Updated November 2026 · 4 min read
The short answer
Granola can be healthy, but most shop-bought and café versions are closer to a dessert. The crunchy clusters are usually held together with honey, syrup or sugar, and dried fruit and sweetened yoghurt add more. Look for a granola with 5g of sugar or less per 100g, nuts and seeds high on the ingredients list, and plain yoghurt on top. Or make your own.
A bowl of granola with yoghurt and berries looks like the healthiest thing on the brunch menu. Oats, nuts, fruit, yoghurt. What's not to like? Quite a lot, depending on how it's made.
Why granola can be so high in sugar
The clusters
Granola's crunch comes from baking oats and nuts with a sticky binder. That binder is almost always a sugar: honey, maple syrup, rice malt syrup, golden syrup, brown sugar or agave. "Natural" sweeteners still count as sugar.
The dried fruit
Drying fruit removes the water but keeps the sugar, so it's easy to eat a lot without noticing. A small handful of raisins has the sugar of a big bunch of grapes you'd never eat in one sitting. More in why dried fruit isn't the healthiest snack.
The toppings
Flavoured yoghurt, a drizzle of honey and a fruit compote can add as much sugar again as the granola itself.
How to choose a better granola
- Check sugars per 100g. 5g or under is low. Many granolas are several times that. Our label reading guide shows you how.
- Look at the first three ingredients. You want oats, nuts or seeds, not syrup.
- Prefer nuts and seeds over dried fruit. More protein, fibre and healthy fat; less sugar.
- Watch the portion. Granola is dense. A quarter to a third of a cup is a serve, not a full bowl.
- Top with plain yoghurt and fresh berries instead of flavoured yoghurt and honey.
At a café?
Ask if the yoghurt is plain and skip the honey or compote. Or go savoury. Eggs, smashed avo or a veggie-heavy plate will keep you fuller for longer and won't drop your energy at 11am.
Make your own
Homemade granola is cheaper and you control what goes in. Toast oats (or buckwheat), nuts, seeds and coconut with a little coconut oil and cinnamon, and let a small amount of egg white or nut butter do the clustering instead of syrup. It keeps for two weeks in a jar.
Frequently asked questions
Is granola good for weight loss?
It depends on the granola. Low-sugar versions with nuts and seeds can be part of a filling breakfast, but sugary granola is energy-dense and easy to overeat. Portion matters.
Is granola better than muesli?
Untoasted muesli is usually lower in sugar and fat because it isn't baked with a sweet binder. Choose one without added sugar or lots of dried fruit.
How much sugar is too much in granola?
Aim for 5g of sugar or less per 100g. Anything over 15g per 100g is closer to a treat than a breakfast staple.
Breakfasts that don't crash you at 11am
The 8-Week Program plans every breakfast for you, including a crunchy homemade granola in Week 1, with shopping lists and 600+ real-food recipes. One payment, 16 weeks of access.
General information only, not medical advice.
