Protein Granola
This healthy high-protein granola recipe is lower in sugar and higher in protein than the average store-bought granola. Oats, nuts, and seeds are combined with plant-based protein powder to give you a delicious and nutritious start to the day. Learn my secret formula for crispy, clumpy granola without eggs!
Do you love high-protein breakfast? You’ll want to try this Tofu Scramble or this Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie.
I’ve always looked at granola like the little girl, face pressed against the glass, yearning for the shiny bike inside. To me, granola was simply too much: too expensive, too high in calories, and too difficult to make at home.
It’s not as if I didn’t try making it at home. It was just most of my attempts didn’t turn out as I wanted. I was a homemade granola failure.
But I kept at it. Soon, I was making my own granola . Nowadays, homemade is the only way I roll with granola!
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Using plant-based protein powder adds flavor, protein, and even some texture to this recipe
- Adding nuts and seeds contributes nutrition, nutty flavor, and crunch to every bite
- Ground flax seeds in the granola sauce? That means no eggs are needed to create granola clusters, the part of granola we all love!
- Protein powder granola doesn’t need much in the way of added sweetener because many protein powders have sweeteners in them.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Rolled oats — These are also referred to as old-fashioned oats. Instant oats are too soft and steel-cut oats are too crunchy.
- Nuts — Use your favorite nuts, like walnuts and pecans. Almonds and pistachios would also be great here.
- Seeds — I recommend pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds, but you could also add sunflower seeds.
- Pumpkin pie spice — I like pumpkin pie spice because it combines spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Substitute cinnamon.
- Protein powder — We use protein powder with zero-calorie sweeteners. If you choose one without sweeteners, you should adjust the amount of syrup in the sauce, so your granola is perfectly sweetened to your tastes.
- Ground flax seeds — I’m using, flax sort of like a flax egg here, binding the sauce to the granola, to form granola clumps. If you don’t like flax, a chia egg or ground chia seeds would have the same results.
- Granola Sauce — The granola sauce includes water, vanilla, a little olive oil, and a syrup sweetener like agave nectar or maple syrup.
- Dried fruit — Add chewy bites of texture and sweetness with dried fruit, like raisins, cranberries, and dried blueberries.
You can buy these ingredients and other vegan products at Costco! Having these products in bulk-sized bags means it’s more affordable, and I have plenty on hand to make batch after batch!
What Protein Powder is Best?
Plant-based protein powders are made from various plants, including soy, nuts, seeds, beans, grains, and peas. Vegan protein powders contain beneficial fibers and probiotics. Buy protein powders at health food stores, grocery stores, and places like Costco or Target. Look for “plant-based” or “vegan” on the package.
How to Make Protein Granola
I love making homemade protein granola cereal! You might be surprised to learn how easy it is to make.
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Stir together oats, nuts, and seeds.
- Make the secret granola sauce.
- Drizzle the sauce over the oats mixture, stirring to coat.
- Press granola into the pan
- Bake the granola, remove it from the oven, and add dried fruit.
- Cool on the pans, then break into pieces and transfer to a lidded container.
Storage Tips
Transfer granola to a lidded container and store it at room temperature. It will keep for up to 10 to 14 days. You can also refrigerate it or freeze it for longer storage.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Barb
Made this today and it is delicious. I am a veteran granola maker, but I had not seen a recipe that included protein powder. What a great idea… This one is a real keeper and simpler to make than many other recipes out there.
Protein Granola Serving Suggestions
Serve your granola with any of the following:
- Add crunchy granola on top of Chia Pudding or Chocolate Overnight Oats.
- Serve granola in a bowl with milk, like soy milk, cashew milk, or even pecan milk.
- Add a dollop of vegan yogurt over granola, or serve it the other way around!
Frequently-Asked Questions
Is granola good for weight loss?
Granola is full of oats, nuts, and seeds. These ingredients all have fiber and protein, which is satiating. In addition, granola requires chewing, which may be another satiety signal that can lead to feeling full. According to nutritionist Richard Mattes, nuts help with weight loss because they’re “high in protein, and protein is satiating…high in fiber, and fiber is satiating…rich in unsaturated fats, and there is some literature that suggests that has satiety value.”
