Nut Free Monster Cookie Granola

Nut Free Monster Cookie Granola is a fun twist on traditional granola made with oats, seeds, SunButter, and all the usual monster cookie additions, like chocolate chips, raisins, and M&Ms. Perfect to add to yogurt or munch on by the handful!

Nut Free, Peanut Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Egg Free

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by SunButter. Thank you for supporting the brands that make the Chelsey Amer Nutrition blog possible!

Last year around this time I shared a recipe for these delicious Nut Free Monster Cookies that are so fun to celebrate Valentine’s Day with. So naturally, this year when I was brainstorming recipes to share, I thought of cookies, but wanted to change things up. And that’s when I thought of Monster Cookie GRANOLA!

I freakin’ love granola. I think it’s the perfect snack to food prep in advance and enjoy all week long. A handful can be so satisfying, plus it makes any yogurt bowl taste THAT much better.

This Nut Free Monster Cookie Granola is…

• Freakin’ delicious!!
• Easy to make
• Fun for kids and adults
• Allergy-friendly
• Full of fiber
• Packed with healthy fats

Now you may be thinking… How is a dietitian encouraging people to use chocolate candies in granola… a breakfast food?!

Well, here’s the thing… when we put foods as off-limits, it makes us want them even more. So if you find yourself always craving chocolate and feeling out of control when you finally “give in” to your craving, then maybe eating it more regularly will help you. 

Oftentimes when we eat a food (like chocolate) more often, over time, it loses some of its appeal. It’s not as special because it’s not off limits anymore.

I have a friend who eats 1 or 2 Hershey kisses most mornings. She has a great relationship with sweets and she prefers to eat some chocolate most mornings. She doesn’t binge on an entire bag, but instead allows herself to have 1 or 2 every morning she feels like eating it.

You can get there too!

Of course, as a registered dietitian I think we should be mindful of our added sugar intake. But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat any added sugar!

It’s all about choosing the foods that are “worth it” to you. For example, chocolate is a “worth it” food to me because it’s delicious and I love it. Added sugar in tomato sauce, however, is not! So it’s all about being a conscious and aware consumer to minimize added sugar where it’s not needed.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Nut Free Monster Cookie Granola

You’ll need 8 ingredients to make this monster cookie granola, including: 

1. Rolled oats
2. Seeds (you can use any combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds)
3. Cinnamon
4. SunButter
5. Honey
6. Raisins
7. Chocolate chips
8. Chocolate candies

Oats are the base of this recipe. I prefer to use old-fashioned oats or rolled oats for this recipe. Steel cut oats won’t work because they’re too tough. Quick cooking oats will crumble a bit too much.

Seeds are the other base of this recipe. You can use any combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds, making sure you total about ¾ cup. I would also try to use some combination of pumpkin, sunflower, or flax seeds plus chia seeds. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds have a more similar texture versus chia seeds. Of course, if you don’t have nut allergies you can also use nuts in this recipe.

Cinnamon adds some extra flavor. Don’t leave it out! Plus, cinnamon can actually help stabilize blood sugar, so definitely don’t omit it!

SunButter helps bind the granola together. I love granola with big chunks and this is one of my secrets! Plus, you need a nut-free peanut butter swap to make monster cookies! Using SunButter instead of oil also helps boost the healthy fats in this recipe.

Honey is the other “liquid” that helps bind the granola together. You could try maple syrup or another liquid sweetener, but I’ve found that honey works the best. 

Add-ins like raisins, chocolate chips, and chocolate candies make this granola the “monster cookie” granola that it is! Of course, use what you have. Note that all of these add ins are added AFTER the granola bakes. If you add the raisins or chocolate earlier, you’ll get hard raisins and a mess.

How to Make Nut Free Monster Cookie Granola

I adapted this recipe from my Oil Free Granola and it comes out perfectly every time! The base of the recipe is basically the same…

First, combine the dry ingredients, including oats, seeds, cinnamon and salt.

Next, add the SunButter and honey to the dry ingredients. I like to microwave them together first to make it extra dippy, but you don’t have to do this step. It can be tough to mix them together, so really work it in! You want all of the dry ingredients to be coated with the wet ingredients to ensure you get those big chunks!

Then you’ll spread the granola on a large baking sheet. The key to getting large clusters when making granola is to push the granola together like it’s one big cookie. You’ll bake for an initial 15 minutes, then carefully flip it over and continue to bake for about 10 minutes (but check after 5 to make sure the edges don’t burn).

Only after the granola has cooled slightly do you add the mix-ins. This is really important because…

1. Raisins will harden if you bake them
2. Chocolate will get everywhere if you mix it into your granola too early (not a bad thing, just something to be aware of)

How to Store Monster Cookie Granola

Once the granola fully cools down you’ll want to store it in an airtight container. I like to keep it in the fridge to stay nice and crispy, but room temperature also works. 

I love to use these stasher bags or a glass jar to store my homemade granola, but any storage container will do.

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