This Tropical Coconut Oil Granola Recipe is guaranteed to make your morning more pleasant. Every spoonful takes your imagination to your favorite island destination. What better way to awaken the senses first thing in the morning?
I am a cereal-for-breakfast kind of person. Sure, pancakes and bacon & eggs are great, but I keep those for weekend breakfasts - that is, when I actually have time.
During the week, I have to have cereal. Firstly, I LOVE it, and secondly, it's quick!
Cereal is the Best Breakfast
Usually I cook some sort of hot cereal (oatmeal etc.) because most boxed cereal is just too sugary (aka unhealthy) for me. When I have cold cereal, it is most likely homemade granola. Take this awesome tropical version that I made with coconut oil, for example.
The benefit of homemade granola is that you know exactly what is and isn't in there. I like to increase the nutritional value by adding a variety of nuts and seeds (which can be adjusted according to taste preferences and availability).
To give this version a tropical twist, it uses not only coconut oil, but also shredded coconut, some orange zest, and pineapple chunks. Aloha!
Three Cheers for Coconut Oil
Do you love coconut oil as much as I do? It has become my favorite oil to bake with (just look at this coconut oil recipe collection), especially when making healthier desserts. If you think about it, a coconut is a super versatile food. Not only can you drink its milk, but you can also make coconut water, eat its meat, or extract its oil and use it for delicious recipes. I love coconuts. Thank you, Coconut Gods!
Now, there are different grades of coconut oil and I definitely always prefer the organic, virgin variety. I came to love it when I tested my Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies here.
Tropical Coconut Oil Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups oats old-fashioned/large flake
- ¾ cup almonds chopped
- ½ cup coconut shredded, unsweetened
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- â…› cup quinoa
- zest of ½ an orange
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown/raw/coconut sugar
- 1 cup candied pineapple chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan melt coconut oil, honey, sugar and vanilla extract over medium heat. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until evenly coated.
- Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown (an extra 5-10 minutes may be required).
- Sprinkle chopped pineapple over the granola and let cool. Once cool break granola into chunks and store in an airtight container or large ziploc bag.
- Enjoy with milk, over Greek yogurt or as snack.
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Emily
I like to whip coconut oil with raw shea and make a moisturizer. I also use it as a lip balm. Another great use for coconut oil is a deep conditioning hair treatment. I put it on the ends of my hair and let it sit for 30min to 1 hour then wash my hair as I normally would. The list goes on and on... coconut oil is amazing!
Diana
I use coconut oil for everything, cooking, teeth brushing, oil pulling, moisturizer. I eat it and feed it to my child and my dogs. I work in a deli and I carry a small jar with me and use it for burns. I also use it in homemade deodorant.
gala
I'd made fried potatoes
Melani
Cook shrimp scampi! I use the concentrate in my smoothies every morning.
Emily
I'd add some to my smoothies.
Richelle
I would make stove top popcorn. Mmmmmm! Although, your granola looks fab.