This gluten-free easy turmeric spiced granola recipe is a great meal prep breakfast or snack for a busy week ahead!

Store Bought Granola vs. Homemade

One of the biggest challenges of switching to a gluten-free diet is finding good alternatives for pantry staples like granola. Store-bought granolas often contain hidden sugars and unhealthy ingredients, making them expensive and not always "healthy." Homemade granola, like this one or my spiced chai holiday granola, is easy to make with pantry staples, yielding more servings for half the price of store-bought versions.

Granola is so easy to make and even easier to customize to your liking!

What is Turmeric?

Turmeric, a versatile spice from Southeast Asia, is commonly used in Indian and Asian cuisines. Grown mainly in India, it belongs to the ginger family and adds an earthy flavor and vibrant golden color to dishes, from curries to teas. Known for its health benefits, turmeric contains curcumin, an anti-inflammatory compound that may improve heart health and prevent diseases like Alzheimer's. It has been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries and is also recognized for aiding liver and digestive issues.

This granola recipes features coconut shreds, raw pecans, and a number of spices!

Spice Ingredients

The key spice in this granola is turmeric, complemented by a blend of aromatic spices that balance its earthy flavor.

Cinnamon: A classic in granola, it adds a sweet, woody flavor that enhances the turmeric’s bitterness.
Ground Ginger: Offers a sweet and spicy profile, with a peppery note that balances the sweetness from maple syrup and coconut oil.
Cloves: This warm, aromatic spice provides richness and a hint of bitterness to counteract excessive sweetness.
Salt: A pinch enhances and brings all flavors together.

These five spices create a turmeric-forward blend that’s perfectly balanced between sweet, spicy, and warm.

This granola recipe comes together in less than an hour and makes the whole house smell heavenly. — This easy turmeric spiced granola recipe comes together in less than an hour and makes the whole house smell heavenly.

Which Oats Are Best?

The base of the granola starts with the oats; however, they can't just be any oats. Did you know there are four kinds of oats? There's steel-cut oats, old fashioned or rolled oats, quick oats, and instant oats. Many of us are probably most familiar with instant oats. Instant oats are usually found in microwavable oatmeal packages, commonly produced by Quaker Oats. Unfortunately, instant oats are a no-go for granola recipes because of their shape and texture. Instant oats naturally need less time to cook, and don't absorb enough flavor to make rich, delicious granola.

Steel-cut oats have a grain like texture, such as rice or barley. Because of this, they require more cooking time, as well as liquid. Ultimately, they aren't the best oat to use in granola. Finally, while you can use quick oats in granola recipes, like instant oats they have a shorter cook time. Ultimately, the best oat to use in granola is old fashion or rolled oats. Old fashion rolled oats have a thick-cut shape that is naturally thick and chewy. This texture yields the most flavorful results!

My favorite brand is from Bob's Red Mill, but Trader Joe's also has a good option!

Granola is the perfect addition to your morning breakfast!

The Final Ingredients

Now that we've covered the spices and oats, there are only a few more ingredients needed to make this gluten-free easy turmeric spiced granola recipe. Like I said before, you probably already have thee ingredients in your pantry! The first two ingredients are for texture. Granola would be very boring if it was just baked, spiced oats. For this recipe, I add in coconut chips and raw nuts. The coconut chips add a hint of sweetness and when cooked have a nice crunch to them. As for the nuts, I like to use pecans or walnuts but you can pick your favorite!

Finally, the liquid. Just like when you cook oatmeal, you need a liquid to transform the oats from dry to soft and fluffy. No milk or water needed for this granola though! Instead we'll be using sweetening agents. Because this recipe is also refined sugar free and has no added sugar, this recipe will utilize natural sweeteners. This recipe calls for equal parts coconut oil and maple syrup. The combination of the two yields a rich, warm flavor with a slightly sweet finish. And for an extra splash of sweetness, you'll need a hint of vanilla extract! The vanilla extract really brings out the sweetness of the cinnamon in the spices.

This granola is also great on the go for busy adults or little ones!

Tips for Making the Perfect Granola

While this granola recipe is very straightforward, here's a few tips to help you make the perfect batch:

Not a huge fan of coconut? Switch out the coconut oil for olive oil. As for the coconut chips, you can use chia or hemp seeds instead.
Do not use nuts with sugar or seasoning on them, as this will cause the nuts to burn. Furthermore, to prevent the raw nuts from burning, try to distribute them in the middle of the baking sheet. Those on the exterior will most likely burn unless you keep a watchful eye on the granola.
Lay two sheets of parchment paper over a large baking tray. Due to its color, turmeric can sometimes stain. Best to be overly careful with this spice!
If you're looking for more ingredients in your granola, try adding dried fruit. Just be sure to add it to the granola once it's finished cooking (no need to cook the dried fruit).
Not sure what to add the granola to? You can eat the granola with milk, yogurt, smoothie bowl, on its own as a trail mix alternative, or even with oatmeal!