This paleo gingerbread granola is made with all the good stuff, just nuts, seeds and natural sweeteners with a wintertime twist perfect for the holidays. Gluten-free and grain-free!

Last Wednesday I felt a tickle in one side of my throat. Just one side.
It stayed that way for the next 48 hours, juuuuust long enough to make me thing “ok, maybe I’m not getting sick and it’s just something weird”.
Then Friday came, shit hit the fan and my throat grew daggers that made every single swallow a torturous event.
Usually when I get sick, the sore throat thing is the first symptom but goes away once the head cold part takes over.
This time, the sore throat decided to stick around for the main event and my entire weekend became a game of “how long can I go without swallowing?” because it hurt that much.
Couple that with the fact that it snowed out of nowhere yesterday morning (gross) and it all of a sudden very much feels like winter is here.
So, I figured in that case, it was time to break out the gingerbread with some oat-free gingerbread granola!
We’ve all got our Thanksgiving menus planned by now anyway, right?
I’ve been eyeing the paleo granola in my girl, Lexi’s new cookbook, Lexi’s Clean Kitchen since it arrived.
Not that I’m not down for some oats (um…I loooove this gingerbread oatmeal recipe), but when it comes to granola, I actually prefer it to be mostly nuts, seeds and fruit and this recipe is exactly that all in the most crunchy, sweet and perfectly crumbly way.
If you’re an oat person, try my no nut granola! It’s pretty much the opposite of this recipe but also a good one!
The recipe already called for molasses (which is genius because it lends a great natural stickiness for getting those perfect granola clumps) so it was primed and ready for a gingerbread twist.
Molasses and gingerbread were made for each other too.
I adore the combination in these molasses chocolate chunk gingerbread cookies and gingerbread waffles.
With the addition of some ground ginger and optional candied ginger pieces, I turned the paleo granola from the cookbook into paleo gingerbread granola!
Weirdly, my throat doesn’t seem to hurt as much when I’m actually swallowing liquids or food.
So the weekend basically turned into a constant rotation of shoveling gingerbread granola in my face (with a little almond milk being my favorite way to eat it), downing copious amounts of Kevita’s lemon cayenne probiotic drink (<–new fave!) or sipping sore throat lemon echinacea tea.
I also made some cassava flour pancakes one day with this gingerbread granola as a topping and let me tell you, that combo is some breakfast goals right there!
If this cold doesn’t go away soon, at least there’s still half a tray of this gingerbread granola left.
‘Tis the season for gingerbread so get your fill with this chocolate gingerbread loaf, dairy free gingerbread pudding or gingerbread peanut butter!
The loaf and peanut butter make great edible gift ideas just like this granola! You can even pair them with a copy of Lexi’s Clean Kitchen . Happy holidays!
Love this Gingerbread Granola recipe?
Try other granola recipes like: Coconut almond granola, Tart Cherry Chocolate Granola and Cashew Quinoa Granola.
Paleo Gingerbread Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw slivered almonds
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, I used pepitas instead
- 2 tablespoons maple sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger, my addition
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg-white, whisked
- Optional: 3 tablespoons chopped candied ginger, my addition
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the nuts and seeds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped into rice-sized pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the nuts, seeds, maple sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and candied ginger if using.
- In a small saucepan, heat the honey, maple syrup, molasses and vanilla until boiling. Once boiling, add to the nut mixture and stir until well combined.
- Add the whisked egg-white to the bowl and mix well.
- Spread the mixture out onto the lined baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Watch the granola towards the end to avoid burning. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
This granola is SOOO good! The honey, maple, and molasses – so so good! love to have this on my oatmeal, since I hate plain oatmeal. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! I love all things gingerbread, especially when permitted for breakfast :)
Can you make this without so much sugar but that it still holds together? Trying to reduce sugar intake to burn fat.
Hi Sasha- This recipe comes from Lexi’s cookbook, Lexi’s Clean Kitchen so it’s not my creation and I haven’t played with altering amounts. I’m betting you could omit the maple sugar without incident but I would think the liquid sugars like honey, maple syrup and molasses impact how the granola binds together so I’m not sure how much you could decrease those amounts without affecting how well the granola sticks together. Granola is pretty forgiving though so play around with what you’re comfortable with and see how it works! It’s not like it will end up inedible, just might not be a “clustered” as shown.
Thank you for sharing your recipe, I also often suffer from sore throat, and sometimes do not know what to eat just easier to swallow just get out off the disease as fast as possible. Ginger, lemon drink and granola are all things I like. I will apply this dish regularly!