People on the keto diets generally assume that they are limited to only a few options when it comes to breakfast. They usually miss out on breakfast worrying that they will end up getting more carbs than allowed. This is specifically true for the people that are new to keto diets.
But fortunately, that is not the case entirely. In fact, it is on the contrary and there are multiple keto friendly options for breakfast.
A staple breakfast item, I bet many people are wondering is granola keto? Unfortunately, no granola isn't keto friendly! Due to the high carb content.
Keep reading to learn more about Granola and any potential alternatives that you could include in your diet!
What is Granola?
Granola is an American breakfast cereal and is widely consumed. It has been a popular cereal from as long as the 19th century and is consumed in a number of ways, including as a breakfast food, as a snack, and as an ingredient in baked goods, frozen yogurt and certain desserts.
Granola got its name from a popular cereal producer named John Harvey Kellogg. He is not only the founder of granola but also a doctor and the nutritionist that invented corn flakes.
Currently there are tens of different companies that make granola either by using Harvey Kellogg’s recipe or have made certain changes to it according to the market trends.
Moreover, it is now available in different other forms including gluten free, low sugar granola, and super food enriched.
However, the primary nutrients used by different companies are somewhat the same. Granola comprises of a number of ingredients including:
- Whole grains
- Rolled Oats
- Crushed Nuts
- Honey
- Dried fruit (Dried berries, dried coconut clusters, pumpkin seeds etc.)
- Preservatives
Now, in terms of the taste and flavor of granola, it entirely depends on what ingredients are used in the making of granola. Ideally dried fruits like dried berries are used in most granola cereals, which has a rather sweet and fruity flavor.
Whereas toasted almonds in the granola lead to a salty-savory flavor which further enhances the overall sweetness of the granola. Topped off with vanilla, it will further enrich the flavor of the granola.
So, you’re looking for a blend of different flavors creating a unique flavor of granola. Regardless of which ingredients are used in granola, the texture remains consistent.
There are multiple ways you can consume granola. These include:
- Eat them straight out of the bag while enduring physical activities like hiking or walking on long trails.
- Eat them during breakfast by simply pouring some milk in a bowl and adding granola to it.
- Eat it in the form of a granola bar by mixing granola with some eggs and sweeteners.
Granola is versatile and there are tens of different other ways you can eat granola.
Now that you have an understanding of what granola is, let’s look at whether you can eat it on a keto diet.
Is Granola Keto?
For a food to be keto friendly, it has to be low in terms of the overall carbohydrates content. Ideally, you’re only allowed to consume 30 – 50 g of carbs per day.
Unfortunately, no. Granola is not keto friendly, specifically when created with the traditional recipe. This is because it contains grains, dried fruits, nuts, and honey. Most of these ingredients have a high amount of carbohydrates, which bumps up the overall carbs profile of granola.
Based on this, if you consume the traditional granola on a keto diet, you will essentially be consuming a lot of carbohydrates which negates the entire purpose of following a keto diet.
Not only will you get a lot of carbs from granola, but you will also be increasing the risk of putting your body out of ketosis. No one on the keto diet would want this, so the traditional granola should be avoided.
However, this is not the end of it.
There is a way for you to enjoy granola while being on the keto diet.
There are certain granola varieties that use slightly different ingredients which are specifically intended for people who are on the keto diet. So, in that case, granola can be keto friendly.
Keto friendly granola varieties typically use the following ingredients in their recipe:
- Safe nuts like macadamia, almonds etc.
- Dark chocolate chips
- Coconut flakes
- Keto friendly seeds as a substitute of the grains used in traditional granola
- For sweetening the granola, sugar alternatives are used, including stevia, allulose, sugar alcohols and allulose.
Sugar is strictly avoided in making keto friendly granola and instead the alternatives mentioned above are used. In this way, not only a keto friendly granola is made, but the sugar substitutes used can also help lower your caloric intake significantly.
