Compare granola

Research · Granola

What our research found about granola

Granola looks like a health food, but the clusters are usually held together with syrups, sugars, and oils, so it is often closer to a dessert topping than a plain whole grain. Serving sizes are small (often a quarter to two-thirds of a cup), which makes a granola look lower in sugar than the amount most people pour. Among the granolas with recorded labels, the main differences are the sweetener (cane sugar, honey, maple, dates, or non-sugar sweeteners), the oil, and whether nuts or seeds do most of the work.

Grain-free and keto styles swap oats for nuts and seeds and are typically higher in fat and protein; they are a different product from oat granola and should be compared against each other. If you are comparing granolas, line up the same serving weight in grams and compare added sugars and the first three ingredients.

Products

618 brands

Full labels recorded

1016% of the shelf

Maker says organic

15maker’s claim

List an added sweetener

1of 10 labels

List a seed oil

0of 10 labels

Typical label length

9ingredients (median)

Counts use complete, current ingredient labels only. Records without a published label stay unknown and are never counted as clean.

What to compare

• Added sugars per serving. Compare against the 50 g daily value; granolas range from low single digits to well over 10 g per small serving.
• Serving size in grams. Normalize to the same weight before comparing, since serving sizes vary widely.
• Oil type. Common oils are sunflower, coconut, olive and canola; the list tells you which is used.
• Nut and seed content. Granolas built on nuts and seeds are denser in fat and protein than oat-based ones.

References

1. Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. Added sugar in the diet Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
3. Nuts for the heart Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
4. Whole grains Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health