Is high protein granola healthy?
Because of the oats, nuts, and seeds, granola delivers healthy, plant-based fiber, protein, omega-3s, and more. However, many granola mixes include lots of sugar, fats, and eggs. Look for a recipe with minimal sweeteners and fats. Vegan granola doesn’t use eggs, like this recipe that uses ground flax seeds.
How much protein is in granola?
Most granola recipes offer minimal protein. However, adding protein powder to the granola sauce makes a difference. You can get as many as 9 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving with this healthy protein granola recipe.
Marly’s Tips
- Keep this vegan protein granola low in sugar by using minimal syrup. Add more if you prefer a sweeter granola.
- Allow the granola to cool completely before breaking it into pieces.
- Make high-protein, low-sugar granola by using a sugar-free syrup in place of agave nectar.
- Make chocolate protein granola by adding 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to the sauce mix or add chocolate chips after the granola is removed from the oven and has cooled slightly.
- Make peanut butter protein granola by adding 1/4 cup of peanut butter powder to the sauce mix.
Healthy Vegan Breakfast Ideas
Yes, this is the best protein granola ever. But now you’re ready for even more vegan breakfast ideas! Be sure and check these out:
That’s it for this simple protein granola recipe!
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Healthy Homemade High Protein Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup hemp seeds
Granola Sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup vanilla plant-based protein powder (see note)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
Add-Ins
- ⅓ cup dried fruit , such as dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine oats, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl. Stir together.
- Create the Sauce: In a bowl, combine the spice, protein powder, ground flax, water, vanilla, syrup, and olive oil. Stir together.
- Drizzle the sauce over the oats mixture, stirring to ensure everything is coated.
- Bake: Spread uncooked granola evenly across the baking sheet. Press it down gently into the pan to help form clumps while baking. Bake for 30 minutes.
- When the granola is done, remove it from the oven and sprinkle with dried fruit. Allow it to cool completely on pans. Transfer to a lidded container and keep at room temperature for up to 10 days.
(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)
Video
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Vanilla needs to be added to the third step of directions.
Thanks, Wendy! Correction made.
Made this today and it is delicious. I am a veteran granola maker, but I had not seen a recipe that included protein powder. What a great idea. That is something I always have in stock. Cooks may feel that the mixture is not moist enough when it goes in the oven, but it will turn out fine. I am just used to a wetter mixture. Fear not. This smells wonderful when cooking, too. May be the vanilla protein powder I used? This one is a real keeper and simpler to make than many other recipes out there.
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This looks so good! What a great breakfast to make ahead for the whole family!
Love the recipe !!! Was wondering what you would say the recommended serving for this recipe is? – would it be a 1/4 cup 🙂
Hi B, I think a serving size is closer to a half cup. I hope this is helpful!
Hi Marly- thanks for sharing this recipe. How much is one serving in terms of total ounces of the finished product?
Hi Munir. Thanks for your comment. I have never weighed this recipe in terms of ounces.
The recipe itself was difficult to understand, the video is much clearer. The written recipe doesn’t I Clyde many ingredients so I was confused where to combine certain ingredients. That being said, I kind of just threw together my own version of this recipe and it tasted great!
Hi there Heidi! I’m glad to see you liked this recipe. We have some in our cupboard right now! I love having homemade granola on hand. I wonder if you scrolled down to the recipe card? That’s where the ingredients and quantities are included. You can even print it if you’d like. Hope this is helpful. 🙂
Hi Marly thanks for replying! I’m back again to make the recipe because my husband and I really loved it! I’m pretty sore I was looking in the right spot but it doesn’t say where to add the flax seed or the water. I’m assuming I mix the flax seed with the oats and the water with the protein powder? Maybe it’s in there and I just can’t seem to read it right haha. But thanks for posting this recipe!
Granola at the store is too expensive. I like this homemade granola recipe better. Thanks!