Most granolas are made with wheat which contains gluten so it’s off limits to those on the gluten-free diet. When you locate some of the gluten-free granolas on the grocery (or health food) store shelves, you might not believe the price. Several brands run between $5.00 and $6.50 for a 12-14 oz. bag of granola. Bakery on Main makes an exceptional gluten-free granola but it’s not in our budget these days. Their granola bars are a little more reasonably priced and fairly good as granola bars go.
Luckily, we have several Trader Joe’s stores in our area and they have their own brand of gluten-free granola. The ingredients are pretty much the same as the Bakery on Main brand but no one has confirmed (to me) that it is indeed the same product. We really don’t care who makes it because it’s gluten-free, quite delicious and only $3.49 for a 12 oz. bag at Metro Atlanta Trader Joe’s stores. Bakery on Main granola is sold for over $6 a bag at Whole Foods and several other health food stores in our area.
Like most traditional granolas, the Trader Joe’s product (“Loaded Fruit & Nut”) is high in fat (21% DV per 3/4 cup serving) and high in fiber (11% DV per serving). It contains 4% of recommended calcium and 6% of iron needed per day. It has a whopping 20% of Vitamin E but only 2% of Vitamin A. Trader Joe’s granola is low in sodium and dairy free as well.
Trader Joe’s sells three flavors of gluten-free granola in the Atlanta market – flavors may vary per location:
- Loaded Fruit & Nut
- Cranberry Maple Nut
- Tropical Forest
We like the “Loaded Fruit & Nut” best, but all the flavors are very good. We tend to use this product more when traveling than at home. It’s easier to pack than a cereal box and stays fairly fresh in the original resealable package. But even if it didn’t, it would not matter since my husband (who can eat gluten) would inhale an entire bag in one sitting if I let him. It is that fabulous – to us anyway!
Let us know what your favorite gluten-free granola is in the comments below!
Note: Check out the entire list of “gluten-free” or “no gluten ingredients” product list available at Trader Joe’s.
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We don’t have Trader Joes in my area, but I have had the opportunity to try the gluten-free granola by Enjoy Life, which was pretty darn good. I wrote a review about it here.
From reviews such as yours, though, I really wish we had a Trader Joes in our area.
Bakery on Main is my favorite (I order it on amazon – it’s a little cheaper and free shipping), but Trader Joes is very good too. It does taste almost exactly like the BOM. I did not like the Enjoy Life granola at all, but I was never much of a granola fan before being gluten free, so maybe that’s why I like BOM (it’s not really like the old granola).
I do not like the Enjoy Life granola but it’s nice for those that need to avoid a lot of allergens. I thought it tasted like the old gluten granola which I also did not care for when I ate gluten. People on message boards often report that BOM and TJ’s granola is the same exact product but BOM said they can’t confirm (or deny) that Trader Joe’s repackages their granola. Either way we can’t tell the difference taste wise.