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Low Calorie Granola: 5 mins of prep for the best low carb, low sugar, low fat granola! Crispy, crunchy and perfectly sweet.
The best low calorie granola: only 74 calories, 3.6g of sugar and 7g carbs per serving.
Why You’ll Love this Low Calorie Granola
Granola: so good, so healthy… so easy to OVEREAT! At that point, it basically becomes super unhealthy and totally guilt-ridden because you’ve eaten like 10x more than you probably should’ve…
So when I started brainstorming ideas for the new year, I figured NOW would be the time for finally cracking a low sugar, low calorie granola recipe that all of us could enjoy—without the guilt, without the high carbs.
One of my favorite food blogs from way back in the day, was Oh She Glows. Angela, the amazing blogger behind OSG, taught me the importance of volume! Like… who wants to eat a tiny bowl of granola?
And as long as we make sure the ingredients are healthy and whole (and keep an eye on the amount of sugar in it, etc.), we can go to town on a big friggin’ bowl of granola! <– Volume, baby!
So are you ready to bake this? Let’s do it!
Low Calorie Granola Ingredients
- Brown rice crisp cereal – a super low calorie, yet healthy ingredient
- Almonds – a nutritious and filling component of this recipe.
- Unsweetened coconut chips – this ingredient adds crisp texture and crunch
- Almond flour – I use a finely ground, blanched almond flour that works as a sort of low carb replacement for all purpose flour.
- Ground cinnamon + salt – both for delicious flavor, but feel free to leave out the salt if you’d like
- Pure maple syrup – the only sweetener used in this low calorie granola.
How to Make Low Calorie Granola
Making your very own low calorie granola is super easy! Check out how easy it is below:
Preheat
Make sure to preheat your oven to 325°F before you get started with anything else. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all Ingredients
Add all low calorie granola ingredients to a large bowl: vegan gluten free brown rice crisp cereal [here is where I get mine], almonds, coconut, almond flour, cinnamon and maple syrup. Stir and fold it all together until clusters form and everything is well mixed.
Pour
Pour your low calorie granola mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Nudge the granola to create empty space between so air can circulate through during baking—this will make your granola crispy!
Bake, Cool and Enjoy
Bake your granola for about 15 minutes, flip, then bake again for about 5-10 additional minutes. Cool, then enjoy the tastiest low sugar, low fat and low calorie granola ever!
I love using this granola as a topping for yogurt parfait, packing some for an afternoon snack when I’m on the go, or using it as a topping in these 3 Ingredient Frozen Yogurt Bites.
Low Cal Granola: Nutrition Facts
Granola Calories: 74 cal
Granola Carbs: 7g
Granola Sugar: 3.6g
Testimonials
Jacqueline says, “I went looking for a low calorie granola recipe to have on top of homemade vegan yogurt and found your post. I tried it and shared some with a friend who is also cutting calories. She has already requested more! It is a simple and super tasty granola, so thank you!”
Donna says, “This will now be a staple recipe for me! It is so quick and easy to make. It tastes delicious. I also added some sugar free chocolate chips. Thanks so much for the recipe.”
Amanda says, “Made this last night and it’s delicious! Had to sub regular unsweetened coconut for the large flake, and it still turned out great. Lots of crunch and big clusters. Thanks for this recipe!”
My sister Penny: our Resident Granola Expert, simply loves this low calorie granola. No bias or anything… especially since my blog is only her 2nd favorite food blog (damn you, Deb of Smitten Kitchen!!). Lol. J/k! 🙂
Storing and Freezing Your Low Calorie Granola
Great news! After cooling completely, you can store your low calorie granola for 1-2 weeks at room temperature or 1-3 months in the freezer. Isn’t that awesome? I love making a double or even triple batch so I can have it on hand for months to come.
Simply delicious low calorie granola that crispy ‘n crunchy with a cozy toasted flavor. Low Fat, Low Sugar.
I’m SO excited to hear what you think of my low calorie granola recipe! You know I seriously look forward to hearing your comments, seeing pics (!!) on Instagram, and reading feedback on Facebook. Are you ready to do this? You grab the brown rice crisps cereal, I’ll grab everything else. Meet ya in the kitchen! Sending you great, big hugs & gratitude for enjoying these kitchen adventures with me.
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Easy Granola Recipes
These tasty granola recipes are crunchy, full of clusters, and amazing! Try my grain free granola, delicious hemp granola, and this healthy almond butter granola.
Low Calorie Granola
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown rice crisp cereal
- 1/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut chips, large shredded coconut
- ½ cup almond flour*
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside for later.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Using a rubber spatula, fold until clusters form and mixture is well mixed.
- Pour onto the prepared baking sheet. Using the rubber spatula, gently nudge granola into an even layer, making sure to keep clusters intact. Create empty pockets at regular intervals to let air through to crisp up the granola.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes—until granola clusters are just solid enough to flip. Using a heatproof spatula, gently flip granola, making sure to keep clusters intact. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until edges are a deep golden brown and granola is just slightly soft. Mine took a total of 25 minutes. Granola will crisp up while cooling.
- Place baking sheet on a cooling rack. Allow low calorie granola to cool for about 30 minutes, or until completely cooled. Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Its so healthy and tasty! Goodbye store bought Granola, Hello healthy! Thanks!!!!
LOL oh yeah! . So thrilled to hear you enjoy it Chrissie!
Such a great idea using the rice crisp cereal, thanks for sharing!
It’s such a great ingredient to add! You’re very welcome Kimberly! .
I’ve been trying to limit dairy and gluten. This will be perfect!
Excellent! Hope you enjoy it Dorothy!
This granola looks amazing! It’s so hard to find something that’s healthy and delicious at the same time
Oh I know! Thankfully this recipe checks both boxes. ..
Any suggestions for almond flour substitution I’m allergic to nuts
Hi RW! You can use the same amount of sunflower seed meal. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Loving this granola recipe and how it isn’t full of sugar. This will make a great go to snack for the whole family!
Exactly! It’s super easy to make too. 😉 Hope you and the fam enjoy!
I had a good time reading your blog post—so much information. The granola looks awesome.
Thanks Heidy! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I like the way you think. I’ve been guilty way too many times of eating my weight in homemade granola. Not the most sage way to snack. Must try your high volume solution.
Oh I know exactly what you mean Lisa. Hope you enjoy this recipe! .
I love any granola that has coconut in it. That it’s low cal is just the icing on the cake!
Haha oh you got that right Tara! .
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love adding a handful of granola on top of my morning yogurt but I don’t want to add tons of calories. This is perfect!
Woohoo! You are so very welcome Liz! . I’m the same way, so I can tell you this granola tastes great on top of yogurt!