Tropical Granola [vegan, gluten-free]
This easy, homemade Tropical Granola is vegan, gluten-free and the perfect topping to your morning bowl!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 10-12 1/2 cup servings 1x
- Category: Granola
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Amercian
Ingredients
- 1 TBS chia seeds + 3 TBS water
- 2 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2/3 cup gluten-free quick oats
- 1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut (flaked or shredded)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)
- 1 cup NOW Foods Dried Tropical Fruit Dices
- 1/4 cup all natural cashew butter(or almond)
- 1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F degrees and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, combine chia seeds with water. Set aside for a few minutes so “gel” can form while preparing rest of ingredients.
- In a large bowl add rolled oats, quick oats, cashews, coconut and ground ginger. Stir until combined and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla, and stir until well combined. (If almond butter is very thick, microwave with maple syrup for about 15 seconds.) Add almond butter mixture and chia seed gel to large bowl of dry ingredients, stir with large spoon until the dry mixture is well coated. Then, use your hands to fully mix and get the clusters ready.
- Spread/sprinkle the mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet. You should have clusters of granola already from working the mixture with your hands.
- Bake granola in increments for a total of 35-40 minutes, flipping the granola gently at 15 minutes, then again at 12 minutes, then again at 12-15 minutes*
- Remove granola from oven and allow to cool completely, do NOT stir again. While the granola cools, the air will help set the crunchy texture. Once the granola has cooled, add in your Dried Tropical Fruit Dices
- Store in airtight container. Granola should stay fresh up to 3 weeks.
Notes
Granola will make roughly 8-10 servings, about ½ cup each.
*Using a mixture of old fashioned oats and quick oats helps create the clusters. But feel free to use all old-fashioned if you prefer.
*Not stirring the granola as much will get you more clusters. I use a big spatula to “flip” the granola, rather than stirring. I also “sprinkled” the mixture on the pan, which resulted in more clumps from the beginning, then only flipped the granola gently to maintain the clusters. Watch granola after each time flipping to make sure it is not getting too dark, adjust time accordingly, as every oven is different!
*If not worried about keeping vegan, you can also use one large egg white as binder
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 189
- Sugar: 13
- Sodium: 36mg
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 25
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: Tropical Granola, Gluten Free Tropical Granola