It has taken me so long to post a good granola recipe because I actually find granola quite hard to make. Sure, it seems simple. The fact is, though, that getting the balance of textures, sweetness and flavours right is harder than it should be. Obviously, I have finally settled on my perfect combination, hence this gluten free granola without oats.
Gluten free granola without oats
This gluten free granola recipe is made without oats. In Australia (where I live) oats are not considered gluten free. Because they contain a protein (avenin) that is very similar to gluten, Coeliac Australia advises that more testing needs to be done.
So! A gluten free, oat free granola. You might have guessed that this recipe uses rice flakes to replace the oats. I’ve made a delicious gluten free porridge with rice flakes, so it seemed the obvious place to start.
What I like about rice flakes is that they are neutral in flavour and hold up well to baking. Quinoa flakes, although arguably a more nutritional choice, have a unique taste and almost dissolve into powder when you mix them. Aesthetically, they don’t look like oats and they don’t clump in the same way.
Personally, I like a nut heavy granola. Because rice flakes don’t have the same nutty taste as oats, I find this granola benefits from a 1:1 ratio of nuts/seeds to rice flakes. There are still plenty of crispy golden rice flakes, but the nuts add flavour and general nuttiness. Plus, it makes for a delicious filling granola.
This granola is gluten free and vegan. It is easily adapted to be nut free and low FODMAP with some tweaks we will go into below.
Ingredient notes
In Australia, you can generally find rice flakes at the supermarket. I have tested this recipe using white rice flakes (poha) found in the Indian section of the supermarket, as well as brown rice flakes from the health food aisle. Both work nicely.
I know that it’s a bit annoying to use two sweeteners (maple syrup and rice malt syrup). It is for an important purpose, however. Maple syrup is great for adding caramel sweetness, but not for creating clumps of crunchy granola. Rice malt syrup is great for creating clumps, but not for adding a nice level of sweetness. Rice malt syrup is a very subtle and neutral sweetness which I find bland and boring (sorry). Combine the two, though? You’ve got the best of both worlds.
The rest of the ingredients in this gluten free granola are really up to you. I have specified 2 (Australian) cups of nuts and seeds, but left the door open to change them up as you see fit. I have written some notes about adjusting the nut content for a nut free granola or a low FODMAP granola below.
Recipe tips
- I feel this needs mentioning because people seem to skim over the notes. All the cup measures on this site are in Australian cups, because that is where I live. Australian cups and tablespoons are different to the measures in other countries (1 Australian tablespoon is 20ml, whereas most others are 15ml, for example). As such, I always recommend using the gram measures provided for accuracy. Grams are by far the most accurate measurements and are available to everyone. There is a function to toggle over to gram measures on American scales.
- Rice flakes are very crunchy raw, and remain quite crunchy after baking. To me, this makes them perfect for splashing with milk – they soften, but not excessively, leaving a good amount of crunch. With that said, they’re not pleasant to eat raw (just in case you lick the spoon like I do).
- Lining your baking tray is important here. Because the sugars melt together, they will end up stuck to the baking tray if left to their own devices. I use reusable baking paper.
- Leaving some small chunks in the mix is fine when you stir your granola. These chunks will help create a clumpy granola.
- Speaking of: don’t stir or touch the granola when it comes out of the oven. When the sugars cool they will glue the granola together, which you can then break into chunks.
- Once you have allowed the granola to cool, transfer it to an airtight container. If you leave it on the bench for too long the sugars will soften and the granola will become sticky rather than crispy.
Can I make this gluten free granola nut free?
Yes, you can. Use seeds to replace the nut content. I would recommend making the bulk of this larger seeds (like pepitas and sunflower seeds) as opposed to smaller ones like sesame. A large quantity of small seeds would be more at risk of burning and creating a granola that is too fine in consistency.
To replace the nut butter, you can use pepita butter, coconut butter or tahini. I daresay you could use any seed butter, but these are the ones I have tried.
Can I make this gluten free granola low FODMAP?
Yes, you can. First of all, I would recommend buying white rice flakes as opposed to brown rice flakes if you have the option.
Monash has an entry for rice flakes in their app, but it doesn’t mention whether these were brown or white rice flakes. While most (if not all) white rice products are listed as being Low FODMAP in serves of up to 500g on the app, brown rice flour is listed as being moderate for fructans in 100g serves.
Whether this is the same for white and brown rice flakes, I can’t say. I just figured that it might be worth mentioning.
If you have an easy choice between the two, white rice flakes might be lower FODMAP. Some nuts and seeds also have fructans as their primary FODMAP, so it makes sense to limit the fructan content where you can.
Next, the nuts. Monash have currently deleted the upper entries for many nuts which is annoying. The information I am currently going off is my own low FODMAP nut and seed guide. It is based on the entries in the Monash app before they were deleted. If this information changes on Monash’s end, I will update the posts to reflect this.
You can choose your own low FODMAP nuts, but be sure not to double or triple up on a singular FODMAP. If you’d prefer a low FODMAP granola recipe ready to go, see my recipe here.
More gluten free breakfast recipes
- Gluten free seeded bread without xanthan gum
- Grain free cassava flour pancakes
- Vegan, gluten free bagels without xanthan gum
- Gluten free porridge without oats
- Gluten free buckwheat bread
- Low FODMAP granola (gluten free, oat free)
Gluten free granola (no oats)
Ingredients
- 200 g (2 cups)* white or brown rice flakes
- 200-300 g (2 cups)* nuts and seeds of choice (suggested combination in the notes)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 125 g (1/3 cup)* rice malt syrup
- 75 g (1/4 cup)* maple syrup
- 75 g (1/4 cup)* natural smooth peanut butter (only ingredients should be peanuts and salt) or tahini or other nut butter of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F. Line a large rimmed baking tray.
- Add all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients, then stir thoroughly until all the nuts and seeds are thoroughly coated in the wet ingredients. Some small chunks of nut butter are OK, but large chunks of unmixed wet ingredients will make for an average granola.
- Once you’re happy, spread the granola onto your lined baking tray. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool almost completely on the tray to allow the granola to form clumps. Break the granola into clumps of your choosing. Serve with fruit and milk or yoghurt. Store leftovers in an airtight container on the bench.
Notes
- Australian cups are 250ml, whereas American cups are 240ml.
- If you intend to use cups to measure the nuts, using heaping 1/4 cups for each nut or seed.
- Serving sizes are highly dependent on how much granola you eat and what you’re eating it with.
- For a low FODMAP granola, see my recipe here.
- Mix of nuts that I used in the photos: (but you can use ¼ cups of each for more variety, or 1 cup of each depending on what you have on hand/dietaries:
- 75g (½ cup) walnuts or peanuts
- 75g (½ cup) almonds (I used a combination of slivered and flaked)
- 75g (½ cup) pepitas
- 30g (½ cup) shredded coconut or ½ cup hemp seeds
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