This coconut granola is a big hit in our house – both Jared and I love it! My favorite pieces are the coconut flakes, they are SO crispy and caramelized. They are just too good. But Jared is partial to the bigger chunks with almonds and oats – there’s something in here for everyone.
This granola is naturally gluten-free, vegan, and uses no refined sugar. As someone who tends to like little pieces of chocolate in my granola (you can never have too much chocolate!) this is a much healthier but equally delicious granola option. It has so much coconut flavor, as it uses coconut flakes, shredded coconut, and coconut oil. It gets its sweetness from pure maple syrup, which also creates a really great depth of flavor.
I like to use this granola in my Tropical Parfaits, but it’s also so delicious on its own as a snack or just sprinkled over plain yogurt. You can’t go wrong!
Making the Coconut Granola
Making the coconut granola is super easy and it comes together quickly. Plus – no need to constant stirring, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I love something easy and delicious!
First, you will combine your oats, shredded coconut, coconut flakes, almonds, cinnamon and salt. If I happen to have them, I like to use extra thick oats (Bob Red’s Mill makes them!) because they add such a great texture to the granola. If you can’t find that, or don’t have it on hand, old fashioned oats are the next best thing! Also feel free to swap in different things. I like the slivered almonds because they help hold the granola chunks together. But don’t have slivered almonds? No problem! Use chopped raw almonds or cashews!
Once you have your dry ingredients together, combine your maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Pour that over the oat mixture and continue to stir until everything is evenly coated. Then spread the granola mixture out evenly on a large baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Use your rubber spatula to pack the granola together – it will help create those delicious chunks.
Bake for 15 minutes and then remove from the oven to gently toss the granola. Before putting the granola back in the oven to bake for 15 minutes more, spread the granola out evenly on the baking sheet. Again, use your rubber spatula to pack the granola together. You really want it to be one giant sheet of granola so that you can break it into bite size pieces when it is done baking and fully cooled.
The granola is ready when it’s golden brown all over and the coconut flakes are crisp. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Don’t touch it until it’s cool, it’s really important to let it be so that it can crisp up into chunks. It will get crunchy as it cools. Once the granola is cool, use your hands or a rubber spatula to gently break the granola into smaller bite size pieces.
Coconut Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F and prepare a large baking sheet by covering with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, shredded coconut, coconut flakes, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined.
- Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oats and stir to combine. Continue to mix until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread the granola mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to make sure the granola is spread out evenly to the edges of the baking sheet. Press down on the granola to pack it together. This will help create chunks!
- Bake for 15 minutes and then use a large spatula to gently toss the granola, spreading it out evenly again and packing it together before you put it back in the oven.
- Return to the oven and bake 15 minutes longer, until the granola is golden brown all over.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before you touch it. Cooling the granola in this shape will help you get big chunks of granola.
- Once the granola is cooled, use your spatula or your hands to break the granola into bite size pieces.
