- ½ cup packed pitted dates
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup sunflower seed butter
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 cups puffed brown rice
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 4 tbsp date sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of sea salt
The Crunchiest Sugar Free Granola






Fun fact about me : I love all things CRUNCHY (and I must admit, not always healthy…) My two ultimate guilty pleasures are:
- Chips // salt and vinegar are my absolute fave!
- Fries // if you have never tried Costco fries, where have you been?! You are missing out on the world’s crispiest fries!
I could eat soooo much of these two foods. If they were not as fatty, I would probably eat fries and chips every single day…
On the other hand, a crunchy food I never restrict myself of is GRANOLA.
I love the fact that granola is super crunchy, can be enjoyed on its own and with milk, is super nutritious and has full of nuts – I mean who can resist the decadence of nuts!
Lately, you might have noticed that I have been trying to reduce the amount of processed sugar I eat. I have been replacing white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar and even maple syrup with dates. Unfortunately, in a recipe you cannot simply swap out let’s say a cup of sugar with a cup of dates without affecting the texture of your food.
That is why I am here: to share with you some healthy, sugar free alternatives to your favorite recipes. I already have a number of sugar free recipes on my blog, but I thought that you’d love an alternative to traditional maple syrup or coconut sugar-sweetened granola.
That is how this crunchy, sugar free granola came to life!

For the base of this recipe, I used old fashioned oats + puffed brown rice. I had tried to add puffed rice to a batch of granola in the past and absolutely looooved the crunchiness it added so I thought it’d be a perfect addition to this granola recipe.
Also, because I had looooots of seeds and seed butter in my pantry, I made this granola 100% nut free. However, if you are allergic to seeds or simply prefer using nuts in your granola, feel free to swap out the sunflower seed butter with almond butter as well as the sunflower and pumpkin seeds with your favorite nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans…).
Lastly, you may notice that this granola is a bit darker than traditional granola. Nope, it ain’t burned… The reason for this darker hue is because I used date sugar to sweeten it. Date sugar made simply by dehydrating dates then grinding them into a sugar-like texture (here is an awesome recipe for making your own). For the purpose of keeping this recipe sugar free, I used date sugar, but if you don’t have any on hand or don’t want to make it, you can always use coconut sugar instead OR keep it sugar free by simply adding some dried fruits to your granola right before storing it in jars. This will ensure you add sweetness to every bite.
Anyways, I am done chit chatting about this granola and my love for crunchy foods.
I really hope you guys try it and if you do, snap a photo, share in on social media and tag me (@muriellebanackissa) in it.