Check out this clumpy, clustery, vegan & gluten free Vanilla Spiced
Coconut Granola for the perfect start to your morning.
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I’ve been chasing after the clumpy-clustery granola unicorn ever since I made my first batch. So many recipes promised the clusters, but none have delivered. It usually ends up dried out and crunchy, but almost too much so. Oh, and did I mention that it wasn’t clumpy?
You could say I was holding a food grudge. I'm crazy like that.
The Stars Align
Yesterday, however, as fate would have it, another “mistake” of my poor time management in the kitchen ended up being my unicorn.
Cooking too many recipes at once (who me?), I ran out of time to cook the granola before I had to leave for an appointment. So, I covered it and let it rest in the fridge for about 2 hours before I could bake it.
Having time to soak in the moisture from the honey and coconut oil, the oats had a delightful light crunch and stuck together in type of clusters that I’ve come to only fantasize about in my kitchen.
Delightful on top of yogurt and drizzled with honey or just in a bowl with some bananas and milk, here’s to mistakes that turn into epiphanies and recipes that turn into unicorn status.
Cooking Notes
- If you want your granola gluten free, make sure to use certified gluten free oats. Also, parchment paper is key here to helping the granola stick to itself, not the pan.
- To make this vegan, substitute maple syrup for the honey!
- After all this waxing on about clumps, make sure to not stir the granola after you remove it from the oven if you’re fanatical about all of this like I am. You will want it at 100% room temperature before you pick it off the parchment with your hands and break it into clusters.
- The freshness of cardamom really affects the flavor and potency of the spice. For best results, use cardamom that is less than 6 months old. Bonus tip: I like buying my spices in the bulk section of the supermarket to get the best deal and to buy only the amount I know I will use before it goes bad.
- I chilled my oats for about 2 hours, but you can chill them up to 12 hours. Whatever fits your schedule.
What to serve with this crunchy, healthy granola:
This granola is delicious in so many ways! Use it to top a smoothie bowl, serve it over granola with some strawberry chia jam, or simply top it with some milk!
Looking for other easy granola recipes? Check out my Crunchy Turmeric Granola for another lightly spiced and nutty treat!
Vanilla Spiced Coconut Granola
Ingredients
- 3 c. old fashioned oats
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cardamom
- ¾ c. almonds preferably raw or unroasted
- ⅓ c. melted coconut oil unrefined oil, preferably
- ⅓ c. honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ c. unsweetened dried coconut chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the oats through almonds and stir together well. In a smaller bowl combined the oil, honey, and vanilla and whisk with a fork until the oil is incorporated into the honey & extract.
- Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture in the large bowl and mix it together well with a silicone rubber scraper.
- Cover the mixing bowl and place in the fridge from 1 ½-12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and remove the oatmeal mixture from the fridge. Turnout onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread mixture out evenly to cover all the paper.
- Roast in the oven at 350 for 12 minutes. Take it out, turn stir the granola and mix in the coconut chips. Add back to the oven and roast for about 8-10 minutes more, or until the coconut is starting to brown and smell super coconut-y, but is still just golden (not browning yet).
- Remove from the oven and place on a metal rack to cool. Don’t stir or break it up until it’s 100% cool if you like clumpier granola. Otherwise, you can stir it once or twice while it’s cooling.
- For crunchy granola, wait to eat until the granola is completely cooled. Then remove it from the parchment with your hands and gently break into clusters.
- Keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks; refrigerated for about a month and in the freezer for 2 months.
