This tropical fruit coconut granola is bursting with so many different flavors and textures! Filled with oats, cashews, macadamia nuts, two different varieties of coconut, freeze-dried pineapple, and dried mango…there is SO much going on! Clearly I’m on a tropical theme lately after last week’s new tropical smoothie recipe. What can I say; I’m ready for spring and summer weather and recipes!
Somehow, I made this recipe well over a year ago and it got “lost” on my computer. I recently re-discovered these photos and realized that I had tested and finalized this recipe, but never got around to posting it! (insert facepalm here). Better late than never! This recipe is definitely too good to not share with you all. I hope you give it a try!
Homemade Granola Recipes
In case you’ve never made homemade granola before, here are a few other recipes to check out if tropical flavors don’t sound like your thing.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola
Reasons to Make Homemade Granola
I love making homemade granola for several reasons!
- It’s cheaper than store-bought
- It’s often healthier than store-bought
- It’s so easy (and fun!) to customize based on your preferences/what you have on hand
- It smells AMAZING while it’s baking
- It tastes AMAZING after baking
- It keeps for a very long time! Homemade granola will keep in a sealed bag or Tupperware for at least a month on the counter, or up to several months in the freezer!
- It takes just a few minutes of “hands-on” time
I sincerely hope I’ve convinced you to try making homemade granola. ? I’d love to hear how it goes if you try making this recipe, or any other recipe on the blog too! Feel free to leave a comment or tag me on facebook or instagram!).
Ingredients and Substitution Ideas
Oats
You’ll need rolled/old fashioned oats for homemade granola! If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, you might want to be sure to buy “certified gluten-free oats.” While oats themselves are naturally gluten free, there is a risk for cross-contamination with other products containing gluten.
Cashews
Love the buttery, mild taste of cashews in this recipe! You can easily sub chopped any other nut of your choice in it’s place, noting this will change the taste a bit. My recommendation might be chopped almonds.
Coconut
I used both coconut flakes and shredded coconut in this recipe! I love the variety of taste and texture this provides. However, if you only have one variety on hand you can use all of one kind. Shredded coconut is much smaller than coconut flakes. I find both varieties in the baking aisle at my local grocery stores.
Coconut and vanilla extract
For an even stronger coconut/tropical flavor, I like using both coconut and vanilla extracts in this tropical fruit coconut granola recipe. Again, I find both extracts in the baking aisle near the spices. However, if you don’t have/don’t want to buy coconut extract, you can simply omit and the recipe will turn out just fine. ?
Agave
To let the other flavors shine through in this recipe, I decided to use agave nectar (also usually found in the baking aisle) as the sweetener and binder in this tropical granola recipe. To be honest, agave isn’t something I use super often, but I do like how it has a more neutral taste than honey or maple syrup. That being said, if you’re looking for a substitution for the agave I’d recommend pure maple syrup over honey. I’ve found from experience that honey tends to burn more quickly than pure maple syrup. Feel free to try using honey though; I just haven’t tested it!
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is also used to help bind the granola ingredients together and sure clusters and a crunchy final texture. You can use refined coconut oil for no coconut taste, but since we already have shredded coconut and coconut extract that kind of defeats the purpose haha. Unrefined coconut oil is what I typically use and buy, and is what I used in this recipe! I’ve found the best price for coconut oil to be at my local Aldi store. If you want a sub, you can use any liquid oil in place of the coconut oil.
Macadamia Nuts
The macadamia nuts are an add-in after baking. The macadamia nuts I found were already roasted, so I decided to add them in after baking. These nuts are very important to achieve the tropical taste we are going for here! They are bit pricier than some other nuts and not something I buy super often, but I personally feel they are definitely worth buying for this recipe ?
Freeze-dried Pineapple
Another add-in ingredient that we add in post-baking is freeze-dried pineapple! You may find this near the produce section of your grocery store or near the dried fruit/raisin aisle. I’ve also seen it near/in the bulk bin section or near the nuts. I personally wanted the fruit to be no-added sugar, and I couldn’t find a dried pineapple that didn’t have lots of added sugar. So, I decided on using freeze-dried pineapple instead! I have to say, I was very happy with the results. The freeze-dried fruit added more texture variety to this granola! You can use either freeze-dried pineapple or regular dried pineapple for this recipe.
Dried Mango
The final addition we add in post-baking for a yummy tropical taste and texture is dried mango! I found a no-added sugar version at Aldi and LOVE it. You can also substitute regular dried mango if you wish, but I love the variety of using some freeze-dried and some dried fruit for different textures!
- 2 ½ cups rolled/old fashioned oats
- 1 cup cashews, chopped
- 1 cup large flake coconut
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup agave nectar
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- Add-ins (after baking):
- 1.2 ounces freeze-dried pineapple
- 1 cup macadamia nuts (I used roasted and salted), chopped
- ¾-1 cup dried mango, chopped
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick silicone baking mat.
- Mix all ingredients (except add-in ingredients) together in large bowl.
- Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 35-40 minutes, stirring/flipping once halfway through. Keep a close eye on your granola for the last 10 minutes or so, as oven temperatures can vary.
- Stir in freeze-dried pineapple, macadamia nuts, and dried mango.
- This granola will store well at room temperature (tightly covered) for up to a month! This is also freezer-friendly and will last several months in the freezer. Although I doubt it will last that long ?
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