High Protein Granola

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Packed with crunchy clusters, my high protein granola recipe is ideal for a delicious and nutritious breakfast or snack that your family will love! Made with a combination of nuts, seeds, protein powder, and almond butter, this protein rich granola is low in sugar and free of preservatives, making it much healthier than store-bought options.

Sweet, crunchy granola has always been one of my favorite breakfasts. But it took me a while to realize that just because it’s called granola doesn’t make it healthy. Sure, some store-bought granola can be healthy, but many are packed with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives—more like dessert!

Plus, most granola is high in carbs and low in protein, so it’s not very filling. That’s why I decided to create my own high protein low sugar granola recipe. It has everything I love about traditional granola but is much healthier and keeps me satisfied until lunch!

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🥘 Ingredients

You only need a few basic ingredients to make my healthy high protein granola recipe. You probably have most of them already in your pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact measurements and nutritional info.

Tree Nuts: I like to use a combination of almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts to add a punch of protein and some healthy fat. However, you can use any nuts you like.

Whole Grain Rolled Oats: Rolled oats, also called old-fashioned oats, form the base of my homemade protein granola. Don’t use quick oats, steel cut oats, or instant oats – they will not produce the same results. 

Sunflower Seeds: To add a little more crunch and protein, I add some sunflower seeds. Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, or hemp seeds work great too.

Melted Coconut Oil: Even low fat high protein granola needs some oil to crisp up. I use coconut oil for its added health benefits (source), consistency, and flavor, but you can also use avocado oil.

Almond Butter: This nut butter is the key to helping the granola clump! I also feel like it adds a warm, toasted flavor to the granola.

Honey: Real honey adds a touch of sweetness. I’ve also made this recipe with maple syrup, vegan honey, and agave nectar. I wouldn’t recommend plain cane sugar or brown sugar as they don’t have the binding quality needed in this recipe.

Vanilla Extract: I add a dash of vanilla to enhance the granola. It’s a good way to bring out the sweetness without needing to add a ton of sugar. 

Cinnamon & Salt: A pinch of sea salt develops the flavor. I also like to add a little warm cinnamon to complement the oats and nuts. 

Protein Powder (optional): Making this granola with a plant-based protein powder is optional, but I recommend it. While my recipe is still high in protein without it, adding the protein powder will increase the protein content even more. However, I wanted to give you the option to use it based on your preferences!

🔪 How To Make High Protein Granola

Learning to make your own protein granola is incredibly easy. With just a few simple steps, you can create delicious granola from scratch that turns out perfectly every time.

Watch my video below to see how effortlessly this low sugar high protein granola recipe comes together.

Preheat & Prep: Before I begin, I preheat my oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Then I chop the nuts and add them to a large mixing bowl with the oats, sunflower seeds, and vanilla protein powder. 

Microwave Wet Ingredients: In a microwave-safe container, I combine the vanilla extract, almond butter, coconut oil, and honey. Next, I microwave the mixture in 30-second increments until completely melted. Then I stir until smooth.

Toss To Combine: After I mix the wet ingredients, I add them to the dry ingredients along with the salt and cinnamon. Then I toss everything together with a wooden spoon until well coated.

Bake: First, I spread the granola mixture in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Then I pop it into the preheated oven and let it bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent it from burning. When done, it should be golden brown. 

Cool & Store: Once baked, I remove the granola from the oven and let it cool completely on the sheet pan. Then I transfer it to an airtight container and keep it in a cool dry place

📖 Variations

Gluten Free: Many times oats are harvested and processed around gluten-containing grains which means cross-contamination is highly likely. So if I want to make gluten free granola, I make sure to purchase oats that are labeled certified gluten-free.

Vegan: If I want to turn this recipe into a vegan high protein granola, I simply use maple syrup or agave instead of honey. You could also use brown rice syrup if you like. 

Other Nut Butter: If you’re out of almond butter you can use creamy peanut butter, cashew butter, or any type of nut butter you like. They all work! My pumpkin seed butter is delicious with this recipe. Sunflower seed butter would also be tasty.

Mix-Ins: I love tossing in dried fruit like dried cranberries, dried blueberries, raisins, dried pineapple, dried mango, and dried cherries. You can also try adding some coconut flakes or my kids’ favorite – chocolate chips! Just remember to add mix-ins after the granola has cooled completely. 

Spices: Customize your granola by experimenting with different warm spices like nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom. I love adding pumpkin pie spice in the fall season.

Protein Powder: Any flavor of vegan protein powder will work. I haven’t tried this recipe with whey protein powder but I imagine that would work too. 

Low Calorie: If you want to make a high protein low calorie granola that’s even lower in calories you can easily mix some protein powder into my low calorie granola recipe. 

High Fiber: To add a boost of fiber and make high fiber high protein granola add some chia seeds, flaxseed meal, whole flax seeds, or oat bran. You could also add some psyllium husk or wheat germ too. 

Low Carb: While my granola does have carbs, you can transform this into a low carb high protein granola recipe by reducing the oats and increasing the nuts and seeds. Substitute a portion of the oats with almond flour or coconut flour to add bulk without carbs. Unsweetened shredded coconut also adds natural sweetness and texture without extra carbs.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

My healthy protein granola is so versatile. You can eat it as a healthy snack or add it to yogurt, oatmeal, fresh fruit, or even ice cream! Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy this granola: 

Smoothie Bowls: I like to sprinkle some on top of a smoothie bowl for added crunch and protein. It goes perfectly with my strawberry smoothie bowl and banana smoothie bowl! It’s also yummy in my peanut butter yogurt bowl.

Oatmeal: Stir it into your morning oatmeal for some texture and additional protein. I love adding it to my bananas and cream oatmeal, pumpkin spice oatmeal, and chocolate oatmeal. It works as a topping too on my matcha overnight oats and peanut butter banana overnight oats. 

Fruit: For a quick and easy breakfast or snack, I will combine my high protein low fat granola with my breakfast fruit salad or cottage cheese with fruit.

Ice Cream: You can also add it to dessert! We love a little it sprinkled onto top of my chocolate banana ice cream or caramel nice cream. It also works with fruity flavors like my lychee ice cream and mango nice cream. 

Salad Topping: Toss some into your favorite salad for a unique twist. I’ve tried A little sprinkled on my apple walnut salad and roasted pumpkin salad, and it’s delicious.

🧊 Storage Directions

Room Temperature: To maintain its freshness, I store my granola in a glass jar or airtight container in a cool dry place. Properly stored it will last about 3 weeks. 

Freezer: It’s also possible to freeze high protein homemade granola for up to 3 months. Once it’s cool, I place it in a freezer-safe airtight container or resealable freezer bag and remove as much air as possible before putting it into my freezer. Then when ready, I thaw it at room temperature.

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