Easy Sugar-Free Date Granola With Cinnamon (Oil-Free + Vegan)

Breakfast is our favorite meal of the day! Getting out of bed is a lot easier when we know that a jar of flavorful, crunchy date granola (along with an almond latte!) is waiting for us in the kitchen.

These crispy golden clusters of healthy oats and nuts, naturally sweetened and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, combine everything we love about plant-based foods.

And if you’re up for baking it freshly in the morning, perhaps on a lazy Sunday, you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic smell in your kitchen – making this vegan granola one of your can’t-stop-eating-this breakfast treats.

What’s really awesome is that only 7 easily swappable and really affordable vegan staple foods are needed to whip up our sugar-free cinnamon granola within 30 minutes!

Vegan granola is one of the most versatile recipes — it can be made using whatever nuts, seeds, dried fruit or spices you have in your kitchen and want to use up.

It can also be made in large batches and stored for up to a month, making our cinnamon date granola a really convenient yet irresistible breakfast option.

Just add your favorite plant-based milk, fresh fruit and whatever else you fancy to this crunchy and nutty goodness and you’ve instantly upgraded any plain oatmeal 100 fold!

We’ve made vegan granola pretty often over the last few months for a couple of reasons. First of all, have you checked the ingredients — or the price — of store-bought granola lately? Holy moly!

Sure, it tastes nice and all, but it’s not exactly what we would call a healthy and accessible breakfast option.

We wanted something better. That’s why we created an oil-free, sugar-free and fully whole food plant-based vegan granola recipe that ticks all the boxes: delicious, budget-friendly, highly nutritious and so much more.

Enjoy as a daily breakfast or bring with you when you travel – it makes for a great portable snack.

By the way, if you’re dealing with junk food or sugar cravings, this healthy and wholesome treat can totally satisfy your sweet tooth without making your blood sugar go crazy.

Let’s cover some common questions about granola and then take a look at the quick and easy recipe!

Is Granola Vegan-Friendly?

Most granola is made with rolled oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and honey – the latter of which comes from animals and is therefore not vegan.

We’ve been seeing more and more companies swap honey for maple syrup or another vegan sweetener, which means that you can get vegan-friendly granola at the store.

But there’s a huge difference between vegan and whole food plant-based, and pretty much any vegan granola is made with copious amounts of oil and sugar. 

If you want to see how wonderful sugar-free and oil-free granola can taste, keep on reading!

So, Is Granola Healthy?

Compared to bacon and eggs for breakfast, it surely is healthy! But if you think that granola is a superfood just because it’s mainly made with oats, it’s time to challenge that.

Granola can be surprisingly high in calories thanks to the oil used to make this delicious breakfast perfectly crispy. If you don’t check the ingredients of your store-bought granola, it’s possible that you buy a rich dessert disguised as health food!

Healthy food and healthy eating must be seen as a whole and on a spectrum – choose any granola over saturated-fat-rich animal products and you’ll move the needle in the right direction.

But compared to some oatmeal with nuts and fruit, most granola has to take the backseat – unless it’s a sugar-free and oil-free date granola!

Our delicious whole food plant-based recipe makes for the healthiest vegan granola you can imagine. It can certainly keep up with any other healthy breakfast choice!

Why This Is the Best Vegan Date Granola

• Easy to make & totally customizable
• Naturally sweetened, sugar-free and nutritious
• Crunchy, flavorful & fun breakfast
• Kid-friendly & awesome for meal prep
• Breakfast, treat or snack all in one
• Oil-free, relatively low in fat & calories
• Satisfies any sweet snack lover
• Healthiest vegan granola you can imagine
• High in fiber, complex carbs, protein, omega-3 and zinc

Our vegan date granola is one of the best examples of the fact that healthy eating isn’t hard – it can actually be really tasty and delicious if you’re ready to invest a little bit of time.

Ingredients for This Sugar-Free Granola

• Oats – obviously the most important part of any granola; in our opinion, plain rolled oats together with some oat bran create the best texture!
• Dates – this date granola is sweet enough just using the whole fruit – no sugar needed!
• Nuts & Seeds – for some wholesome, crunchy goodness; we picked walnuts, chia and pumpkin seeds for the added health benefits!
• Cinnamon – accessible pantry staple spice that we use for pretty much any sweet recipe

To make this vegan date granola more special and look even prettier, we chose some goji berries for an extra add-in. 

You can totally swap them for any other dried fruit, but we love them for their color, slightly tart taste and because they are true nutritional powerhouses.

Dates are, once again, our secret ingredient to sweeten our plant-based recipe without using any refined sugar. They double as a chewy granola component and are used to make the sweet liquid that binds all the ingredients together.

How to Make Sugar-Free Vegan Granola From Scratch

If you want to make sugar-free and oil-free vegan granola, you first need to decide which add-ins you want to use. Apart from oats and dates, choose freely from the nuts, seeds and dried fruit you find in your kitchen.

Now, soak 3 pitted dates in some warm water while measuring and combining the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

Then, place your soaked dates together with the soaking water into a blender (doesn’t have to be high-speed) and create a somewhat smooth sweet liquid.

Pour over the ingredients for your oil-free granola and mix well with a spoon, evenly coating everything with the sweet date liquid. It helps to hold all of the add-ins together.

