Last Updated on April 14, 2026 by Deliciously Organic Editor
This grape nuts cereal recipe is such a fun way to bring cereal back to breakfast without all the junk. Have you ever wanted a bowl of cereal, then you look at the ingredients and think, nope? Same.
Most store bought cereals are super processed. Even the ones that look “healthy” often have added sugar, seeds oils, and ingredients your body doesn’t need. A lot of cereal is also cooked at very high heat, which can damage the nutrients.
So I made a grape nuts cereal recipe that tastes like the crunchy classic, but uses simple, real ingredients.
Why I love this grape nuts cereal recipe
Here’s why this recipe works so well.
- It’s gluten free and grain free
- It’s lightly sweetened with raw honey
- It’s crunchy, filling, and made with nutrient dense ingredients
- It’s baked at home, so you know exactly what’s in it
- If you miss cereal, this is the answer.
Why I stopped buying boxed cereal
I used to think cereal was a “safe” comfort food. But most cereal is one of the most processed foods in the store. Many brands use extreme heat and pressure to make flakes and crunchy shapes. Then they add sugar and oil so it tastes good and stays crisp.
Even if the label looks clean, the process matters. That’s why I’d rather make this cereal at home.
What makes this grape nuts cereal recipe a better option
This recipe is made with real ingredients that feel better in the body. It’s also more steady for blood sugar than most cereals.
This is also a great breakfast if you want a break from eggs, but still want something filling.
How to eat this grape nuts cereal recipe:
Here are a few easy ways to enjoy homemade grape nuts.
- Pour it in a bowl and add milk of choice
- Top yogurt or kefir with a handful for crunch
- Add berries and a spoon of chia seeds
- Sprinkle it on baked apples or pears
- Pack some in a jar for an on the go snack
Simple swaps add up
This recipe is a reminder that nourishing food doesn’t have to be hard. Small swaps can add up over time. This one still feels like a treat, but it’s made with ingredients you can trust. Enjoy!
PrintGrape Nuts Cereal Recipe (Gluten-Free)
I recommend making double the recipe, since it only serves four.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 hours
- Total Time: 10 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170ºF or as low as your oven will go (you can also make this cereal in a dehydrator). Whisk almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk coconut milk, honey and vanilla in a small bowl and pour over dry mixture. Stir until mixture forms a thick, wet dough. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour dough onto parchment. Using an offset spatula, spread the dough evenly over the pan. Dehydrate in the oven overnight, about 10 hours. Cool completely.
- Break cereal apart and feed through the tube of a food processor with the large-holed grater attached. (Alternatively, place all cereal pieces in a ziploc bag and crush the cereal by pounding the closed bag with the back of a skillet).
- Serve cereal with cold milk. Cereal will keep in an airtight container for about 1 month at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Serves 4
this is brilliant, Carrie!
Certainly a much better alternative to the store bought stuff!
I am really excited about trying this recipe. Sometimes I just want something crunchy! I can see eating this with a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate grain-free granola added on top. Try this great recipe for some chocolate and crunchy to top your yogurt! http://gourmandeinthekitchen.com/2012/gluten-free-grain-free-chocolate-granola-recipe/ Thanks for sharing. I love your blog.
I love Sylvie’s recipes! I haven’t tried her grain free chocolate granola yet, but it’s on my list! 🙂
Oooh I will definitely be trying this today or tomorrow. I have made a similar recipe from Sally Fallon’s “Eat Fat, Lose Fat,” but this is easier and naturally gluten-free, which we need. Excited! Thanks, Carrie!
I love (and miss) Grape Nuts so excited to find this recipe. Is the coconut milk supposed to be the thin carton kind or the thick canned kind?
I recommend pure coconut milk found in the can as opposed to coconut beverage. 🙂
Yay! Grain free cereal. When you first suggested eating this way a while back I thought you were a bit crazy. But now I get it and I feel so much better. Thanks for that! I have really missed cereal, though, so I can’t wait to try this!
LOVE this recipe!! Huge fan of Grape Nuts.
