Crunchy Sugar-Free Granola (Vegan)

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This easy sugar-free granola is so crunchy, meal prep-friendly, and moreish! Ready in 30 minutes and easily customizable, it’s made with affordable staple foods, oil-free, and fully vegan. Perfect for quick breakfasts or snacks!

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 vegan granola (along with an almond latte!) is waiting for us in the kitchen.

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

Sugar-free granola is so easy to make and perfect for meal prep! Just like overnight oats, muffins, or oatmeal bars, you can create it in larger batches and enjoy it over the course of a week.

Plus, our granola is oil-free, vegan, and can be customized to use up anything you have in your kitchen!

Try this easy breakfast and check out our apple crumble and tofu scramble next.

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baking tray with homemade crunchy vegan granola make with dates, cinnamon, goji, walnuts and pumpkin seeds

Why you’ll love it

Easy to make & customize
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

Our sugar-free granola showcases 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.

table with several small bowls containing rolled oats, goji, chia, pumpkin seeds, salt and chopped dates

Ingredients needed

Oats – obviously the most important part of any granola; in our opinion, plain rolled oats, together with some oat flour, 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!
Cinnamon – for that extra coziness.

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

All you need to make granola are two bowls, a blender, a lined baking sheet, a spatula, a spoon, and measuring equipment.

large bowl with oats, pumpkin seeds, goji, chia, chopped dates and walnuts in which date liquid is being poured by a woman

bowl in which the ingredients for sugar-free granola are mixed with a spoon next to some pumpkin seeds and a towel

How to make sugar-free vegan granola

Soak dates in just enough warm water to cover them for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also use a silicone mat.
Add the soaked dates together with the soaking water into a blender and create a somewhat smooth sweet liquid.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the granola: oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and spices.
Add the blended date liquid and mix well with a spoon until everything’s moist and crumbly.
Spread the mixture into an even layer on your lined baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Stir with a spatula and bake for 5 more minutes until evenly browned and crispy.
Remove from the oven and let cool before eating. Enjoy!

white bowl with plant-based milk and homemade vegan granola that's being sprinkled into the bowl with a spoon that's held by a hand

Serving & storage

This sugar-free granola is really versatile and can be enjoyed on its own as a snack, in a bowl with dairy-free milk and fresh fruit for breakfast, or as a topping for your smoothie bowl.

Other delicious ideas are to create a breakfast parfait with your granola, serve it warm topped with vegan ice cream and jam, or alongside vegan yogurt on baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato toasts!

Once completely cool, you can store this granola in a glass jar for up to a month — however, we always eat it within a week.

glass jar in which freshly baked vegan date granola is being put with a spoon for meal prep

Tips & FAQs

Add-ins

Steel-cut oats
Nut butter
Raisins
Coconut shreds
Chocolate Chips
Cranberries
Pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts
Chopped apple or pear
Gingerbread spice
Cocoa powder, vanilla, or cloves

Is granola vegan-friendly?

That depends on the recipe or brand. Some can be fully vegan (even if not labeled as vegan!), while other granolas can be made with honey, milk powder, or milk chocolate.

Be sure to check the label before you buy!

white table with two glass jars filled with almond yogurt, mango, granola and blueberries

More tips

If you can’t get any dates, just use some aquafaba or applesauce with a touch of maple syrup instead! This will hold together your granola mixture.
Be sure to watch your granola in the oven and give it a stir so that smaller pieces don’t burn.
Bump up the calorie content and crispiness by adding oil to your granola mixture before baking.
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!

More breakfast ideas

Have you tried our vegan granola recipe, and which add-ins did you use? Feel free to comment below and rate our recipe! You can also Pin the recipe for later or tag us on Instagram if you made it – we’d love to see your creations!