Now, transfer your healthy vegan granola mixture to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and arrange in an even layer. A reusable silicone mat works well here, too!

Press the granola down with a spatula so it sticks together even more to create larger clusters if you like!

Finally, move your baking sheet into the preheated oven for 15 minutes – try to use a rack in the middle or towards the bottom of your oven so it bakes evenly and doesn’t burn!

Once the time has elapsed, stir and flip the vegan granola with a spatula and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown.

Tips to Make the Best Oil-Free Vegan Granola

Our crunchy double seed and highly nutritious granola is really easy to make and doesn’t require any kitchen skills. You can create your new favorite healthy breakfast by using very basic kitchen tools and choose the ingredients you have on hand!

Here are our best tips, ideas and swaps to make some great oil-free vegan granola.

• On top of your rolled oats, you can add some steel-cut oats for an extra crunchy experience!
• If you’re cool with a higher fat and higher calorie yet oil-free granola, you can add some delicious nut butter like almond butter or peanut butter to the date mixture; in this case, make sure to use enough dry ingredients to get the ratio right.
• Although we really like the add-ins for this sugar-free granola, we understand that some of them might not be your favorite or hard to get a hold of; feel free to swap the chia for flax seeds and the goji berries for raisins!
• Other delicious granola add-ins include coconut shreds, chocolate chips, hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, chopped apple or pear, pecans and cashews.
• Get crazy with the spices if you like! Although we think that using cinnamon is a must, other ideas are gingerbread spice, vanilla, cocoa, ginger, cloves or turmeric!
• If you can’t get any dates, just use some applesauce with a touch of maple syrup instead! This will hold together your granola mixture; here’s a recipe for oil-free vegan granola with aquafaba instead of dates.
• If you are worried about eating your batch-baked granola too quickly, store it in several smaller mason jars to portion it out a little bit – we know it’s hard to stop after you get a taste of that cinnamon-date crunch!

Creative Ways to Enjoy Vegan Granola

We’re pretty positive you’ve had some granola with dairy or dairy-free milk before – but did you know that you can serve it warm topped with vegan ice cream and jam? Sure, it’ll take some of the “whole food” away from the “whole food plant-based”, but the more you can include healthy vegan granola in your life, the better.

The most straightforward (but arguably least creative) way to enjoy sugar-free granola is just by the fistful. Especially when it’s freshly baked! 

Other than that, you can create colorful and extra delicious smoothie bowls by topping them with some healthy granola, make crunchy granola bars, or bake it into cookies!

We also sometimes stuff some baked sweet potatoes with homemade granola (don’t forget to top with vegan yogurt!) or make some simple yet pretty plant-based parfaits.

More Easy Plant-Based Breakfast Recipes

If you liked this simple sugar-free granola and are eager to start your day off with a healthy and tasty vegan breakfast, here are some more goodies you can try!

• Banana Raspberry Bread
• Sweet Potato Smoothie Bowl
• Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
• High-Protein Strawberry Smoothie
• Coconut Oatmeal Bars

Now, let’s make your kitchen smell amazing and move on to our healthy sugar-free vegan granola recipe. We hope our tips were helpful and inspired you to create different and tasty versions of your own!

Continue to Content

Sugar-Free Vegan Date Granola

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This easy sugar-free date granola is so crunchy and flavorful! Ready in 30 minutes, meal prep friendly and easily customizable, it’s made with affordable staple foods, oil-free and fully vegan. No sugar or syrup needed to make this addictive yet healthy plant-based cinnamon granola! A true family favorite and nutritious staple treat.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats (80 g)
• 2 tbsp oat bran
• 3 dry pitted dates, chopped
• 3 dry pitted dates, soaked
• ½ cup walnuts (50 g)
• ⅓ cup goji berries (68 g)
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Start by soaking 3 pitted dates for 15 minutes in just enough warm water to cover them. Then place the dates together with the soaking water into a blender and create a somewhat smooth sweet liquid. 
2. Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C) and line a baking sheet with some parchment paper. You can also use a silicone mat.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients for the granola in a bowl, pour the sweet date water over it and mix well with a spoon until everything’s moist and crumbly.
4. Transfer your granola mixture to your lined baking sheet and arrange in an even layer using a spatula.
5. Place in the oven (using a rack in the middle or at the bottom) and bake for around 15 minutes, then stir with a spatula and bake for another 5 minutes or so until browned evenly. Make sure not to burn any smaller pieces!
6. Remove from oven and let cool (at least slightly) before munching away. Serve with your favorite plant-based milk and fresh fruit or enjoy in whatever way you prefer!
7. Any leftovers can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge for around 2-4 weeks.

Notes

• Depending on your oven, you might need to bake your vegan granola a little bit longer or shorter! Make sure to watch it so it doesn’t burn and don’t use the top rack.
• This oil-free granola is perfect for meal prep and batch cooking; it may last up to a month stored in a glass jar (we almost always eat it within a week, though – too yummy.)
• Feel free to get creative and use delicious add-ins such as coconut shreds, almonds, cranberries, raisins, pecans, cashews or chopped apple.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 6gSugar: 11gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed. Just focus on whole plant-based foods and eat until satiety!

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Alena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.