This grain free granola sweetened with only fresh Natural Delights Medjool Dates is a must try!
It’s a delicious, nutrient dense option for granola lovers who want crunchy texture and flavor without gluten, grains, or other added sugars. It’s made from simple, wholesome ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!
In my opinion, what makes this granola extra good is the “date sauce” that coats the nuts and seeds with a natural caramel flavor. It helps bind and create chewy, crunchy golden clusters! And, while it bakes it fills your house with an amazing aroma…
This healthy granola recipe is easy and family friendly!
It can be used in a variety of ways and customized to suit your taste and what’s in your pantry. Don’t like walnuts? Sub pecans! You do you! You can mix and match nuts/seeds to find your perfect combo. This recipe can also easily be doubled to make a larger quantity.
My favorite ways to enjoy Paleo Granola:
- Sprinkled generously on top of plain greek yogurt for a healthy fat and protein packed snack or quick breakfast.
- Create a BYO granola parfait station for guests at your next brunch with yogurt and a selection of chopped fruit.
- Topping for ice cream or a smoothie bowl, for a satisfying crunch!
Paleo Granola is great for gifting!
When packaged to go in a mason jar and tied with ribbon and a pretty tag, it makes a great gift to share. Perfect for a hostess gift, an add-on when delivering a meal, or teacher gifts. I just sent a batch back to college with Marisa after spring break! You could even add a package of your fave coffee beans or a coffee shop gift card…
Date Sweetened Paleo Granola
This grain-free granola sweetened with only fresh Natural Delights Medjool Dates is a must try! It’s a delicious, nutrient dense option for granola lovers who want crunchy texture and flavor without gluten, grains, or other added sugars…
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 cups of granola 1x
- Category: breakfast or snack
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Nut/Seed Mixture
(Note: I use/recommend all unsalted nuts and seeds so you can control the level of saltiness. If yours are salted be sure omit the salt in the recipe.)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup walnut or pecan halves/pieces or chopped
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
1/8 cup chia seeds
Date “Sauce”
6 pitted Natural Delights Medjool Dates chopped (quartered lengthwise then chopped into small pieces. For best results use fresh/soft dates. If your dates feel hard/dry just soak in warm water for a few minutes to soften before blending)
2 tbsp cashew butter (or other nut butter of your choice)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c warm water
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
Other ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil melted
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
Make the Nut/Seed Mixture
In a Food Processor:
(If you don’t have a food processor make sure the nuts are chopped/smaller in size. Or if you prefer bigger, less uniform clusters you can skip this step and just combine the nuts/seeds in a large bowl)
- Pour the nuts and seeds into the food processor bowl.
- Pulse 3-5 times to “rough chop” but don’t over process. You don’t want the pieces to be too small.
Make the Date “Sauce”
In high speed blender:
- Add the warm water, dates, salt, cashew butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract.
- Blend until you achieve a mostly creamy consistency, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender as needed. (Small chunks of dates are fine, sauce doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth)
Make the Granola
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- In a large bowl add nuts/seeds mixture, date sauce, and coconut oil.
- Stir with a spoon until nuts and seeds are well coated/combined
- Transfer mixture to a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Spread mixture into an even layer on the sheet, careful not to spread the layer too thick or thin.
- Bake at 300 for 10 mins then remove from the oven and gently stir in the shredded coconut, until evenly distributed.
- Place back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and gently stir again, moving the granola from the edges of the baking sheet to the center.
- Place back into oven and bake 10 more minutes
- Remove from the oven (don’t stir again) and let cool for at least 20 mins. Granola will get crunchier as it dries so be sure not to move it around while it’s cooling. Enjoy right away or later!
Notes
If you are not serving it right away, store granola in a ziplock bag or other airtight container. Stays fresh for about 1 week. It doesn’t last longer than this at my house so I’m not sure about freshness after that!!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: approx 125 cal
Keywords: granola, grain free granola, paleo, gluten free
Love this recipe? Here are a few more date sweetened favorites to try:
The Best Dairy Free Whipped Cream
Caramel Apple Crumble (Gluten Free w/Dairy Free Date Caramel Sauce)
I hope you love this Paleo Granola recipe as much as we do! Let me know if you try it and your favorite way to enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!
Photography: Kristen Massad
This post was sponsored by Natural Delights Medjool Dates. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog and content creation possible!
