 calories per serving.
Delilah DeLage says
How much per serving? According to my calculations 75g in the nuts and seeds alone and that’s not much of a serving for anyone. Why do you not include the serving size on the nutritional data?
Carolyn says
As for most granola recipes, it’s about 1/3 cup – this is standard, even for commercial granolas. Why would you rate a recipe poorly when you haven’t even tried it?
Peggie says
Just a questions on this as I haven’t made it yet. Will the coconut oil cause this to remain moist or does the flaxseed and egg take care of that when it’s baked? I ask because this looks like an excellent addition to my pack for a long backpacking trip coming up. Just trying to avoid the “greasy on the hands” thing. Love your recipes and the help you give us.
Carolyn says
It’s dryish when it’s baked. You shouldn’t find it to be greasy!
Dylan says
I’ve just taken mine out of the oven and it’s made the house smell amazing! I changed the almonds out for cashews because I’m allergic and mixed with pecans as my other nut. The rest of the ingredients were the same + some organic cocoa powder and cinnamon powder. I couldn’t wait for it to cool down before I tried some, so I just tried some with non-gmo unsweetened soy milk and it tastes AMAZING! This is exactly what I was missing with keto until now, something to have for breakfast aside from the usual meat, cheese, avocado etc. Thank you, great recipe!
Sharon says
I just cannot handle coconut. Any suggestions of a substitute or is that ingredient kind of a must for this recipe?
Carolyn says
Just add more nuts.
Jennifer says
This is a great recipe. I use it as a Banting recipe. I started making this shortly after it was originally published; I now make about 1 – 1.25 kg at a time, packing into 3 containers, and keeping it in fridge. I have added to your recipe: pecan, walnuts, macadamia nuts; flax, chia, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, raw hemp seeds; Psyllium raw husk; cacao nuts, Stevia liquid; vanilla, fresh ginger, Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom pods, lime/lemon pith & flaked coconut. I left egg out. I don’t worry too much about quantities or leaving items out if I haven’t got.
Cheryl from Melbourne Australia says
If someone had told me a year ago that I would be making my own granola, I would have told them to “Get out of town!”. I just cooked up a batch and it’s yum. Who knew making your own could be this easy. Sugar quantity on the recipe was just right. I’d do a taste comparision soon to see how homemade is vs store bought. Homemade will win hands down for sure, but I like to taste the difference and compare. Thanks for another amazing recipe 🙂
Carolyn says
So glad you feel that way. I do too!
Mary says
I have been reading the comments and I keep seeing reference to ground flax seed but I cant see it listed in the recipe or am I going nuts. Going to get the fixings tomorrow and try this out it sounds delicious.
Carolyn says
That’s because I swapped it for almond flour when I updated the recipe, although you can use a cup of flax if you prefer.
Mary says
Thanks Carolyn, thought that must have been the case, think I will stick with the Coconut flour will let you know how it turns out.
Carolyn says
Don’t use coconut flour. Definitely almond.
Mary says
Oh whoops it had been a long hard day will definitely use Almond Flour
DelicateFlowah says
I made it this morning. I added a bit of almond extract and vanilla to the coconut oil. I also got my hands on a big bag of high end cocoa nibs. Delicious! I like the idea of adding some spices to it, like other people suggested. This will be a staple in my house! Thanks again, Carolyn! You’re a genius!
Carolyn says
So glad you are enjoying it!
Mary says
I have made it 🙂 used a combination of Almonds,Macadamias, Pecans, Sunflower,Pumpkin and Hemp seeds. I am adding it to my Chia Pudding in the morning and enjoying it. Used all Xylitol as the sweetener will use the combination with Stevia when I make the recipe again. Thank you it is delicious.
Kelli says
I’ve made this several times now and it’s excellent! I only have two modifications: 2 eggs rather than one. When I did 2 eggs I got larger clusters of granola. I also added two teaspoons of cinnamon. I really want to try using the zest of an orange next time. Thank you for this recipe! It’s great on yogurt, as a cereal or a snack!!
Jill Wedding says
I made this over the weekend and I am in LOVE with this stuff! I miss cereal so much! This is tasty dry as a snack, but this morning I had it with just a little bit of coconut milk. YUM! I made it exactly as written using Pecans, Almonds and Walnuts equally. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Judi Fikes says
Just finished making this almost exactly as given…maybe a little different variety of nuts and seeds….I bought a nut mix that was already chopped up a bit…seemed cheaper than buying each one separately…raw…no salt. May experiment with some different nuts for my next batch and vanilla/cinnamon. But wanted to try the original first. I like it! Topped some coconut “yogurt ” I wanted to try with 1/3 cup of the “nut-ola! Yum! I am a cereal gal again! Thank you! It is very flexible…oh, and some wild blueberries on top!
Carolyn says
Glad you like it!
Anita says
Hi, do you beat the egg first, or just add it directly to the mixture? This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it tomorrow!
Carolyn says
Just add it in!
Anita says
Thanks!! Love your blog. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes.
Shoshona says
This was so delicious, thank you! My kids were begging for cereal (I think they’re getting tired of eggs every day! 😉 ) and this completely hit the spot. I didn’t have cocoa nibs so omitted those and added some cinnamon. Yum!
Shoshona says
Oh! I should add, I used Sukrin brown sugar substitute, as I’m out of Swerve. Think it added an extra layer of yummy.
Debra Beard says
This is one of my favorite recipes Carolyn!!
So perfect for travelling. Just pop it in the fridge whenever you get a chance and it will last for several weeks. Ate this every morning on a 5 week Botswana and Namibia self-drive camping trip and never tired of it!!
