This festive oil-free Christmas granola is the perfect crunchy treat to add to your holiday mornings. It is packed with warming gingerbread spices, maple syrup, honey, and dried cranberries for a wholesome and delicious way to enjoy the flavors of the season.
There’s nothing like the aroma of homemade granola baking in the oven, especially during the holiday season. This ginger bread granola is the perfect winter granola recipe that is sweet, crunchy, and wholesome.
Packed with seasonal spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, it fills your home with warmth and festive cheer. The refined sugar free granola is made with natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, and molasses to make it a healthy Christmas granola without sacrificing flavor. Almonds and pumpkin seeds add an extra crunch, while the dried cranberries add a pop of color and extra gooey sweetness.
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I wanted to make a festive winter granola without refined sugar and oil as the combination of those 2 foods will raise my fasting blood sugar. So many Christmas granolas contain a lot of processed oil and refined sugar; thus, I decided to make my own delicious granola spiced with festive flavors and cinnamon, which is fantastic for insulin resistance.
Since having a toddler, I have loved the Christmas spirit and holiday season as it brings back memories of how much I loved Christmas and all the pretty lights as a kid. My mom also used to make the best homemade granola for Christmas for the family to enjoy during the holiday season.
This crunchy granola is perfect for breakfast and also a great homemade Christmas granola gift that is healthy, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and flavored with Christmas spices. It’s easy to make in large batches, and its long shelf life means you can prepare it in advance so you are not super rushed at Christmas time.
How to Make Simple Christmas Granola Gifts
Food gifts are perfect for busy people who don’t always have the time to prepare healthy yet delicious meals or snacks. Many of us are so busy, but if you have the time to make homemade gifts such as Christmas granola, it is a thoughtful gift that doesn’t cost a fortune. If you like this Christmas granola recipe, double the recipe and store a big batch in glass mason jars to give away.
Mason jars are easily decorated with burlap circles covering the lid and secured with a cute ribbon or jute string that is tied around some red Christmas berries on pine branches for a beautiful handmade gift.
Whether sprinkled over yogurt, enjoyed with plant-based milk, or savored by the handful, this winter granola brings a festive twist to your holiday mornings! This Christmas granola also tastes great served with this homemade apple sauce and Greek yogurt served with an extra drizzle of honey for a healthy sweet snack or dessert. I don’t eat the classic desserts, but if I am craving something sweet after dinner, granola with yogurt, apple sauce, and honey hits the spot!
This ginger bread spiced granola is found in my Oil Free Granola Recipes E-book that you can subscribe to access in my library of free E-books. All the E-books are designed to be downloaded or printed on standard paper to create your own recipe book binder.
Christmas Granola Recipe:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup runny honey
- 1/3 cup almond slivers
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
How to Make Ginger Bread Granola:
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, honey, molasses, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until all the oats and nuts are evenly coated. Stir in the dried cranberries.
- Bake: Spread the granola mixture evenly across the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even baking.
Serving Tips and Substitutions
- Store in an airtight container such as a glass jar and enjoy it with yogurt and fresh fruit, plant-based milk, or on its own as a crunchy snack. Be sure to try making a yogurt and granola bowl with fresh fruit and this festive granola for a healthy breakfast that only takes 5 minutes to make!
- Serve as a healthy dessert with Greek yogurt or whipped cream with a cinnamon-spiced homemade apple sauce or fresh berries.
- For more festive flavors, add some orange zest and cardamon, which would complement the holiday spices used in this Christmas granola recipe.
- I used a combination of honey and maple syrup, but you can use only honey or maple syrup if you don’t have both. Just make sure you use runny honey.
- The vanilla extract may taste overpowering when you taste the granola raw, but trust me when I say the flavor changes once baked. Oil helps to make a granola crunchy, but I have found that when making an oil-free granola, the vanilla extract helps to coat all the ingredients and yields a delicious crunchy granola.
- Be sure to use gluten free oats if you want to make a gluten free granola.
- For an easy and healthy sweet snack serve the granola with some low fat yogurt with a drizzle of honey!
This festive winter granola with warm ginger bread spices and a touch of molasses is a joy to eat and a fantastic holiday gift. It’s a nutritious, oil-free, and refined sugar free granola option that supports optimal health. You can enjoy the holidays and Christmas spirit without compromising your weight loss or maintenance goals.
Many people pack on extra pounds during the holiday season, but you don’t have to. You can still enjoy the holidays and Christmas spirit by making healthier food options instead. Oils are extremely calorie dense, which can lead to weight gain, but you can make this healthier granola that is lower in calories per volume than most other granola recipes.
To help put the calorie density of oils into perspective, I have used Cronometer to calculate 1/3 cup of oats and 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Both ingredients are often used to make homemade granola. 1/3 cup of dry oats contains 102 calories, while 1 tbsp of coconut oil contains 122 calories. The intake of excess calories leads to weight gain, so by making this oil-free granola, you can eat a higher volume of food with fewer calories when it is oil-free.
1/3 cup of dry oats contains 4 grams of protein, 16 grams of healthy carbohydrates, 2 grams of fat, fiber, many B vitamins, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, and selenium. Oats in this quantity only has 0.3 grams of saturated fat.
1 tbsp of coconut oil contains 122 calories and 13 grams of fat. Of that total fat, 11 grams comes from saturated fats, which has been shown to increase insulin resistance in people with diabetes. Coconut oil contains no fiber that is essential for gut health, protein, vitamins, or minerals.
Dried oats used to make this oil free Christmas granola contain a balance of protein, carbs, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals with a smaller amount of calories than 1 tbsp of processed coconut oil that is high in saturated fat and contains no vitamins or minerals. I added unprocessed healthy fats to this granola by adding sunflower and pumpkin seeds that are nutrient dense.
Maintain a healthy weight during the Christmas season by making healthier food options. This recipe is a great way to keep your weight loss goals on track while nourishing your body.
Whether you make it for yourself or your family or gift it to friends, the combination of warm spices, crunchy nuts, and sweet cranberries is sure to bring holiday cheer to everyone. Plus, it makes your house smell amazing while it’s baking! Keep a jar of homemade granola handy for a quick breakfast or snack to enjoy during the holiday season.
Be sure to also check out my Oil Free Granola Recipes E-book that you can subscribe to access in my library of free E-books. All the E-books are designed to be downloaded or printed on standard paper to create your own recipe book binder.
Christmas Granola with Ginger Bread Spices – Oil Free & Healthy
Equipment
- 1 large baking tray
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 4 cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup runny honey
- ⅓ cup almond slivers
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, honey, molasses, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until all the oats and nuts are evenly coated then add in the dried cranberries.
- Spread the granola mixture evenly across the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350℉ stirring halfway through to ensure even baking.
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