Cinnamon granola is a staple in our house. With a gluten free granola recipe like this one, you can eat it for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert. Our family puts cinnamon granola on yogurt, ice cream, fruit crisps, and we even eat it right off the baking tray!
If you love granola as much as we do, but you need to follow a paleo, grain-free, or refined sugar diet, give this delicious Paleo Granola recipe a try! It has all of the granola flavors you love, but it is grain-free and refined sugar-free too!
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Have you tried to make your own granola from scratch yet? Once you make homemade granola, it is very hard to go back to expensive store-bought granola!
You will also love all of the fun things you can do with granola...like make granola tart crusts! Adding gluten free granola on top of yogurt is so good for breakfast!
Once you know the formula, you can make any flavor of homemade gluten free granola you like. Give this gluten free apple granola recipe a try too!
Why this homemade granola is great:
The biggest and best reason to make this homemade gluten free granola is because it is so easy to customize. You can add anything you like, omit anything you don't like. It tastes delicious and is so much cheaper than store-bought granola!!
If you love granola, you will love my homemade Gluten Free Granola Bars too!
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free rolled oats - It is critical to use certified gluten free rolled oats if you are Celiac. Cross-contamination runs high in regular oats.
- Walnuts - Or any other nuts you like
- Sunflower seeds - raw unsalted. You can use any nuts, just be sure to check for shells. I also love to add pepitas.
- Chia seeds - This adds even more protein to this healthy gluten free snack.
- Maple syrup - Not only is maple syrup a great sweetener, but the stickiness helps hold your granola together.
- Coconut oil - I use coconut oil but you can use another light oil.
- Raisins - You can use any dried fruits.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300º F.
Step 2: Add all of the seeds, oats, ground cinnamon, and nuts to a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the syrup and coconut oil to the bowl and mix well. Spread out the granola mixture onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
Step 4: Bake your gluten free granola for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the granola. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
Mix-ins:
Homemade vegan gluten free granola is so easy to customize to your favorite flavors and add-ins. You can add any of the following into my cinnamon granola recipe:
- Nuts - chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios are delicious options for cinnamon granola.
- Seeds like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds.
- Dried fruit like raisins, cherries, and apricots.
- Unsweetened coconut
- Chia seeds
- Seasonings like pumpkin spice or even savory spices like chili powder or curry powder will kick up the flavor of any gluten free granola recipe!
Certified gluten free oats are important!
It is really important to know that when you are on a gluten free diet, it is critical to ensure that the oats you use are certified gluten free. Cross-contamination is a huge issue for oats and I don’t want anyone to get sick!!
Our family loves Trader Joe’s Oats and Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats. Both are certified gluten free and nobody in our family has ever reacted to them.
How to eat granola:
Our family puts this homemade granola on everything!! They even eat it right off the baking tray! Here are some of our favorite ways to eat granola
- This is an easy granola for yogurt, just sprinkle it on!
- Spoon into ice cream
- Top fruit crisps
- Mix in a bowl with milk for cereal.
- Use as a trail mix on a hike.
I used coconut oil in my recipe, but you can also use other light oils like avocado oil. This recipe is dairy-free and vegan so it makes a great allergy-friendly snack!
Just in case you are wondering what brands of store-bought granola are gluten free, here are some of our favorites:
- Safe+Fair brand is new on the scene and their Birthday Cake flavor is addictive! Find it at many grocery stores including Costco.
- Udi's makes several flavors of gluten free granola.
- Thrive Market carries a pretty good granola that is both gluten free and paleo.
- Bakery on Main makes great granola and oatmeal with certified gluten free oats.
- Trader Joe's has an in-house store-brand that is okay.
- Purely Elizabeth makes several flavors as well.
More fun recipes with gluten free oats:
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Granola - Basic Gluten Free Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free rolled oats * see note
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup pecans
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ⅓ cup pepitas
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil * see note
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl.
- Pour on melted coconut oil, vanilla, and maple syrup and mix well.
- Spray coconut oil on a cookie sheet. Spread the granola onto the cookie sheet. (You may need to use two cookie sheets so the granola isn't piled on too thick.)
- Bake at 300º F for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and stir. Put back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in a large ziplock bag or container.
Notes
- It is critical to use certified gluten free oats if you are Celiac. Cross-contamination runs high in regular oats.
- This granola will keep up to 5 days in an air-tight container.
- You can mix and match any way for this recipe so use any nuts or seeds you enjoy :-).
Nutrition
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(*This post was updated from an older September 2017 post.)
NIkki
Definitely trying this recipe. Do you add the raisins and bake them or toss them in after the oats and nuts are baked? Last time I made granola and added raisins to it, they got crispy and disgusting and ruined the whole batch. Now I'm traumatized and nervous to try again.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Nikki, I chuckled at your note because I have done that with raisins too. If you don't like the raisins to be crispy, I would set the timer and add them in 5-8 minutes before the batch is done. That way they get heated a bit with the cinnamon flavors
Katie
Okay I've been looking for a good granola for breakfast and most I have tried have fallen short - this one looks incredible though! I cannot wait to try it out! Thanks for sharing! Yum!
Sandi Gaertner
I hope you like it as much as we did Katie 🙂