Granola, a delightful breakfast companion, is a baked version of muesli, often sweetened with a touch of syrup. While I find its sugary allure addictive, I prefer to indulge sparingly. The perfect granola, in my opinion, boasts golden clusters, a subtle sweetness, a hint of salt, and a delightful mix of whole grains, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. Toasted coconut is a personal favorite, adding a unique depth of flavor.
Our granola taste test revealed a diverse range, from nutty bargains to indulgent, sugar-laden treats, and surprisingly, some healthy, low-sugar options. Here's a breakdown of the best supermarket granola finds:
The Best Overall:
- Eat Natural Low-Sugar Granola: This granola offers medium-roast oat clusters with a generous dose of toasted coconut, sunflower seeds, almonds, and pumpkin seeds. Flavored with buckwheat and sweetened with just 4.4% sugar, it's a perfect balance of taste and health.
The Best Bargain:
- Tesco Finest Super Nutty Granola: A classic granola with generous dark-roasted oat clusters, spelt, barley, and a generous 15% nuts, including almonds. With 12% sugar, it's not overly sweet, but the added flavoring seems unnecessary. A brilliant value for a tasty treat.
Other Notable Mentions:
Scrumshus The Premium Granola: A floral, aromatic granola with dark-roast oats sweetened with honey and maple syrup. Packed with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, it's super sweet (31.6% sugar) and indulgent, perfect for a dessert-like breakfast.
Bio&Me Super Seedy & Nutty Granola: A healthy, savory wholefood granola with small, dark-roasted oat clusters, puffed brown rice, buckwheat, and quinoa. Made with extra-virgin olive oil and no added sugars (9.7% overall), it's a nutritious option.
Nibs Etc Rye, Hazelnut & Cacao Granola: A small-batch, UK-made granola sweetened with upcycled apple pulp and maple syrup. Fortified with sunflower seeds and hazelnuts, it's a savory (11% sugar) and eco-conscious choice.
Morrisons The Best Nuts & Seed Granola: A classic granola with small oat clusters, seeds, and nuts, including pecans. With almost 20% nuts and seeds, it's a great value, but lacks dried fruit. The coconut stands out, and it contains uncertified palm oil and 13% sugar.
Spoon x Manilife Peanut Butter Granola: Small peanut-coated granola clusters with raisins and peanuts, and 13% peanut butter. Sweetened with date syrup (16% sugar), it's a nutty option with a low to moderate GI.
Gail's Toasted Coconut Rye & Maple Granola: Small, well-roasted oat, rye, and millet clusters with coconut and vanilla. Very sweet (17% sugar) with muscovado sugar and maple syrup, but lacking nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.
Dorset Cereals Nutty Granola: Small, medium-roast oat and rye clusters sweetened with golden syrup (13.1% sugar). Light on nuts (7.5%) and lacking dried fruit.
Fuel10K Chocolate Chunks Granola: Big, crunchy oat clusters with pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate. Fortified with wheat protein and vitamins, but contains glucose and 17.5% sugar, which may contradict its health claims.
So, which granola will you be trying first? And do you prefer a sweet or savory granola experience? Let's discuss in the comments!
