If you get tired of eating eggs every morning, this grain-free granola is delicious with some coconut or almond milk. I also eat granola as a snack, when I need some energy during the slow hours of the afternoon. It is packed with healthy fats and protein, keeping you fuller, longer. It is hard to beat in nutritional value.
When making granola at home, I really like the element of knowing exactly what is in it. I would rather not spend 15 extra minutes at the grocery store reading the back of every package to see the ingredient list. Also, I don’t know about you, but somehow they always add in one thing that I don’t like and would have to pick out. For me, it’s the extra large dried cherries. Now I completely avoid that and just put all of my favorite things (cashews, almonds, cranberries) into the mix. Go crazy in the bulk bins aisle. With homemade granola, you get to pick the flavors and exact content. If you want something warmer, you can also add vanilla or cinnamon – perfect granola for the fall.
Don’t skip the step of roasting everything in the oven. The nuts come out beautifully browned and the coconut flakes get nice and toasted. I usually make it in bulk and then store it in either a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container. This is such a simple and easy snack option that does not take very much time to make. Try it for yourself!
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, shelled
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cashews, almonds, coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds into a blender and pulse to break the mixture into smaller pieces.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the coconut oil, vanilla, and honey together for 40-50 seconds. Add in the mixture from the blender and the sunflower seeds, and stir to coat.
- Spread the mixture out onto the baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring once, until the mixture is lightly browned. Remove from heat. Stir in the dried cranberries and salt.
- Press the granola mixture together to form a flat, even surface. Cool for about 15 minutes, and then break into chunks. Store in an airtight container or resealable bag.
Made this granola tonight and it is so yummy! I used coconut nectar instead of honey and threw in a tablespoon of un-hulled sesame seeds. I’ll definitely be making this again.
That’s great Cindy! Coconut nectar is a great substitute for the honey.
We love love love this granola! This is my second time making it…in fact I have a batch in the oven right now. The roasting of the nuts & coconuts prior to mixing all the ingredients is key. So fast & easy! My family loves the way our home smells when this is in the oven. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Cindy, I’m just a newie to Paleo, and starting to gather breakfast ideas, can you tell me do you need to soak the nuts prior to making the granola? and if so when I have soaked mine in the past they seem to go soft and smell mouldy, what am I doing wrong
I was wondering how long this can be stored? Can I store it in the refrigerator for longer?
I usually keep this in the refrigerator, and it never stays around longer than a week but I am sure it would last longer than that. You could also freeze the granola and enjoy it later.
This is such a hit at all the functions I go to! & SOOOO easy to make. Lately, I’ve been substituting the pumpkin seeds for Pistachios but nobody seems to notice! I’ve even used this as my morning cereal… just add almond milk! 🙂
Granola as cereal is a great Paleo breakfast idea!
Good granola! I substituted some of the nuts for more seeds including some chia seeds. This recipe is a keeper. Be sure to let cool before breaking apart.
Chia seeds are definitely a nutritious addition to the granola, thanks for the suggestion.
Love Love Love this granola! I made double and took them with me on family trip to Hawaii. It saved me from eating bad airport foods, and kept me full during the long flights. Very easy to make, and my kids love them too!
I take it traveling too! It’s great to hear that the kids enjoy it as well.
1/4 cup pistachios, 1/3 cup dried blueberries, 1/3 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 cup oatmeal (gluten free), 1/4 cup flax seed, 1/2 cup almonds, 1/2 pumpkin seeds, 1-2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1 tsp honey, sea salt, 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
this is my granola
Thank you for sharing Ernie!
Just made this !! My My Great recipe , Can’t Wait To Make More Of Your recipes … Sweeeeet :)))
Just made this granola and think it may have changed my life… so so delicious! Trying to stop myself from eating the whole batch right now! Can’t wait to add different flavours and experiment!
Would this bake up nicely if the recipe was doubled? Would I need to cook longer than the time for a single batch? I would like to freeze half for later.
