The Best Grain Free and Paleo Granolas on the Market

No matter how many homemade gluten free granola recipes I come up with, I love being able to reach into my pantry for some store bought granola when life gets busy. Since I'm one of the many people with celiac disease who can’t tolerate even gluten free oats, though, even many gluten free granolas are off limits for me. Grain free and paleo granola to the rescue!

In particular, I'm rounding up five grain free and paleo granolas that I've discovered (and consistently devoured) in the four years since my celiac diagnosis. Included are paleo and vegan granola options, refined sugar free granola, chewy granola, crunchy granola and everything in between. The only things these granolas have in common? They’re all grain free (and gluten free, obviously)...and they’re all crazy delicious.

So whether you follow a paleo diet, have celiac disease and can’t eat oats or just love yummy food, keep reading to discover my top five favorite store-bought grain free granolas. 

1. Bee Free’s Warrior Mix

These paleo granolas aren’t ordered by any kind of ranking; however, I thought it’d be only fitting to mention the newest-granola-to-me first: Bee Free’s Warrior Mix. Made with ingredients like almonds, seeds and honey, all the Warrior Mix flavors are intended to be “clean fuel” that tastes like dessert. Bee Free was kind enough to send me a bag of every flavor, which range from Original to Apple Pie to Spicy Chocolate, in return for an honest review (<--- yay full disclosure, as usual!). Considering that I've been munching down on this gluten free granola every night for two weeks straight, I can attest that the Warrior Mix is addictively good!

If you like soft, clumpy granola with a little bit of crunch, Bee Free’s Warrior Mix is your snacking soul mate. I’ve been mainly digging into the Original flavor so far, and I love that it’s sweet without tasting sugary and mixes small and medium chunks of nuts and seeds for a variety of textures. The Warrior Mix is the perfect crumbly topping for yogurt or smoothies, but I’ve also been eating it straight out of the bag (often with banana and nut butter) for a quick snack. 

2. Grandy Oats’ Coconola

Craving a bowl of gluten free granola with an even bigger crunch factor than The Warrior Mix? Then get ready to drool over Grandy Oats’ paleo granola, Coconola, which replaces oats with crispy coconut flakes.  

Out of their three varieties (Original, Chocolate Chunk and Super Hemp Blend), the latter two are vegan as well as grain free. Coconola is sweeter than other varieties of paleo granola I’ve tried, but that’s more of an observation than a complaint. As I’ve shared in previous blog posts, Coconola is super crunchy, which makes it the optimal topping for kitchen experiments like superfood banana coins or yogurt bowls. As an added bonus, when you get to the bottom of the bag and have already devoured all the crunchy granola clumps, I swear that the crumbs taste like some magical combination of cinnamon sugar and sprinkles!

3. Whole Me

I have Instagram to thank for stumbling upon this third paleo granola brand, which just happens to be made in Minneapolis (very near where I’m living for grad school). Whole Me is packed with wholesome ingredients like fruit, coconut, nuts and seeds. Similar to The Warrior Mix, Whole Me has a softer texture and is made of whole foods like nuts, seeds, fruit and coconut. 

Whole Me's paleo granola is unique, however, in how compactly all the ingredients pressed together. As a result, Whole Me's gluten free granola actually consists of granola squares that almost look like paleo granola bars, except they crumble easily. My favorite flavor of theirs is definitely Cinnamon Banana Chip, though Lemon Berry Chia is a very close second.  

4. Julie's Real

This is another paleo granola I discovered through the magic of Instagram (follow me and watch my InstaStories for lots of behind-the-(blog)-scenes product finds and reviews). Since winning some mini packs of this gluten free granola from Julie’s Real a few weeks ago, this granola has become one of my favorite sweet snacks to take with me during busy days of class. 

I’ll say one thing straight up: compared to other clumpy and cluster-filled paleo granolas I’ve tried, Julie’s Real’s versions are looser and more like trail mix...but it’s dang delicious trail mix, if you want to call it that. So far, I’ve tried Cinnamon Vanilla Bean and Cacao Coconut. I love that, unlike with some chocolate treats, the cacao in the latter flavor isn’t overwhelming. If you’re an almond lover, you’ll also enjoy the big chunks of crunchy almonds littered throughout both varieties. 

5. Wild Way

The last paleo granola I’ve tried and loved is actually one that I discovered while visiting family in Texas a few years ago. Thanks to the gloriousness of Amazon, though, Wildway’s paleo granola is now available throughout the US (and I’ve also started seeing it popping up in non-Texas-located Whole Foods). 

Wildway’s paleo granola is different first of all because it’s a grain free, vegan and refined sugar free granola. I promise, though, that this granola tastes so good, you won’t even miss the sweetener. I also love Wildway because it’s the chewiest gluten free granola I’ve ever tasted, and those bites with nuggets of fruit, coconut and nuts are totally moan-worthy. Anyone who says you can’t have dessert - or a killer sweet snack - while also ditching grains and refined sugar obviously hasn’t tried Wildway’s paleo granola...and is definitely missing out. 

The Bottom Line

If I had to name one food I couldn’t live without, grain free and paleo granola would be high on the list. It can be crunchy or chewy (or something in between), made without dairy or eggs or even refined sugar...and (most importantly, of course!) it tastes delicious on just about everything. (And trust me - I've tried putting granola on a lot of things.)

When you have the extra time and energy, baking up your own batch of homemade gluten free granola is definitely a worthy venture. But when you need a paleo snack or a delicious gluten free dessert ASAP, any of these grain free and paleo granolas would be a tasty choice. Just don't ask me which brand I consider my number one favorite...though I wouldn't mind taste-testing all of the above for the rest of my life to find out!

Like this post? Tweet me some love by clicking here: "Follow a #paleo diet, need to eat #glutenfree for #celiac or just love yummy food? Today, I'm sharing my top 5 #grainfree store-bought granolas. #Healthy and #allergyfriendly snacking has never been easier! http://bit.ly/2GCHhbi"

*This post is not sponsored, although I did receive Bee Free's The Warrior Mix for free in return for an honest review. However, I honestly adore and already do or would purchase all of these granolas regularly. All opinions and photographs are my own, and I hope this list helps others with celiac disease who can't eat oats or people who avoid grains learn of some new brands to consider trying!*


Do you like your granola chewy or crunchy? Have you tried any of these brands before - or do you know of another grain free/paleo granola I need to add to my culinary bucketlist? Tell me in the comments!