How To Make Healthy Gut Friendly Granola (Sugar Free)

This simple peanut butter granola has been a family staple for about 5 years now. It’s easy to whip up, contains no added sugar and it is absolutely delicious. It reminds me of a soft peanut butter cookie with the added benefit of chia and flax seed that your kids won’t even notice is there! Plus, this recipe includes instructions for soaking your oats to enhance digestibility! In this post, I’ll break down how you can make this gut-friendly granola a weekly breakfast staple- Trust me, you will be coming back to this one again and again!

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Is Granola Good For Gut Health?

Granola has long been pitched as a “crunchy” health food… Literally the term “crunchy granola people” comes from it so it has to be healthy, right?

When I started making a lot of our meals from scratch a few years ago, I really started examining the labels.

Even the health food store granola was chock full of so much sugar, preservatives and oats that are highly processed!

What does this mean? Well, foods that are high in sugar and highly processed are one of the leading causes of inflammation! This inflammation often starts in the gut and has been linked to many preventable chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease (SOURCE)!

As a nurse and mom, I want to make sure the food I eat and serve my family is low in sugar and as digestible as possible!

Link HERE for my favorite Weck storage jars!

So, the long answer to the question: “Is granola good for gut health?” is: It can be!

Making homemade granola with nutritiously soaked oats + added flax and chia is the best solution to still enjoying granola while lowering inflammation in your gut! This delicious granola recipe is loaded with healthy fats, good bacteria and natural sweeteners (aka NO ADDED SUGAR)!

How Soaking Grains Benefits the Digestive System

The key to creating gut friendly granola is to soak your oats overnight and here is why:

For centuries, our ancestors soaked grains such as millet, oats and bran to increase the bioavailability of minerals and make digestion easier… How did they know to do this without big scientific studies and gut biopsy? That will forever be a mystery. However, at some point in ancient civilization, it became common practice to soak oats and whole grains overnight before cooking.

With the scientific information we now have at our fingertips, we understand that soaking oats is beneficial because it breaks down the phytic acid in the oats.

Phytic acid is the major storage form of phosphorus in our foods. It occurs naturally in many grains but unfortunately, studies have found that it is also the major cause of food malabsorption in many individuals!

Source

According to a 2015 study “Phytic acid binds to minerals and makes them unavailable due to its chelating property. It has been reported that phytic acid inhibits the absorption of iron, zinc calcium, magnesium, and manganese”. (source).

Soaking oats and grains helps to break down the phytic acid that contributes to leaky gut syndrome and other forms of abdominal inflammation. This granola recipe incorporates soaked oats + other gut-loving ingredients to create a most nutritious breakfast option for you and your family!

The Best Way To Soak Oats

Just like every other topic in the “wellness” world, there is a lot of disagreement and controversy over “the right” way to prepare soaked oats. The one thing most experts agree on is that the formula for soaking oats is:

Water + Acid/Fermentation Ingredient (yogurt, kefir, apple cider vinegar) + Warmth (aka leaving out on the counter at room temp for a significant amount of time.) 

Yogurt and kefir are loaded with beneficial bacteria that help partially ferment and break down the phytic acid in the oats. This plays a significant role in making oats more digestible.

How exactly you prefer to do this is up to you. I prefer the neutral flavor that yogurt has. I have tried it with homemade kefir and it tends to hold on to the stronger kefir flavor which I don’t prefer for granola.

If You Want to Learn How to Make Your Own Kefir, Click here!

Here is the exact formula I use:

Per 1 cup of oats: 1 cup of warm water + 2 TBS of yogurt or kefir

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit out for at least 8 hours but preferably overnight.

Why You’ll Love This Gut Friendly Granola

I’ve been making this recipe for years and it is a family favorite. Here is why you should make this granola NOW:

• The creamy peanut butter mixture perfectly coats the clumps of granola and creates almost a cookie texture. YUM.
• It is extremely versatile. We use it in the morning on top of our yogurt or homemade kefir. It can be eaten like cereal with some delicious grass-fed milk. I also will bring it along to the park in baggies for a healthy, crunchy snack. 
• Kids love it! They don’t even notice the flax and chia seed that I sneak in which is a huge win for this mama!

NOTE: Don’t let the time commitment to making this gut friendly granola scare you off. The process is actually super easy. I’ve included a bake schedule to help keep your day organized!