Carolyn says
Wow, that is a wonderful testimonial to the cereal! 🙂
Lisa says
I just made this tonight. I must say, the flavor was amazing. Can’t wait to have it in the morning for breakfast with some almond milk. I added fax and chia seeds as well as a small amount of macadamia nuts.
Debra Huewe says
Hi, I several food sensitivities. I’d like to make this, it sounds delish! I am allergic to eggs. Do you know of any suitable replacements or will it work if I leave it out?
Thank you!
Erica says
I also am curious about egg sub or if it would work left out. I wanted to make this because my doc has me on a 4-6 week elimination diet including dairy and eggs which is my daily breakfast….then I saw this had egg…must have forgotten. Now wondering if I could modify it?
Judi Fikes says
Another comment from me! This recipe is soooo forgiving! You can make it your own! I forgot the 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp cinnamon I sometimes put in…so added it after it came out of the oven…then popped it back in for under 5 min. Thank you, Carolyn for this great “recipe” I now eat it with half a small carton of full fat plain Greek yogurt and a few blueberries! Love! I now have your cookbook!
Shirley Bond says
This is a super recipe. I use pecans, walnuts, chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I omit the cocoa nibs and add cardamom and cinnamon. Next time I will add some orange zest. Thank you for all your recipes and books.
Janine says
I added pecans, walnuts, almonds and a small amount of cashews. I didn’t think I had any seeds on hand, so I added in a small amount of extra nuts. I forgot about chia seeds! Duh. The cinnamon works really well too! Plus vanilla for me. How can you not add cacao? 😂 Just kidding!
Katelyn Sidley says
Hey Carolyn,
I work for MountainHouse.com and we loved your recipe!
We were just wondering if you would mind letting us use one of your images for our blog post? We won’t republish the recipe, just link to it and include a small blurb. And if you would like us to add anything to our description of your recipe once it’s published, please let us know.
Hopefully, some Mountain House fans will become regular readers of your site!
Thanks,
Katelyn
Carolyn says
Hi Katelyn, as long as you don’t publish the recipe, I am fine with that. Thanks for asking!
Jani says
This is ridiculously delicious. How do you stop yourself from gobbling it all up?
Carolyn says
Well it’s also pretty filling so you do need to portion it out. I eat mine with some heavy cream and it’s extra filling that way!
Janine says
This granola recipe was OUTSTANDING! It truly provided me my cereal fix. The only thing 2 things I changed were the addition of cinnamon and vanilla and half Stevia/half Truvia Brown Sugar Blend. I know those on a strict Keto Diet may not want to add the Truvia Brown Sugar.
I do have a question though. How should I store the granola? I’ve put it in jars in my cabinet. Is that ok?
Carolyn says
It should be good there for a week or so.
Charlene Coffman says
I made this this morning and added a spoon of your dried cranberries and had with almond milk! What a TREAT!!! I am about to tackle the Gingerbread cake, Earthquake cake, and Cranberry Biscotti. Have already made the stuffing, dinner rolls, Pecan pie and creamy pumpkin pie! You are my favorite!!
Carolyn says
Have fun!
Andie Thueson says
I love a good granola and this one looks so amazing – And low carb!! That’s a win!
Rachael Yerkes says
Homemade Granola is the best thing on the planet! I love this one so much!
Steph says
Granola is my favorite thing for breakfast! Can’t wait to try this.
Kristyn says
I love granola! I could snack on it all day! I love the ingredients in this recipe!
Sarah Skaggs says
I love granola! Trying this recipe next!
Nathan says
Can coconut flour be used in place of almond flour?
Carolyn says
No, not in this recipe.
Jill says
Fabulous basic cereal recipe. I replaced a portion of the seeds with protein powder, added 1 TBL cinnamon, and replaced the coconut oil with egg whites and upped the amount to 1/2 cup in an attempt to lighten up a bit of the fat content. Bless you for your recipes. They make low carb eating a treat!
Angie says
We LOVE this recipe. I’m making it again right now and trying the addition of another egg as mentioned in the comments to try to get larger clusters. My husband talked about the granola every day this week…and he’s only low-carb/Keto 80% of the time. Thanks for being my go-to for recipes. You’re awesome!
Kanoe says
Hi, this sounds like a yummy recipe. Are the servings based on 1 cup of the mix?
Carolyn says
As is typical for any granola, it’s about 1/3 cup per serving. This is even more filling and rich than traditional granola because it’s high fat.
Ruth Ward says
I made this yummy recipe! I had trouble getting the granola to crisp up in 20-30 minutes. It seemed like my granola was heaped pretty high in the pan, about an inch deep. If might be a good idea to use two large pans and rotate their levels every 10 minutes. The problem could be my oven, but it definitely seems that Carolyn’s pan picture has a lower height of granola in it. Stirring the granola alot broke up the clumps a bit too much because I baked it almost 50 minutes and flipped five times. I used 2 T of chia seeds, perhaps they contributed to the crumblyness. I might take one of the pans and press it down to compact it keep more chunks. Also note this calls for flaked coconut; I had shredded but I think flaked would have looked better. I had sliced blanched almonds. I think whole almonds is what Carolyn used and I think that is better also. This was a delicious cereal, tastes just like my favorite coconut one. I will definitely make it again! Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
I’m thinking your pan is smaller than mine? Maybe by a lot!
Lindsey M. says
This granola is amazing! It will go perfectly with dairy-free yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast. I substituted 1/4 c. maple syrup and a pinch of pure stevia powder, since I’m not keto and can’t have sugar alcohols. Thank you, Carolyn, for another great recipe!
Ivy says
I used to make this a lot. I haven’t made it in awhile and I see that the flaxseed is gone and almond flour is there instead. Would you tell me why you changed it? Thanks.