DO you think this would work the same subbing 1 for 1 the coconut flour for ww flour? We don’t have gluten issues so the ww flour would be easier for us 😉
I haven’t tested it, but I would use 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour for the almond and coconut flours. If the dough seems too tacky, add a bit more flour. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Coconut milk in a can, or the refrigerated kind? 🙂
I used organic canned coconut milk. I prefer it to the refrigerated kind because it has less preservatives.
Canned coconut milk. BPA, yikes! I think you can make your own coconut milk with some dehydrated coconut , water and a blender. Or I like Pacific Foods coconut milk- min. preservatives.
I use Native Forest which doesn’t contain BPA, but homemade coconut milk should work fine as well.
This always confuses me also with coconut milk in recipes. So In The can, do you drain the liquid first or shake it all together to get the correct one cup measurement? Thank you! Excited to make this!!
Shake it all up. 🙂
OK, you are on – going to try this, as long as I can meet the captcha code, so frustrating.
I’m sorry the captcha is frustrating. I had many issues with people hacking into my site, so I had to set up captcha codes to help with that issue.
I’m determined to wean my children off of store bought cereals. Even though I buy the “healthy” brands I know they’ll be so much better off if I can transition them to something more substantial in the morning. This cereal sounds like a great place to start. What’s involved with dehydrating it in the oven? Do I leave it on a very low temperature over night? Thanks.
All that’s involved is putting it in the oven and leaving it there overnight as instructed in the recipe. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
So it stays all night with the oven on? I was confused by the recipe as well. Keep the oven on all night at 170, correct?
Yes, keep in the oven all night.
We actually just went through are last box of “Organic” cereal. I have been feeling a bit on the guilty side as it makes for a quick breakfast. Now that I am feeling better we have been able to get back to Juicing in the mornings so hopefully that will give me the energy needed to get breakfast back on the Right track. This recipe is surely going to be incorporated. Thank you for sharing.
Angelina
WOW!! wonderful! thanks…will be making this soon…perhaps in an hour or two!!
Wow!! Sooooo good! Just made my first batch last night! I had a hard time sleeping as I was so eager to eat it!! Will definitely make it again soon!!
Carrie, this sounds delicious!
the house smells so good! can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow. (or a midnight snack?)
I think I just heard a choir of Angels singing! This looks heavenly! Cannot wait to try!
Really? It’s that easy? I blush, thinking about how much money I spend trying to find “healthy” cereal and it’s not all that good for me. Thanks for the education. And recipe!
Just finished! The kids have asked me every half hour when it would be done. It smells a lot like graham crackers here and we thought that they might be good left in chunks to make smores. I know they wouldn’t hold together as well but they would be an easy alternative.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I had the same thought (substituting for graham crackers for smores). It would be nice all crumbled up with some homemade marshmallows and chocolate. Yum!
You should see me right now. My mouth is hanging open in disbelief. I had no idea that all cereals were so bad! I have been buying Organic and trying to keep it as natural as possible… but wow. What you described is gross! Thanks for this recipe… will be trying it!
Do you use 1 c. of canned coconut milk in this grape nut recipe or refrigerated coconut milk?
Thanks!
I used canned organic Thai Kitchens milk for this recipe.
Absolutely yummiest homemade cereal…..thx Carrie! It has been very hard for our family to maintain a grain- free diet since moving overseas this year. Your post about cereals was timely – as breakfast is where we often slip up. This is soooo good and will be a perfect healthly addition to our breakfast rotations.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the kind words.
I really didn’t know that you can make your own homemade cereals at home. This is, for sure, the best possible version of cereals, healthy and without additional sugar or aromas ( like those we usually buy). Will have to make them. Thanks for sharing this one. Have a great week! 🙂
Love this!!! Just let my youngest have regular grape nuts -he will be so happy!
I am really trying to be careful w/ all the nuts though. They can lead to other issues from what I have been reading. I will for sure be making and most likely sharing on my FB page. Thanks!!!
