Coconut Vanilla Grain-Free Granola
Banish boring morning breakfasts and sprinkle some delicious homemade granola into your day. This recipe for healthy Coconut Vanilla Granola is vegan, Paleo-friendly, grain-free, and just all-around tasty.
This grain-free granola recipe is from certified nutritionist Sarah Britton and inspired by a bowl of oatmeal she had one morning: “I had a revelation recently where I was eating my bowl full of oats with my oat granola on top, and I was sort of feeling like there were too many oats going on. So I had this idea to make a grain-free granola using only nuts and seeds, and it turned out delicious.”
In addition to being delicious, it’s also healthy — superstar ingredients like chia seeds add a great amount of fiber, protein, and healthy fats.
Next time you need a delicious topping for yogurt or oatmeal, a crunchy smoothie bowl topping, or a quick and easy snack, give this Coconut Vanilla Grain-Free Granola a whirl.
Coconut Vanilla Grain-Free Granola Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 cup expeller-pressed coconut oil
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
2 cups / 275g raw nuts
2 cups / 250g sunflower seeds
1 cup / 80g unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup / 60g large coconut flakes
3 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C.
Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Keep an eye on the pan because the oil will melt quickly and you don’t want it to get too hot. Whisk in maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse to a rough chop. Then, add the sunflower seeds and pulse to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the coconut, chia, and cinnamon, stirring well to combine. Pour the wet ingredients over and stir well to coat. Transfer mix to a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to bake.
Bake granola for 30-35 minutes, stirring once after 15 minutes, then every 5 minutes until golden (watch the edges — they burn quickly!). A good indicator of the doneness are the coconut chips — they’ll be a nice golden brown.
Remove the granola from the oven, let it cool completely, and store for up to a month in a large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Tips:
This recipe calls for expeller-pressed coconut oil. You can use virgin coconut oil in this recipe for a more coconut-forward flavor.
You can use any nuts in this recipe, but it’s recommended to use nuts that bake in similar lengths of time. Almonds and hazelnuts are quite similar in their properties so they make a great pair, as well as pecans and walnuts. You can also choose to include only one type of nut.
Buying nuts and seeds in the bulk section can help you save money, and you’ll get the exact amount you need.
You could chop the ingredients by hand, but it saves time to use a food processor.
It seems contradictory, but using salt in this recipe will help bring out the sweetness in the other ingredients.
Feel free to flavor this granola in a number of ways. Orange zest and warming spices like cardamom can be nice additions, as well as cacao powder for chocolate granola. As long as you’re not changing the ratio of wet to dry ingredients, you can mix it up however you like!
When putting granola on the baking sheet in preparation to bake, add thicker amounts of granola on the edges, as that is where they tend to burn.
Flipping the granola can be messy, but there’s an easier way to do it. Take the corners of the parchment paper, fold the sides in, then get your spatula in the center and flip the granola to the outside edges.
Let the granola cool before storing to preserve the crunchy texture. It will last up to a month.
Looking to take this granola on a hike? Snack on this recipe while on the trail, then check out these yoga poses for hikers afterward to ease your post-trail pain. You can also practice full-length yoga flows online with a free 14-day trial to Alo Moves.
RECIPE COURTESY OF SARAH BRITTON:
Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sarah is the creative force behind My New Roots, the award-winning food blog which features original recipes that taste great, look beautiful, and boast incredible health benefits. Following her philosophy of “making healthy choices every day”, she has been creating recipes for her readers all over the world since 2007.
Winner of the 2014 Saveur “Best Food Blog – Special Diets Blog” Awards, Sarah currently teaches cooking classes, runs workshops on detoxification and cleansing, food as medicine, and nutrition fundamentals. She creates exclusive menu plans and recipes for various media and gives lectures and speaks in public forums such as TEDx.