I made this and although it tastes excellent, it stuck to the wax paper. I had to peel the paper off most of it. What did I do wrong?
I didn’t see any mention of wax paper in this recipe. Parchment paper was used when baking. Maybe you misread? I’ve done this before 🙂
WOW this is soooo delicious!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I have missed eating grains and this is the most amazing stuff I have ever eaten in my life! I am taking a huge jar of it to my daughters today. I know she will love it too!
Don’t all dried fruits have added cane sugar in them which is to be avoided?
Yeah, that’s what I thought, too…I wonder what a good sub would be. ..
I buy apple juice sweetened cranberries at WF, or you can buy unsweetened ones… very hard to find either one
I made this today and it is absolutely fantastic!!! Will make double next time. My daughter also loved it – bonus points! I will never ever go back to ordinary muesli. YUM!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Just made this! Absolutely delicious!!
I just made this, and while it is tasty, mine is a bit salty. Anyone else have that problem?
Holy cow that is good. Mine is a tad over done, opps, make sure you put on the top rack. Totally edible, munching as I type, still kind of hot too. Lol. Will make this over and over again. I was looking for the perfect snack food and by jove I think that’s it. Wow!! 🙂
I made this last Sunday and I ate it all by Wednesday it was so good. Does anyone know about what the nutritional facts would be?
I love this granola and have made it several times now. I Always find that it is more crumbly and does not hold together enough to break into larger pieces..which I would prefer. What am I doing wrong? What can I do to keep it together.
Also could it be the proportion of coconut oil. Is it 1/4 cup coconut oil melted? Or 1/4 cup MELTED coconut oil?…there is a difference. I always find after baking there seems to be a lot of oil in the pan. Anyone else have these issues? Thanks.
Am I right in assuming that the nuts should be bought ‘raw’?
Delicious! In terms of cranberries, I have a hard time finding any that are not juiced/sweetened, even at whole foods, etc. I used raisins and dried peach and added flax seed and chia seed and it is delicious.
Thanks
What a great sub!!
I make this weekly for my family. We LOVE it!!
This is THE BEST paleo granola!! I have made a lot of them and this is by far my favorite!!
We have a severe allergy to nuts. So many of these recipes have nuts in them, what can I use instead of nuts?
Hi Rebecca. how long can the granola be stored in air tight containers or zip lock, heat sealed bags?
WoW!!! I made this granola this morning! It is delicious! I never thought I would like granola without oats! The only thing I might do differently next time (and there will be a next time) would be to cut back on the coconut oil and the honey, just a smidge… seems very oily and sweet for my taste… otherwise 5 stars!!! Thanks, Rebecca!
How much would it change this if I omitted the coconut flakes? I really dislike the texture of coconut but don’t mind coconut milk, flour or oil. Just the texture.
Thanks!
OMGosh I have been waiting (not so patiently) to try this. We have been following “The Whole30” preparing to go Paleo, so the honey was off the table, but today I put a batch into the oven (I added some cinnamon just because I love cinnamon) and I’m telling you, it was definitely worth the wait. This is a real keeper, thanks, Rebecca.
I have the same question as Shannon above…could I leave out the coconut flakes? Thanks!
Should the cashews be raw?
I just made this and it is delicious however I goofed up and used pumpkin seeds that were not shelled. I too could not find unsweetened cranberries even at Whole Foods however I did find unsweetened cherries so I used those, next time the pumpkin seeds will be shelled, oh well adds a little more fiber to the mix.
I just made this for the second time and found cranberries without sugar at whole foods, any way this is great on top of sliced apples that you add cinnamon to and stem in your microwave or on top of sliced banana, two great desserts. I also put this on a salad today and it was delicious. Thanks again.
This was delicious! Thank you. My family enjoys many, many of your recipes. My 3 year old gobbled this right up =).
I have been making this granola for a few years now, I try different nuts and seeds variations and they all turn out great!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe:)!