Granola

Low FODMAP granola made with rolled oats, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

Prep 10 min

Cook 30 min

Serves 12

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 3 cups (300 g) rolled oats (not steel-cut, not instant)
• 1 cup (100 g) pecan halves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (60 g) walnut halves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (65 g) raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup (70 g) raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil (melted butter also works, but then the granola is not dairy-free or vegan)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Mix

1. Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut.
3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
4. Pour the wet mix over the dry and stir until every oat and nut is coated.

Bake

1. Spread the mixture in an even layer across the sheet pan, pressing it down lightly to encourage clusters.
2. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan at the halfway mark. Do not stir if you want clusters; stir once at 15 minutes if you want a looser granola. Watch closely the last 5 to 10 minutes, as maple-sweetened granola can go from golden to over-browned quickly.
3. Pull the pan when the oats are a deep golden brown and the kitchen smells toasted. It will still be soft; it crisps as it cools.

Cool

1. Let the granola cool completely on the pan, at least 45 minutes, before breaking it into clusters. This is when the crunch sets.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use whatever nuts you like, in moderate amounts. This recipe averages about 13 g of nuts per 1/2-cup serve, well within Monash limits for pecans and walnuts. If you swap in almonds or hazelnuts, check Monash for that nut's gram serve, since some nuts have smaller low-FODMAP limits.
• Use maple syrup, not honey or agave. Honey is low only at about ½ teaspoon and agave is high FODMAP. Pure maple syrup is low FODMAP at up to 1 tablespoon per serve. Brown rice syrup also works; it is the binder in the granola bars.
• Add dried fruit after baking, not before. Keep it to 1 tablespoon dried cranberries or 1 teaspoon raisins per serve. Dried apple is high-FODMAP, so leave it out.
• Dark chocolate chips for an add-in. Stir in up to 25 g per serve of regular dark chocolate chips once the granola is fully cool. Avoid sugar-free chips, which use polyol sweeteners like maltitol or isomalt.
• Make it nut-free. Double the pumpkin and sunflower seeds and add 1/4 cup sesame seeds. Both seeds are low-FODMAP in generous serves.
• Certified gluten-free oats. Rolled oats are naturally gluten-free but commonly cross-contaminated with wheat. If you have celiac disease, buy a certified gluten-free brand.
• Start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Granola is dense. A 1/2-cup serve is the low-FODMAP target; granola is also rich in fat and fiber, so a smaller bowl is fine.

Why This Works

No honey. Most store-bought granola is sweetened with honey, which is low only at about ½ teaspoon; typical granola amounts are high in excess fructose and fructans. Maple syrup gives the same caramelized flavor at a low-FODMAP load.

Nut budget. Monash serves are per nut, so a granola that piles in three or four kinds can stack up. This recipe lands at about 13 g of nuts per 1/2-cup serve, which keeps pecans and walnuts in range. Seeds and coconut fill the volume.

Dried fruit trap. Raisins creep past the limit above about 1 teaspoon (4g), and dried apple is high-FODMAP in typical serves. Keeping dried fruit optional and capped per serve keeps the stated serving low FODMAP.

Commercial granolas fail on three fronts. Supermarket granola typically breaks the low-FODMAP test in three ways at once: honey or agave as the sweetener, chicory root fiber or inulin listed as added fiber, and dried apple or packed-in raisins well past their low FODMAP serves. Making it at home lets you control all three.

Storage

Store cooled granola in an airtight jar or container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. For longer storage, freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months and eat straight from the freezer, it stays crunchy. One serve is 1/2 cup; a full batch yields about 12 serves.