Low Calorie Granola

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This homemade low calorie granola recipe is a great alternative to store bought granola. It’s easy to make and it keeps for several weeks, which means that you have a healthy breakfast ready to go on those busy mornings!

I love the idea of granola.

Sweet, crispy oats paired with nuts, seeds, and fruit – it feels like a treat for breakfast every day.

My only issue with granola is that it always ends up having a high sugar content and is also high in calories, because most store bought granolas are made with way too much sugar, unhealthy fats, and dried fruit that also has added sugar to it!

Which is why, I decided to remake this classic breakfast food into a low calorie granola that tastes just as good as the traditional version, but is much better for you!

This low cal granola recipe is made with whole grain oats and quinoa as the base, is tossed with delicious dried fruits, nuts and spices, and uses just a touch of maple syrup for sweetness.

It’s vegan friendly, gluten free, and totally delicious! One huge serving of our healthy homemade granola has:

• 104 calories
• 12 g carbs
• 6 g fat
• 2 g fiber
• 2 g protein
• 4 g sugar

And if you replace the maple syrup with monk fruit, one serving will have only 90 calories, 8 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of sugar! Typical granola can run you 200 calories for a tiny serving and over 10g sugar (as much as a fun sized Milky Way bar!) This healthy granola recipe is a much more guilt-free way to enjoy granola!

Once you try this recipe you’ll never go back to store bought again! It’s also more budget friendly to make your own granola at home. This skinny granola also stores really well and is great for meal prep – you can make a huge batch and keep it in an airtight container for up to two weeks!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

• Easy way to meal prep
• Tasty breakfast or healthy snack
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Low sugar & easy to make sugar free
• Low fat
• Best low calorie granola ever!

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🥘 Ingredients

This low fat low sugar granola recipe requires simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store! For the full recipe and nutrition information, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Oats are the base of this healthy low fat granola! Buy dedicated gluten free oats to make this recipe gluten free. I don’t recommend using quick oats, as they won’t hold up well in the baking process.
• Quinoa: Quinoa and oats are both heart-healthy whole grains, and toasted quinoa provides added texture, crunch, and protein! You can also use toasted brown rice or crisp rice instead (or replace with oats if you don’t want a different grain)
• Ground Flax Seed: For healthy fats. You can also use chia seeds.
• Nuts & Seeds: I used pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, cashews, pistachios, and pecans, but you can use any nuts and seeds you like! Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts and chopped brazil nuts would also be great.
• Maple Syrup: For a touch of sweetness, but you can use any liquid sweetener you like! Agave or honey would also work (but keep in mind that if you use honey, this recipe won’t be vegan anymore).
• Coconut Oil: To help bind this low calorie homemade granola and for some healthy fats. If you don’t have coconut oil you can use extra virgin olive oil.
• Dried Fruit: For natural sweetness! Be sure to find dried fruit that has no sugar added. If you want to make this with freeze-dried fruit, just toss in the freeze dried fruit at the end, after the granola has baked in the oven.
• Sea Salt, Vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Nutmeg: For added flavor! All of these ingredients also help to bring out the sweetness of this low calorie vegan granola.

📖 Variations

• Best Granola Mix-Ins: Try to change things up by adding in different mix ins and toppings! Some of my favorites include: coconut shavings, dark chocolate chips, banana chips, dried apple chips, mixed nuts, pumpkin pie spice, dates, orange zest, peanut butter, macadamia nuts, and dried pineapple!
• Sugar Free Granola: Replace the maple syrup with monk fruit or stevia, and omit the dried fruit.
• Making Granola For Kids: Kids love the texture and sweetness of this low calorie gluten free granola! You can get them involved in the granola making process by helping to choose the mix-ins, spreading it on the baking sheet, etc.
• Low Calorie Muesli: Substitute quick oats for rolled oats, and omit the quinoa, coconut oil and maple syrup. Mix all of the ingredients together, store in an airtight container and serve with milk!

🔪 How To Make Low Calorie Granola

Preheat Oven, Toast Oats: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread old-fashioned oats and quinoa on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, toast in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring once.

Add Mix-Ins: Remove oats/quinoa from the oven, pour into a bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients.

Bake Granola Mixture: Spread back onto a baking sheet, pressing it down into a uniform layer, and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until it’s just starting to turn golden brown.

Cool And Serve: Remove this lower calorie granola from the oven, let it cool for at least 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve at room temperature

🍽 How To Serve

Granola can be a great snack on its own, but my favorite way to serve this homemade low fat granola is with greek yogurt and fresh fruit to make a healthy and well rounded breakfast or snack. The proportions I recommend are:

• 1-1.5 cups of low-glycemic fruit (chopped apples, pears, and/or berries).
• 1/4 cup of granola
• 6-8oz of low fat plain Greek Yogurt.

Other Ways To Use Granola Include

• As a topping for plain or Greek yogurt
• As a snack on its own
• Mixed with your favorite cereal, roasted chickpeas, and nuts as a “trail mix”
• Plain, with milk (the way you would eat cereal)
• As a crunchy topping for quick breads
• As a topping for salad
• As a topping for smoothies or smoothie bowls (or throw it into your smoothie and blend it up for added thickness and texture)
• As a topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt!

❓Recipe FAQs

💭 Expert Tips

• To save time, get a bag of mixed nuts and chop them up (that way you don’t have to add each type of nut individually!)
• For more protein, serve with unsweetened Greek yogurt.
• Don’t overcook it! Granola will continue to cook after you pull it out of the oven – it will crisp up as it cools so make sure to pull it out of the oven when it’s just lightly golden brown.
• A single layer of granola is important when baking: When you add the pre-cooked granola to the baking sheet, press it down with a spatula to create a uniform layer. This helps keep this light granola from burning and also helps to create those little granola clumps that are so fun to eat!

🥣 More Healthy Breakfast Recipes!

• Banana Breakfast Cookies
• High Protein Granola
• Vegan Protein Waffles
• Quinoa Oatmeal
• Oat Flour Pancakes
• Blueberry Pineapple Smoothie

📋 Recipe Card