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Crunchy and naturally sweet, this Paleo Granola is a hardy and delicious grain-free breakfast. An easy recipe using maple syrup, these delightful gluten-free granola clusters are also vegan and dairy-free. 

a glass bowl of paleo granola with blueberries and freeze-dried strawberries.
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This paleo granola could also be called gluten-free granola, paleo muesli, grainless granola, or paleo cereal. You can call it whatever the heck you want, but I promise you it will be love at first bite.

Even better, it’s sooooo much cheaper than buying it premade at the grocery store. To make this paleo cereal more affordable, either buy the ingredients in bulk or buy them in the bulk section.

What Ingredients Are in Gluten-Free Granola?

  • Nuts – use whatever you have in the pantry. I used a mix of almonds and cashews
  • Liquids – maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla (related: How to Make Vanilla Extract)
  • Cinnamon, because you’re worth it
  • Extras: unsweetened coconut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts
  • Freeze-dried strawberries

If there is an ingredient that you don’t have or you don’t love (coconut seems polarizing!), feel free to leave it out or sub in something else you’d love.

Nuts, seeds, strawberries, and other ingredients for making paleo muesli

How Long Does Homemade Granola Last?

Stored in an air-tight container, your paleo cereal will last for three weeks at room temperature. But dollars to donuts, you’ll eat it all before then.

Here’s How to Make Paleo Granola

*Detailed and printable recipe card is available at the bottom of the post.

Pulse the bigger ingredients in a food processor until there is a nice mix of small and larger pieces. Pro tip: no food processor? Chop the nuts with a sharp knife.

Nuts and seeds in a food processor for making gluten-free muesli

In a microwave-proof mixing bowl (this is the one I have and I love it and use it daily!), combine coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Microwave for 30 seconds to melt the coconut oil. Pro tip: measure the coconut oil first and then the maple syrup will slip right out of the measuring cup. 

Combine the chopped nuts, coconut oil mixture, and other ingredients (except strawberries) and stir to combine.

ingredients in a mixing bowl for making paleo muesli.

Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pro tip: for a mix of textures, spread out some of the mixture and keep some in thicker clumps. Bake! Add strawberries when it comes out of the oven.

paleo granola on a baking sheet with strawberries for making paleo granola.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • Between you and me, it would be a darn shame to not add some chocolate chunks to some of this grain-free granola. If you need dairy-free, add in a few pinches of Enjoy Life Chocolate chunks and go out and live your best life.
  • Feel free to sub in ingredients that work best for you/are things you have in your pantry. 
  • You can use honey in place of the maple syrup, but please note your paleo cereal would no longer be vegan.
  • The gluten-free granola won’t get really crispy until it fully cools.
a bowl of gluten-free muesli with strawberries and a bowl of blueberries.
5 from 8 ratings

Paleo Granola

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
An easy recipe using maple syrup, these delightful gluten-free granola clusters are also vegan and dairy-free. 

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Pulse the nuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds in a food processor until there is a nice mix of small and larger pieces. Pro tip: no food processor? Chop the nuts with a sharp knife.
    1 cup almonds, 1 cup cashews, 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • In a microwave-proof mixing bowl, combine coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Microwave for 30 seconds to melt the coconut oil. 
    1/3 cup coconut oil, 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Combine the chopped nuts and seeds, coconut oil mixture, and other ingredients (except strawberries) and stir to combine.
    1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup hemp hearts
  • Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pro tip: for a mix of textures, spread out some of the mixture and keep some in thicker clumps. 
  • Bake for 15 minutes and then stir. If the mixture doesn’t look very toasty, bake another 5 minutes. 
  • Add strawberries when it comes out of the oven.
    1 cup freeze dried strawberries

Notes

Feel free to sub in ingredients that work best for you/are things you have in your pantry. 
You can use honey in place of the maple syrup, but please note your granola will no longer be vegan.
The granola won’t get really crispy until it fully cools.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.33cupCalories: 180kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 7gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 97mgPotassium: 485mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 20IUVitamin C: 240.9mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 6.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah

Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
Come for the food. Stay for the snark.

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14 Comments

  1. I’m eating a bowl of this with milk, straight out of the oven, for a bedtime snack. Delicious! I subbed dried apricots for the strawberries, and I was out of coconut oil, so I used olive oil (tip: stay with coconut oil, if you can!). I’m gong to put this in a ziplock bag and take it on the plane when I go on vacation in a couple days. It’ll make a great snack!5 stars

  2. I’d been eating store-bought gluten-free muesli for quite some time, but with some of the health concerns that I have, my doctor suggested that I eat grain-free muesli instead. She wanted me to eliminate the oats. Most store-bought granolas contain oats, so I knew I’d need to make my own grain-free mix. I searched online to find a recipe. Out of all the grain-free muesli recipes I’d found, yours was the most appealing to me, so I made it today. This recipe is excellent and I cannot thank you enough for sharing it!5 stars

  3. Paleo Muesli – Grainless Granola!
    Yum! This is a great addition to our breakfast rotation! It is good as a cereal type breakfast with milk or as a yogurt topping. We will definitely keep this recipes in use!5 stars

    1. So glad you liked it Alison, and I’m thrilled it helped you use up odds and ends from the pantry during the pantry challenge!

  4. This stuff is AH-mazing! I was gifted a sample when a friend returned a container. She had seen the post I shared on Facebook with this recipe and decided to make it!  WOW! SO delicious! ( I may have had a hard time not eating the whole container full of Paleo Muesli in one sitting!)                                 I’m finally printing out the recipe and plan to make and eat some for breakfast with my chia pudding and fresh berries! YUM!5 stars

  5. Ok I made this last night. It is freakin delicious! I made the recipe exactly except for the strawberries, because apparently those little buggers are hard to procure in normal grocery stores. I felt like Indiana Jones searching for the holy grail. Anyway, make this immediately. You won’t be disappointed. My only issue was there may be a bit too much coconut oil because I baked it for a good 10 minutes more than needed & it was still not as dry as I felt it should be. Since gluten has become my enemy & I can’t tolerate even GF oats, I’ve been searching for a good granola recipe, this is it!!5 stars

    1. Thrilled you enjoyed it Izzy! Cook times are always relative because every oven (and texture preference) is different. So glad you were able to make it work for you and I wish you lots of happy GF breakfasts to come!

  6. Just made this, limited pumpkin seeds, added more almonds. LOVE, this recipe. It will probably be put into the rotation of breakfast food that’s not cearel. Thank you for posting!5 stars

  7. Love this recipe! It’s simple, easy, and delicious. Even with all of my food allergies (yep, I’m one of “those” people), I can eat everything in this. Who says I can’t enjoy breakfast, just because I can’t have gluten, dairy or eggs? Not this girl! Thanks, Sarah!5 stars