Ingredients

• Filtered water
• Yogurt, Kefir or ACV
• Organic whole-rolled oats
• Organic creamy peanut butter (sugar free)
• Pure maple syrup
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Flax and chia seed (A blend like this is a great option)
• Toppings of your choice (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, coconut flakes, large flake sea salt, dried fruit, flax seeds, coconut chips, banana chips, etc…)

Gather Supplies

• airtight container
• metal spatula
• large bowl
• cheesecloth
• baking sheet
• parchment paper
• Glass jar or plastic storage bags

Let’s Make Homemade Granola!

• The day before you want gut-friendly granola start the oat-soaking process.

The formula I use for soaking oats is 1:1:2 TBS. That is 1 cup of water to every 1 cup of oats, plus 2 TBS of yogurt or kefir.

• Combine 3 cups of organic rolled oats with 3 cups of water and approx 6 TBS of yogurt in a large glass bowl. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap. Leave the oats out on the counter overnight or at least 8 hours. The longer the oats soak in the fermentation mixture, the more phytic acid breaks down and the oats become more digestible. I usually mix the oats up at night to let it go overnight on the counter and resume baking in the AM.
• The next morning, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Grab a large bowl, cheesecloth, and the soaking oats from the night before.

• Now this part can be pretty messy so I usually do this over the sink. Working in portions of about .5 cup – 1 cup, scoop oats out of the container and place in the cheesecloth. Tightly squeeze the cheesecloth over the bowl or sink to drain out the liquid. It’s VERY important that you squeeze out as much liquid as possible or this granola will turn into a sloppy mess. I usually do 2 rounds of squeezing/draining until all the liquid is drained out. The oats will still seem wet when you are done. Kind of the texture of a really dry bowl of oatmeal.  

• After all the liquid has been drained out of the oats, spread the oats out evenly on the baking sheets and place in the oven. Try to get the oast to be in as thin of a layer as you can.

• Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the baking trays from the oven. Use a metal spatula to break up the clumps and flip over so that the oats get toasty on both sides. Place back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Note: This step is important because it helps dry out the oats a bit before adding the peanut buttter mixture. If the oats are too sloppy/wet when you add the rest of the ingredients it turns into a dough like mixture that will not resemble granola.

• Remove baking sheets from the oven and let them rest on the stovetop.
• In a large pot or dutch oven, mix peanut butter and maple syrup and heat over medium heat until the mixture is melted together and creamy.
• Add flax/chia seed, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir.
• Add the toasted oats to the pot and stir until coated. Don’t over stir or the oats can become mushy again.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. (I just reuse the ones from the toasting process) Spread the granola mixture out evenly, using a metal spatula to break up clumps. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes, remove the trays from the oven and use a metal spatula to break up the clumps, and flip the granola so both sides get toasty.
• Place trays back in the oven for another 25 minutes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This granola tends to have a softer texture than traditional granolas, especially after storing for a few days in a glass jar. This is because traditional granolas bake oats at a very high temperature so as to make quickly. This high temp baking renders the oat nutrients very damaged and makes them harder to digest. I recommend baking at 350 degrees or lower. I personally love the texture of a slightly chewy granola- it reminds me of a peanutbutter cookie! If you still want your granoa to have a nice crunch, you can bake this longer than an hour, until the granola has the crunchy texture you prefer. Just remember to remove the sheets from the oven every 15 minutes and break up/ flip the granola.

• Remove trays from the oven.
• After removing the granola from the oven drizzle the surface with honey and flaky sea salt (Trust me, don’t skip the flaky salt!). Let the granola cool completely at room temperature before breaking up clumps and storing.

• Eat this granola recipe with fresh fruit, greek yogurt, or just by the fistful as I often do! Enjoy!
• Granola can be stored in a ziplock bag or glass jar with a lid for up to 2 weeks.
• If granola loses its crunchy texture while storing, simply place it on a sheet pan under a broiler for a few minutes until crispiness returns.

You can feel confident the natural ingredients of this granola will help fight inflammation and irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. If you are passionate about a healthy lifestyle like me, I can tell you from personal experience that gut-friendly recipes like this one have been key in supporting my gut microbiome, fighting leaky gut syndrome and helping me feel my best.

Want More Kid-Friendly Healthy Recipes?

Have you ever tried soaking your oats or grains? Tell me below!

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