This Apple Pie Granola is a chewy, cinnamon-loaded snack made with fresh apples and simple pantry staples. It’s naturally sweetened with no added sugar, making it the kind of healthy granola you can grab by the handful, sprinkle over yogurt, or toss into breakfast bowls.
"This looks tasty and I love granola. This is a great treat for kids since there isn't sugar added.Love the recipe!" -Chastity
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 1 hr 36 mins
- 👪Serves: 12
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 288 kcals and 6 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Rolled oats, fresh grated apple, pumpkin seeds, cashew butter, and coconut.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, high fiber & healthy fats.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: It tastes like apple pie granola without added sugar, stays crunchy, and makes a satisfying snack or yogurt topping with cozy cinnamon flavor in every bite.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
If you love apple pie flavor but want something that actually works for real-life snacking, this granola with fresh apples is it. It’s packed with cinnamon-y apple goodness, totally vegan, and made with simple pantry staples. But the best part? It bakes up soft and chewy, which is pure comfort.
This vegan apple granola is perfect for busy mornings and snack attacks: sprinkle it over an avocado smoothie bowl or layer it into a Greek yogurt protein pudding. It’s warm-spiced, naturally sweet, kid-friendly, and one of those recipes you’ll end up making on repeat all fall (and honestly… all year).
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Sugar-free: Unlike most granola recipes, this healthy apple granola recipe is only sweetened with a mix of applesauce, coconut, and dried cranberries, making it a healthy snack option.
Warming flavor: It blends cinnamon and apples to create the perfect fall snack, kind of like a maple protein latte.
Nutrient-dense: Though it does have grains in it, the majority of this granola recipe is nut and seed-based, making a powerful punch of healthy fats.
Ingredients and Substitutions
If you have well-stocked gluten-free food pantry staples, you'll probably have most of the things you need for this sugar-free granola recipe, along with these granola cups with yogurt.
- Large coconut flakes: I personally think that this gives any granola recipe more texture, and it's what I use in my granola with cinnamon, too. However, regular shredded coconut would work too!
- Nuts: Though almonds and walnuts are listed, any nut blend you have on hand is alright.
- Applesauce: Use a sweetened applesauce if you have a sweeter taste preference. This helps the apple granola stay soft, though, so don't skip it.
- Fresh apples: Try to use sweeter apples like Pink Lady or Gala so that their flavor shines through in the granola.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
- Dried fruit: Apples and cranberries go together beautifully, but mixing it up with dried blueberries, chopped dates, or apricots can create tasty flavors too.
- Nut butter: I used cashew butter here because it gives a richer feel to the granola (just like with cashew butter cookies), but other nut butters like almond, hazelnut, or no oil peanut butter can work too.
How To Make Apple Pie Granola
Step 1: Combine the almonds and walnuts in a food processor and process until chunky, then mix together all dry ingredients.
Step 2: Melt the coconut oil and combine it with the other liquid ingredients.
Step 3: Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir briefly.
Step 4: Add in the shredded apple. Portion onto a silicone cookie mat on a baking tray and bake!
Expert Tips To Make It
You can adjust the level of sweetness in the apple cinnamon granola by using sweetened applesauce and cashew butter or adding ⅛th cup of maple syrup while cooking it for 2-3 more minutes.
Bake your granola low and slow to prevent the coconut from having a burnt taste to it. You want to remove it from the oven as soon as it's golden.
Granola clumps best (and you can make apple cinnamon granola clusters) when it’s pressed down firmly and left alone to set after baking. Press the mixture tightly into the pan before baking and let it cool fully before breaking it apart (stirring too much will prevent clusters). Get more tips in my granola cluster recipe.
Hack: Leaving the fresh vanilla bean on the tray while it cooks makes your house smell amazing and is perfect for company!
Store leftover granola once cooled in a mason jar in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.
How To Serve It
Enjoy this no-added-sugar granola in any of the following ways:
- On top of a dairy-free yogurt parfait.
- Sprinkled on top of a strawberry smoothie bowl.
- With homemade hemp milk poured over top.
Apple Pie Granola FAQs
The best apples for granola are sweeter apples like Honey Crisp and Gala apples beccause they're sweet flavor shines through in the granola mix.
Granola becomes soggy when there's too much moisture in it, and it hasn't cooked fully. Make sure it turns golden before removing it from the oven and that it cools completely before storing, so that extra moisture isn't trapped. Also, store it in the fridge since fresh apples add extra moisture.
More Healthy Apple Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this Apple Pie Granola Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Sugar-Free Apple Granola recipe
Video
Equipment
- Large baking tray
- Silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup walnut halves
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 1 ¼ cup large toasted coconut flakes
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup regular oats gluten-free as needed
- ½ cup rice puffs or more oats
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 1.5 tablespoons cinnamon
- 3 tbs coconut oil measured solid
- ⅓ cup cashew butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 inch vanilla bean
- 1 apple ¾ cup peeled and grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Combine the almonds and walnuts in a food processor and process until chunky (leave pieces for texture!)
- In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients up to and including the cinnamon.
- Melt the coconut oil in the microwave and combine with the cashew butter, vanilla and applesauce. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir briefly.
- Add in the shredded apple and mix until everything looks a bit wet.
- On a large tray with parchment paper, spread out the granola into a thin layer and press down with a silicone spatula. You want to press down firmly to try and keep the granola somewhat stuck together versus spread out.
- Bake for 12 minutes then stir the granola, pressing it down again.
- Bake another fourteen minutes until granola is starting to brown (it won't look quite done yet)
- Remove from oven and let sit for one hour to firm up before moving.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Shelby says
This is such a great recipe for fall. The cinnamon really shines through.