Granola: Nutritional Profile
Granola is an excellent breakfast option considering the fact that all you need to do is grab a bowl, add some milk and toss in granola. A 100 gram serving of traditionally prepared granola contains:
| Nutrients (Traditional Granola) | Amount |
| Energy | 489 kCal |
| Protein | 13.7 g |
| Total lipid (fat) | 24.3 g |
| Ash | 2.31 g |
| Carbohydrates | 53.9 g |
| Total dietary fiber | 8.9 g |
| Sugars | 19.8 g |
| Calcium | 76 mg |
| Iron | 3.95 mg |
| Magnesium | 168 mg |
| Phosphorus | 431 mg |
| Potassium | 539 mg |
| Sodium | 26 mg |
| Zinc | 4.18 mg |
| Selenium | 25.4 mg |
| Vitamin C | 1.2 mg |
| Niacin | 2.74 mg |
| Vitamin A | 1 mcg |
| Carotene bet | 11 mcg |
| Vitamin E | 11.1 mg |
As you can tell from the nutritional profile of granola, it is a nutrient powerhouse and will help you get that kick start in the morning. Not only will it be providing you with essential vitamins, but you will also get to benefit from the minerals and fiber content of granola.
However, if you focus on the carbohydrates content of granola, it is way off the charts in terms of keto diets. Consuming a 100 gram serving of granola will be more than enough to meet your daily carbs intake of 30 – 50 g. But this isn’t good for your ketosis, right?
On the contrary to this, there are keto friendly granola recipes and products that are much lower in carbs and use keto friendly ingredients thus toning down the overall carbs in granola.
Here are the nutritional values that you can get from a 100 gram serving of keto granola:
| Nutrients (Keto Granola) | Amount |
| Saturated fats | 13.3 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 267 mg |
| Total carbohydrates | 23 g |
| Dietary fiver | 13 g |
| Total sugars | 3g |
| Total fats | 50 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Vitamin E | 8.4 mg |
| Thiamin | 0.4 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0.26 mg |
| Niacin | 2.1 mg |
| Vitamin B-6 | 0.45 mg |
| Folate | 53 mcg |
| Calcium | 107 mg |
| Iron | 3.3 mg |
| Potassium | 500 mg |
| Phosphorus | 333 mg |
| Magnesium | 140 mg |
| Zinc | 2.9 mg |
| Selenium | 15 mcg |
Compared to the traditional granola, keto granola is substantially lower in carbs and sugars, while high in total fats; thus, making it ideal for keto diets. Moreover, despite changes in the ingredients, keto granola has still retained most of the minerals and vitamins.
When served as part of a balanced diet, you will be able to enjoy a healthy breakfast cereal and receive plenty of healthy benefits from eating granola. More on this is discussed in the next section of the article.
Keto and Granola:
There are different ways to incorporate granola into the keto diet. Here are some of the most popular ways to make granola a part of breakfast menu in keto diets:
- Add keto granola in a pancake batter
- Add keto granola to any keto friendly salad
- Prepare chicken tenders and top them off with granola
- Add granola to cottage cheese
- Season your roasted vegetables with granola
- Season your pudding (keto friendly) with granola
- Make your own homemade granola energy bars
The list goes on and you can get an idea of how versatile granola is in terms of consuming it with different foods.
Here are some health benefits you can receive from simply eating granola on a keto diet:
- Rich in dietary fibers:
As you can see from the nutritional profile of keto granola, it is a rich source of fibers. These are an essential part of a healthy functioning digestive system and are required to help extract nutrients from foods better.
Dietary fibers from granola also lead towards a feeling of fullness which helps you manage your appetite. As a result of consuming keto granola in the breakfast, you will not be craving any foods or feel hungry for long periods of time.
Ultimately, if you are feeling full for longer, your food intake will also be slightly reduced -thus helping you in weight loss substantially.
