For many, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and granola remains a popular choice for a quick and tasty start. But with shelves stacked high with options, how do you choose the best one? We conducted a thorough taste test of widely available supermarket granolas, judging them on flavour, the quality of their ingredients, and overall value for money.
The Granola Gold Standard: What Makes a Winner?
Granola, distinct from muesli, is baked with a sugar syrup such as honey or maple, making it inherently sweet. The ideal granola, however, strikes a careful balance. It should feature satisfying golden clusters that are sweet but not overly so, with a touch of salt to enhance the flavour. A good mix of whole grains, nuts, seeds, and sometimes dried fruit or toasted coconut adds texture and complexity. In terms of sugar content, under 10% is considered low, while over 15% is high.
Our testing revealed a surprisingly high standard across the board, from nutty bargains to indulgent, sugar-packed treats and some genuinely healthy, low-sugar wholefood options.
The Top Picks From Our Taste Test
After extensive crunching, several products stood out from the crowd for different reasons.
Best Overall: Eat Natural Low-Sugar Granola
Priced at £4.10 for a 450g bag at Sainsbury's and Ocado (91p per 100g), this was our top scorer. It offers clusters of medium-roast oats with a generous helping of toasted coconut, sunflower seeds, almonds, and pumpkin seeds. Flavoured with buckwheat, it is sweetened with coconut blossom nectar and prebiotic chicory root fibre, resulting in an impressively low sugar content of just 4.4%.
Best Bargain: Tesco Finest Super Nutty Granola
For brilliant value, this Tesco option is hard to beat at £3 for 500g (60p per 100g). It provides generous clusters of dark roasted oats, spelt, and barley, alongside a substantial 15% nut content including almonds. With 12% sugar, it's not too sweet, though it does contain added flavouring. It remains a tasty, classic granola at a fantastic price.
Other Notable Contenders and Ones to Avoid
The market offers great variety, catering to different tastes and budgets.
Scrumshus The Premium Granola (96p/100g at Waitrose) features large, dark-roast clusters sweetened generously with honey and maple syrup. Packed with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, it is wonderfully indulgent but very sweet at 31.6% sugar, making it more of a dessert than a daily breakfast.
Bio&Me Super Seedy & Nutty Granola (from 82p/100g) is a healthy, almost savoury wholefood option. It contains small clusters of oats, puffed brown rice, buckwheat, and quinoa, with an incredible range of nuts and seeds. Made with extra-virgin olive oil and no added sugars, it has just 9.7% sugar overall.
Nibs Etc Rye, Hazelnut & Cacao Granola (£1.53/100g at Ocado) is a small-batch, UK-made product. It features cacao-rich rye clusters sweetened with upcycled British apple pulp and maple syrup. With just 11% sugar, it's a quite savoury splurge for the health and eco-conscious.
At the other end of the spectrum, Fuel10K Chocolate Chunks Granola (from 75p/100g) was our lowest-rated product. While it has big, crunchy oat clusters and dark chocolate, it is fortified with wheat protein, which gave it an odd taste reminiscent of baby rusks. With 17.5% sugar, including glucose, its health messaging seems contradictory.
Other tested products included Morrisons The Best Nuts & Seed Granola (60p/100g), Spoon x Manilife Peanut Butter Granola (from 75p/100g), Gail's Toasted Coconut Rye & Maple Granola (£1.57/100g), and Dorset Cereals Nutty Granola (89p/100g).
Ultimately, whether you prioritise low sugar, high nut content, indulgent flavour, or pure value, there is a standout granola on UK supermarket shelves to suit your breakfast bowl.
