How Sweet is Granola? Granola Sugar Values and Low-Sugar Options

By Kate Springer

Recently, some customers have been asking how much sugar we add to our granola, and for good reason. Many people think of granola as a healthy food, and, in many instances it is. There are, however, lots of large brand name, mass-market granolas which contain an unhealthy amount of added, processed sugars. We are here to answer a few common questions about sugar and granola, and provide some clarity on the sugar content in True North Granola.

How Much Sugar is in Granola?

Many mass-market granolas often have at least 9 grams sugar per serving, which is typically about ¼ cup, or 28 grams. For reference, ¼  cup of Honey Nut Cheerios also contains 9 grams of sugar. Many specialty granolas, however, contain much less sugar, typically only 3 – 6 grams per serving.

Is Granola Good for You?

Like many things in life, it depends. A majority of the mass-produced granolas that you will find in big grocery stores are high in sugar and have very little nutritional value.

Granola can also be fiber-rich, and contain healthy ingredients, plus very little (or no) added sugars. Pay attention to the ingredient list and nutrition labels. Any granolas with 5 or more grams of added sugar per serving are probably unhealthy.

Low-Sugar Granola Options

How Much Sugar is Used in True North’s Granolas?

• Most of our granolas have just 2 grams of added sugar per serving, and we even have two varieties which have no added sugars. When you look at our granolas, the total sugar values may appear to be high. The total sugar value, however, is not all that it seems: total sugar includes both the sugar that naturally occurs in ingredients plus what we add (if anything).

• First Date Granola has 3 grams of sugar, but that value is from the naturally-occurring sugar in date powder, one of the main ingredients in the product, and perhaps other ingredients. There is no added sugar in First Date Granola.
• There also is no added sugar in our Nutty No Grainer Mediterranean Blend.  With regard to our other Nutty No Grainer (NNG) varieties, NNG Original has 3 grams of sugar, broken down to 1 gram of natural sugar and 2 grams of added sugar; NNG Blueberry and NNG Cranberry each contain 4 grams of total sugar, with only 2 grams added. The ‘added sugar’ in these 3 varieties comes from Vermont-made maple syrup, provided by Hidden Springs Maple in Putney. from maple syrup, which is considered a non-processed sugar with a much lower glycemic index than white processed sugar.  You will see that most of the sugar values in our products comes from the sugar that is naturally contained in the ingredients, not what we add.
• In 10 of our 17 products, the sugar that we do add is minimal, and is Hidden Springs Maple’s syrup. Based on the data below, you can see that typically, we only add about 2 grams of added sugar to our granolas, a low number, and much less than other granolas on the market.

As a comparison, take a well-known granola brand that claims to use whole ingredients that are found in nature. There are 6 grams of sugar per ¼ cup serving of their chocolate granola, all of which is added cane sugar. Similarly, another large granola brand, which emphasizes its use of real, wholesome ingredients, puts 9.5 grams of sugar into ¼ cup of their fruit & nut granola.

Unlike brands like these, our products are low in sugar, but still delicious! We hope this clarifies things for our loyal customers, and makes you more confident in choosing our products.