I used to love Grape Nuts in my wheat eating days. I will always remember Euell Gibbons commercial….staring at a tree and saying “many parts are edible”. Many people joked that the cereal was made out of a tree stump.
Tried this recipe it tastes really good! But my food processor just pulverized the cereal, so next time I will just smash it in a bag. And there will be a next time!
Thank you so much for posting this, I can’t wait to try it! I make my own almond milk and have not figured out a way to use the flour yet. I am such a minimalist when it comes to kitchen appliances and don’t have a dehydrator so I wonder how to get the almond leftover pulp to become flour. Anyway, so glad that you mention you can use an oven (which I DO have), and a skillet (check) instead of a dehydrator and food processor for the minimalist like me!
AMAZING! I have made 6 batches already!! My whole family loooooves it. I quit eating grains earlier this summer so I am thrilled to have cereal again. I have used a couple batches as “cookies” and left them in large pieces. Thinking about making s’mores with them when it gets cold!
Thanks for the feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love the idea of using them for smores!
This is such a great idea!! I have to try it 🙂
Help! My cereal didn’t crisp up. I cooked for 10 hours at 170 & it’s still soft. What did I do wrong? 🙁
Is it particularly humid where you are? This can play into how long it takes to dehydrate. For instance, I live in the desert so it only takes me about 10 hours, but my friend who lives in a more humid climate needs at least 10 hours or more. I would just leave it in there for a couple more hours and keep an eye on it until it’s crisp.
Just curious… I am not a fan of coconut but I would love to try this. Do you think there is another liquid I could use instead? Does the cereal have a coconut taste to it because of the milk?
You could also use heavy cream. The actual cereal doesn’t have a coconut taste, and I ate it with some fresh milk. If you’re looking for a non-dairy alternative maybe almond milk would be a good choice.
Seems a bit silly to ask – but why the oven instead of a dehydrator? I dehydrate meals for camping a lot and would rather leave the dehydrator on all night than the oven. (our gas oven cycles on and off a lot.
Thanks
A dehydrator will work great. I don’t own one, so that’s why the instructions call for a low-temp oven.
This looks delicious! Would TJ’s almond meal work?
Almond meal will work well!
Is there any reason I can’t omit the honey?
I don’t think the mixture would have enough moisture to hold together properly. You might be able to increase the liquid a bit, but I’ve never tried it.
Cool I’ll try a batch with Manuka Honey and one without.
Carrie I will have to try this. i have been busy cooking from your cookbookthat I have not been checking the blog as often. I am loving the cookbook and my food does not look like your pictures but the taste is amazing. My 4 yr old boys absolutely love the beef stroganoff (spelling??) We made the raspberry muffins this morning and your strawberry shake is a hit. I did not put the egg, I am a bit scared of them ingesting a raw egg. Any advice to help with this? I hosted a dinner for New Year and made the risotto and everyone loved it. Thanks so much!
Thank you for the kind words! I understand your hesitation with serving raw egg yolks. Here’s a great article about eggs – if you scroll about half-way down you’ll see the title, “How to Cook Your Eggs, or Not”, and it gives some great info about eating raw eggs. http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/eat-eggs-and-have-chicken-too
I used to love grape nuts. This sounds great, but I am allergic to almonds. Any suggestion for an alternative to the almond flour?
She told me I could use whole wheat flour in place of! Hope this helps!
Thank you for the suggestion. I was hoping for a gluten free alternative.
I am going to try it with tiger nut flour (not actually a nut, but a tuber and, to me, tastes like oats and almonds combined) in place of the almond flour.
I am on an AIP diet and cannot have nuts at this time. I think the tiger nut flour might work even better than almond flour! I am so excited to try this recipe! I used to love Grape Nuts before going GF and I miss them a lot!!
This was delicious! We all loved it and my 18MO loved it as graham crackers! As mentioned it doubles well for this. I subbed raw heavy cream b/c I didn’t have coconut milk and it worked perfectly. Will try almond milk next since two of my kids have dairy sensitivities. Thanks so much for sharing!
