Coconut Almond Granola
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Published Jun 05, 2017, Updated May 17, 2023
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This coconut almond granola is extra crunchy and clumps up perfectly! And it’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar. Vegan & gluten-free.
Oh granola!! It has the perfect amount of crunch, as well as, a sugar, fat, salt ratio that makes it 100% delicious and addictive as all get out.
Baked & Wired sells granola called Hippie Crack and I honestly think that’s the perfect way to describe all granola. At least for me because I literally have zero portion control when it comes to granola.
Anyhow, because of my deep granola love I decided that this year I wanted to make an EBF house granola. A simple base recipe that I adored. One that I’d be happy to make and eat on the regular, but also one that could easily be adapted.
I had some ambitious goals. I wanted the granola to be gluten-free, vegan, naturally sweetened, low in sugar AND super chunky with large clumps. As you probably know, this was no small feat considering sugar is one of the things that really binds granola together and makes it clump.
I knew it might take some experimenting, but I was determined to find a granola solution so over the past few months Maria and I have tested about six different recipes.
We experimented with a variety of different natural sweeteners. First, we tried heating the sugar and coconut oil in a saucepan until bubbly so it would be thicker and hold together better. Then, we tried parchment paper vs no parchment, baking stone vs baking sheet, stirring vs no stirring. It was quite a process.
None of the recipes were a complete flop (they all got eaten), but when we made this coconut almond granola with the flaxseed I knew we’d found the winning combo. It was perfectly sweet (only 3 Tablespoons of maple syrup for the whole batch), light and crunchy with BIG clumpy, granola clusters. Hooray!
How to Get Granola to Clump
The trick to the crunchy clusters/clumps = flaxseed and water, basically a flaxseed egg. I noticed that many granola recipes called for egg whites (or hot water) to help create clusters so I decided to try ground flaxseed with water and it worked like a charm.
This coconut almond granola has the full package — great flavor, crunch and clumps… all without a ton of sugar. Each 1/4 cup serving has only 4 grams of sugar.
And as I mentioned before this granola recipe is 100% customizable so feel free to use your favorite nuts and add-ins. I love the combo of coconut and almonds so that’s what I went with, but I’m sure I’ll be experimenting and posting variations of the recipe soon. I’m thinking a chocolate version needs to happen next.
Love granola? You might also enjoy these recipes
- Easy Grain Free Granola
- Hemp Granola
- Granola Butter
- Chocolate Granola
- Pumpkin Granola
- Granola Cookies
Coconut Granola
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 Tablespoons hot water
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup chopped or slivered almonds
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
- â…› teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Whisk together flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add all remaining ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine. Add in flaxseed mixture and toss again.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread granola mixture onto the sheet, pressing the mixture down with a spatula.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring once about 20 minutes in. Once you stir the granola, be sure to press it back down with the spatula. Granola is done when it’s dry, crunchy and golden in color.
- Let the granola cool completely on the pan before stirring. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you omit make the coconut sugar and add more maple syrup???
Hey Jen! I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure how it’d turn out. It might end up being too liquidy, but you could certainly try it with just maple syrup and no coconut sugar. Let me know if you do and how it turns out!
This stuff is so good I’ve made it every single week for the past 2-ish months. Me and my fiance eat it plain, with yogurt, in overnight oats, etc. I made a batch and brought it with me on a business trip to have a healthy snack available. Each time it’s a little different, and each time, it’s delicious. I will never buy store-bought granola again!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Sarah!! I’m so glad this granola is a hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
Loved this! Perfect snack on top of greek yogurt. Might try adding more nuts next time for an extra crunch.
Can you omit the coconut sugar?
I just made this and its so delicious! I love how its not too sweet. For some reason, my batch did not clump up too well. Maybe I got one of the proportions wrong…?
But the flavor is great, I will be making it again for sure!
Bummer!! I’m sorry it didn’t clump together. Did you let it cool completely before stirring after removing it from the oven?
This looks amazing! Definitely going to try this!
I made this while I was wiped out after work, and it was a cinch. I subbed hazelnuts for almonds (work with what you’ve got!) and am now worried that the granola won’t make it til breakfast!
Yay!!! So pumped that you liked the recipe, Paula! I bet it’s delicious with the hazelnuts in there.
Awesome recipe Brittany, Thanks for Sharing
mmm, this looks like the perfect granola. can’t wait to give this a try.
I love coconut AND granola – so obviously I will have to give this one a go! 🙂