An easy, straight-forward and delicious low-carb granola that satisfies without spiking your blood sugar. Full of good fats, protein and gently sweet and fragrant. Perfect for breakfast with fresh fruit, but also as a healthy, filling snack for the whole family.
- 75 g walnuts
- 75 g whole almonds skin-on if possible
- 50 g flaked almonds
- 75 g pecans
- 50 g pumpkin seeds
- 50 g sunflower seeds
- 30 g sesame seeds
- 30 g ground golden flax seeds
- 10 g ghee OR avocado oil, coconut oil or mild olive oil
- 30 ml Gold Fibre syrup* or other no-carb syrup
- 3 tbsp brown sugar erythritol sugar substitute or brown sugar if not sugar-free
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated; otherwise add more
- unsweetened dried sour cherries
- unsweetened dried mulberries
- unsweetened dried raspberries or blueberries
- quinoa puffs not low carb, but in small amounts it is great and adds different nutrients and interest
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Preheat the oven to 140°C fan/325°F. Line two baking trays with non-stick parchment paper.
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Either pop the whole nuts into a food processor and pulse a few times until the nuts are broken down; or chop by hand to ensure evenly sized pieces. No need to add seeds or flaked almonds.
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Add the fat to a medium saucepan that will hold the nuts. Heat gently until melted then add brown sugar erythritol, liquid sweetener, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir well or whisk, then add the chopped nuts and all of the seeds. Use a large spoon or a spatula to really mix it up. You want the liquid ingredients to fully coat the nuts and seeds.
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Divide the granola mixture between the two lined trays and pat down with a spatula or spoon. If you want a looser, non-clustered style of granola, don't pat it down. Place the the oven and bake for 40 minutes, swapping the trays around and turning around the trays (back to front) at the 20 minutes mark.
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Pull the granola from the oven and let cool completely before breaking up into clusters and storing in an airtight container.
Notes on sweetener: I use Fibre Syrup Gold from Sukrin. It is made from a plant fibre named isomalto-oligosaccharide (IMO syrup), then mixed with a tiny amount of malt extract. It's really nice! But use maple syrup or honey if not needing the granola to be sugar-free. Or another low-carb sweetener, preferably one of the more naturally-derived ones.
About the dried fruit: a little unsweetened dried fruit can fit into a low-carb lifestyle in smaller amounts. I don't add any to my granola, preferring to add fresh fruit when I eat. But, some of you may want a "all-in" kind of cereal. Don't use freeze-dried though as they will get quite soft. Use air-dried.
Other seeds and nuts: chia seeds, hemp seeds, macadamia and Brazil nuts are all good ones to use. Just keep the overall weights as written, regardless of the nuts and seeds used.
This recipe is both low-carb and ketogenic. Adding milk, dairy yogurt and fruit or dried fruit will increase the carbohydrate count.