- Rich in proteins:
A 100 gram serving of keto granola contains over 13 grams of proteins. Proteins are also a vital nutrient required by the body. Now, looking at it from a keto point of view, proteins essentially influence two hormones in your body. These include:
- Ghrelin
- GLP-1
Both these hormones are responsible for creating a feeling of fullness.
Similarly, your body also requires proteins due to their role in oxygenating your body. Ideally, the red blood cells require protein compounds to carry oxygen to all parts of your body.
Another benefit of proteins is that they are essentially a building block of the following parts of your body:
- Bones
- Muscles
- Cartilage parts
- Skin
- Hair
- Nails
So, just by maintaining a good amount of proteins in your body, you will be making your bones and muscles stronger. Moreover, your skin health will also improve significantly.
- Rich in calcium:
A 100 gram serving of keto granola contains over 107 mg of calcium thus making it ideal for meeting your daily calcium requirements. Similar to proteins, calcium is also an important component of your body. This is because it helps your body in a number of ways including:
- Helps in making your bones and teeth stronger
- Improves your cardiovascular and nervous system health by regulating your heart beats and improving nerve functions
- Calcium also helps with blood clotting in your body
Keto Friendly Granola Recipe
Ø Homemade Keto Nut Granola Recipe
Keto granola can be made in your home as well. Yes, you read that correctly. Making keto granola in your home is your best option because it allows you more control over the ingredients you choose.
With this keto nut granola recipe, you will be able to make crispy and crunchy granola right from your kitchen. Here is detailed insight into what ingredients will be required followed by the instructions:
Ingredients:
- Almonds – 1 cup
- Hazelnuts – 1 cup
- Pecans – 1 cup
- Pumpkin seeds – 1/3 cup
- Sunflower seeds – 1/3 cup
- Erythritol – 6 tbsp
- golden flax seed meal – ½ cup
- Egg white – 1 large
- Unsalted butter (measured solid, then melted; can use coconut oil or ghee for dairy-free) – ¼ cup
- Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Instructions:
- Turn on the oven, set the temperature to 325 and let it pre-heat.
- Get a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
- Grab a food processor. Add the nuts (almonds, hazelnuts) and pulse them thoroughly. Make sure the nuts are not grounded fully and are only broken into small pieces.
- Afterwards, add the pecans to the food processor and pulse them as well to get small pieces.
- Next, take the other ingredients (pumpkin & sunflower seeds, flax seed meal, and erythritol and add them to the food processor. Pulse them thoroughly and ensure all of the ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
- Take a small bowl, add the egg white and butter. Whisk them together to get a consistent mixture.
- Now take the mixture and pour it on the nut mixture. Pulse them a few times until all of the ingredients are mixed well.
- Finally, take the vanilla extract, pour it in the food processor and pulse it again.
- Finally, take the mixture and spread it over a baking sheet. Make sure the sheet is even.
- Bake it for over 10 – 15 minutes while stirring it mid-way. Wait till the color changes to golden brown and the texture becomes crisp.
- Take the freshly made granola and let it sit for 15 – 30 minutes to cool down. Once cooled, store it in an airtight container and let it sit at room temperature for a period of two weeks. Ta-da! Your granola will then be ready to consume.
There are plenty of other keto friendly recipes where you can use pre-processed, or company made granola and enjoy the meals.
On a side note, if you’re a big fan of granola, you can also make keto granola bars for getting a quick energy boost during physical activities like hiking.
Wrapping Up:
Is granola keto? Unfortunately, the traditional granola or the granola you find in stores is not keto. The reason behind this is that the ingredients used in the store bought granola are high in carbs and not safe for your keto diets.
However, there are certain keto friendly granola in the stores that are significantly lower in carbs. Moreover, you can also make granola in your home by opting for keto friendly – low carb ingredients and enjoy it in breakfast, and other meals.
If you'd like to learn more about keto friendly foods, please click on one of the links below:
Are Spring Rolls Keto Friendly?