I LOVED this cereal. I made my own almond flour by processing blanched slivered almonds in my food processor. I also made my own coconut milk. I used maple syrup instead of honey (or maybe I used a combination – can’t remember even though it was just a few days ag0). Delicious. I was amazed how it turned out after the 10 hours in the oven at 170F. Paleo Perfection! It’s a great breakfast with fruit and homemade almond milk after my morning workouts. Very portable… toss some into a tupperware and bring to work. I might actually write a review on my blog linking back to your website. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
OH MY GOSH! Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe this! My toddler and I were eating this straight out of the bowl before dehydrating it, it is sooo good! I did make some substitutions simply because I didn’t have some things. We used maple syrup for the honey, and almond extract for the vanilla extract (it really brought out the almond flour)! I can’t wait for it to be done to try it dehydrated! I’ve really been craving crunchy cereal since going grain free! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Almond extract sounds perfect for this recipe!
Wish it was nut free…our big boy (8 years old) was tested for having a class 5 allergy to peanuts and a class 3 to walnuts so I am afraid to try any other kind of nuts…I bet it is yummy though 🙂
This looks good!. I love your recipes!.
Thanks for the amazing looking Recipe. I’m trying to follow a low carb diet as well and was wondering if I could substitute the honey with a low carb ( xylitol) honey or low carb maple syrup/ or any other suggestions?
I haven’t tested it, but you could probably use a low-carb maple syrup. But keep in mind that that kind of maple syrup is processed so if you’re wanting to avoid processed foods it probably isn’t the best choice.
I am allergic to nuts. Is there anyway I could use only coconut flour or substitute tapioca flour/starch for the almond flour? If so, what amounts and do I need to change the amounts of the liquids in the recipe? Can’t wait to get your answer and hopefully make this recipe. Grapenuts use to be my husband’s favorite cereal. Thank you
I haven’t tested it, but I hear sunflower seed flour is a good 1:1 replacement for almond flour.
You are my hero. We are about to start GAPS and I’ve of my worries was finding cereal my son would like. One of his favs is crunchy flax which is very similar to Grape nuts, so I have high hopes for this. Making it tomorrow for sure!
Hello,
This is my family’s new favorite! Thank you so very much. I was wondering if this recipe would work without sweetener. What do you think? I am more excited about keeping the crunch ant texture of this recipe and less concerned with the level of sweet.
Thank you,
Karen
The honey helps the dough stay together, so maybe trying to reduce it down to 1 tablespoon would work. If the dough is too crumby then I’d add a bit of coconut milk.
I love grape nuts cereal but I am not doing grains. I saw this and I tried the recipe, it did not bake up like you picture it was more like a thin layered bread or a cracker, it was not dark like yours and crispy like grape nuts. I don’t know what I did wrong, I want very much to learn how to make this right please help me with this
Lynn Mann
Hmm…I’m not sure what happened. Did you make any substitutions? What brand of almond flour did you use? Sorry for all of the questions, but the more I know the better I can help trouble shoot. Thanks!
Hi, Could it be made with all almond flour. We have gluten issues and coconut issues. I was going to swap the coconut for almond milk. Just not sure of what to replace the coconut flour with. Almond is the only nut he is not allergic to. Thanks
HI, Ok here is what I did: I used an extra 1/2 cup of almond flour in place of the coconut flour . 1 cup coconut milk , I change to almond milk. 3 tablespoons honey I used Maple syrup instead. I put in food dehydrator and after 10 hours I moved it to the stove at 170 for another 2 hours. The I turned off stove left in oven over night. I had to go to bed. It had a great taste but it has not as hard as grape nuts. It had the testure of sort of soft or stale crackers. What should I try next.
I’m not really sure, as I haven’t tested this recipe with substitutions. Maybe some arrowroot flour would help them be more crunchy.
I usesd honeyville almond flour
I made this last night hoping to enjoy a yummy bowl this morning. I followed the recipe to a T. Left it in the oven overnight ( a total of 10.5) hours. Let it cool, and placed it in the food processor like stated. I ended up with a bowl of crumbs, powdery crumbs. Something akin to a graham cracker crust crumb substance. If this was placed in any liquid it would turn to a mud like substance. What went wrong?
