I’m excited to share this gluten free granola with apple butter recipe not just because it’s absolutely amazingly delicious, but also because it is so tasty that it won an award for “Ingenious Use of Apple Butter” at the national food blogger Big Summer Potluck! It was one of my proudest moments. Ah … ok. Anyway ….
If nothing else, hopefully that will at least convince you to think outside the cereal box and make your own delectable homemade gluten free granola, too!
The best thing about making homemade granola is that you can make it your way. Take my recipe, for example. If you don’t happen to like sunflower seeds, leave them out. If you like walnuts better than pecans, make that substitution; don’t do nuts? leave them out altogether! If you prefer sweetened coconut over unsweetened, make it happen!
Seriously, there’s no magic to making granola. It’s so easy and so convenient to have on hand with mylk/milk for breakfast, over yogurt, topping ice cream or just eaten by the handfuls. (no shame!)
It’s also way cheaper to make your own and tailor it your way. Using yummy natural ingredients like applesauce or apple butter, agave, blackstrap molasses and pure maple syrup also means the granola is going to taste spectacular!
Be sure to use only oats grown according to a Purity Protocol. These oats are typically also certified gluten free, but not all certified gluten free oats are “purity protocol” oats.
Here’s more info on how to find purity protocol gluten free oats and why it matters.
In response to customer requests, I also offer them in my gfJules Shop so you can combine delivery when you place an order for your favorite gfJules products. The one pound bag of organic, purity protocol gluten free oats available in my shop is the perfect amount for this recipe of gluten free granola!
And if you don’t do oats at all, try my recipe for gluten free granola made from quinoa … we call it “Quinola!”
Gluten Free Granola with Apple Butter
Make homemade gluten free granola -- your way! Every time you make this recipe it can be a little different, based upon what you have on hand, the seasons, or your mood ... because it's your (safe) gluten free granola!
Ingredients
Ingredients (note: most are optional)*
- 3/4 cup apple butter OR natural applesauce (make your own)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup OR dark agave nectar
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 Tbs. light agave nectar OR honey
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups certified gluten-free purity protocol oats OR quinoa flakes OR rice flakes
- 1 cup pecans, chopped*
- 1 cup grated coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)*
- 3/4 cup sunflower OR pumpkin seeds*
- 1/2 cup flaxseed meal*
- 2 Tbs. peanut butter powder*
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds, sliced*
- 1 cup dried cranberries OR baking raisins or dried, chopped fruit (like apples, golden raisins, etc.)*
- Dash of salt (unless seeds are salted)
- 2 Tbs. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Stir together all liquid ingredients in a small pot on the stove over low heat until smooth. Set aside.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Pour warmed liquid over the dry mix and combine thoroughly.
Spread evenly over two large, parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and remove the cookie sheets. Stir and redistribute granola with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Return the sheets to the still-warm oven for 5 minutes, or until desired crunchiness is achieved.
When cooled, seal in airtight containers.
Nutrition Information
Yield 18 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 278Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 0mgSodium 52mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 5gSugar 25gProtein 5g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
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Wow! This smells and tastes amazing. The only change I made is the butter. Went to Trader Joe’s and all they had was fig butter. That is so yummy. Can’t wait to use it on toast. I usually make a grain free granola but it is much more labor in intensive and it’s cooked in a dehydrator. I hope I can keep some of this for my fruit and yogurt in the morning. I can see me munching on this all day. Thanks for posting it.
ok, so I located the apple butter (4 stores later!), and finally got to making it. This does have more liquid/wet then other ones I have made. So I thought this was going to be it! Finally – no more buying granola! However, it came out over done :(. Do you have any suggestions on what to do – I feel like such a granola failure. I have half the batch still remaining (small oven and can only fit in one cookie sheet at a time)
PS: The parts that didn’t come out too over done tasted fab though and I really want to get this right!
Hi Danielle, I would definitely cut back on the temperature of your oven, then. Bake for a much lower temperature for a longer time, stirring periodically. Treat the oven as if it’s dehydrating, rather than baking, and that will prevent it from over-cooking. Smart to stop in the middle and regroup before over-cooking the next batch. Let me know how it goes and good luck!
Thanks! I will give that a try and let you know!
Definitely going to make this for Christmas gifts!!!
What a great idea Juli!
YUM. Just made this recipe… didn’t have apple butter so I used applesauce and it worked just great. Thank you for another great recipe!
That’s great, Donna! So glad the applesauce worked great too! Thanks for letting me know!