If it turned to crumbs, then it was probably processed in the food processor for too long. I would process it only until there are coarse crumbs or larger chunks next time.
I read on another grape-nuts style recipe to break up the sheet of dough and run it through a meat grinder instead of a food processor- you’ll get coarser crumbs that way
I used to make this with wheat and we loved to take the pan out while warm and break it up while watching a show and eating it as we went. Then I would dry it out again in the oven for 30-60 minutes and stirring. Maybe not as small but I didn’t have a food processor. Still good. Now I am looking for a gluten free version. My kids are asking for it.
This recipe is LOVELY! I have missed Grape Nuts so badly since I went grain free and this really hit the spot and filled that void! I made it “just for me”, but my kids devoured it in no time! Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This sounds amazing. I’ve made it seven months into my pregnancy without giving into my crazy cereal cravings, but now I can indulge! Thank you! How do you think adding chia or flax seeds would change the recipe? Would ground be better? We want to add an extra health boost! Thanks!
I haven’t tested it, but adding some could add some extra crunch. Make sure and soak the flaxseeds ahead of time to reduce the anti-nutrients. Here’s a post about that: https://deliciouslyorganic.net/soaking-nuts-seeds-grains-legumes/
I’m wondering what other flour would work. I can’t do almond or coconut. Has anyone tries Sunflower seed flour, quinoa, brown rice, or amaranth?
Hi can you make a grapenut pudding using this cereal?
I am excited to make this! Could I substitute Reduced Fat Coconut Milk in place of the full fat version? And could I swap out maple syrup for the honey? I’m not a huge fan of honey. Thank you!
Christin
I haven’t tested this recipe with substitutions, so I’m not sure what would work that would product the exact same texture and flavor.
Can you please tell me what size one serving is? And also how many carbs are in one serving? thank you!
Thank you for this recipe and all the feedback. I used 2 T. honey and 1 T. maple syrup. I had just under a cup of thick Thai Kitchen organic canned coconut milk and that amount worked just right– so next time with a full cup of coconut milk I might be able to cut one of the tablespoons of sweetener and sub a little stevia.
I found a very easy way to get the mixed dough evenly thin. I used a tortilla press, an ice cream scoop (3-Tablespoon size) and a folded piece of parchment paper (or 2 approx. 6-inch squares of parchment).
I pressed once gently so scoop of dough was about 1/4 inch thick, turned papers around and gave another very gentle press. This made the dough into a nice thin 5.5 inch disk. Put as is on cookie sheet(s). I thought I could peel the top layer of parchment right off, but saw the paper was lifting some of the batter. I pressed a light finger right in the middle of each top parchment so the dough disk would be just a bit thinner in the center. A few hours later (just before I went to bed) I flipped each parchment “sandwich” over and was able to peel what was the bottom sheet right off. By morning the disks were fragrant, warmly crisp and a light golden color. They broke so nicely into whatever size I wanted I didn’t bother grating or using the s-blade of the food processor. If I kept the used parchment squares I cold probably use them one more time.
Maybe rolling all or part of dough between 2 pieces of parchment with a rolling pin would work similarly but I really enjoyed using the tortilla press. My oven’s lowest temp is 175 degrees–that worked great.
Additionally as this was the first time I tried this recipe I tried part of the dough in a dehydrator. Mine goes to only 145 degrees and it was still softish and not evenly dry in the morning. I also tried a little dough pressed onto a greased stoneware pan in same oven as I baked the parchment covered disks. That also did not work good and stuck to the stoneware. I definitely will continue to use the tortilla press on your wonderful recipe.
YUMMMM! I’m eating a bowl of this as I type and it is super delicious! I used a keto honey substitute to make this keto. I’m so glad I took your advice and made a double batch. I love that it keeps deliciously crispy crunchy texture even in milk! I’m going to use the smaller crumbs as a graham cracker crumb substitute in a future recipe! 😃