Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola

This Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola is easy to make, incredibly delicious, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. It’s full of toasty and crunchy oats, pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, and a tasty assortment of tropical dried fruit!

this recipe

My favorite meal of the day has always been dinner. I mean, with tasty weeknight meals like this Spicy Chicken Penne Pasta, Spicy Pork Pad Thai, and Peanut Butter Chicken Curry happening in my kitchen every night, why would I love any other meal of the day more?!

I’ll tell you why. This Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola is why.

It’s:

• Uber tasty
• Toasty and crunchy
• Coconutty and tropical fruity
• AND naturally sweetened!

I’m completely obsessed with it. Like obsessed enough for breakfast to give some SERIOUS competition to dinner when it comes to my favorite meal of the day now!

Why This Recipe Works

• It’s made with pantry staple ingredients, which I’m pretty sure you’ve got most of on hand already, if not all.
• Flexibility is king here. Sweeteners, fats, nuts, seeds, and add-ins can be substituted with whatever you might have on hand or prefer.
• It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup (you can use honey instead too) and dried fruits.
• The toasty texture of the granola is light, yet filling. So you’ll be fueled for the morning without feeling too full or bloated.
• Meal prep baby. A batch of this granola recipe will have breakfast (and maybe midday snack time too!) sorted for 1-2 weeks!

Ingredients

(Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.)

• Oats: Use old fashioned rolled oats, and gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats if needed. Make sure your oats aren’t the quick cooking kind.
• Nuts: I used pecans. But almonds, walnuts, macadamias, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, or whatever else you love and have on hand will work.
• Seeds: I used sunflower seeds. But pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, etc. are all great options.
• Desiccated Coconut: Totally optional, but recommended if you have it on hand and love coconut. 💛
• Oil: I used extra light tasting olive oil to give the granola a nice and light, toasty texture. You can also use melted coconut oil for a slightly denser texture.
• Sweetener: I used maple syrup here, but honey is great too.
• Fine Sea Salt: If using table salt, you may need to use less.
• Almond Extract: Or use vanilla extract.
• Unsweetened Coconut Flakes: I used coconut flakes, but you could use unsweetened shredded coconut instead.
• Tropical Dried Fruit: I buy and use a bag of Sunkist Premium Tropical Dried Fruits Blend for this granola recipe. It has a variety of tasty dried fruits – dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya, dried cranberries, and raisins. It tastes delicious, and saves time since the dried fruit is already in small pieces and you don’t have to chop anything. But you can use any dried fruits such as dried apricots, cranberries, raisins, banana chips, etc. if you have them on hand instead. Just chop the larger types into smaller pieces.

How to Make Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola

Here’s a quick overview of how to make this granola. (Full detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)

1. Prep: Preheat your oven to 165°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3, and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Combine dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, toss together the oats, pecans, sunflower seeds, desiccated coconut (if using), and fine sea salt.

3. Combine wet ingredients: Stir together the extra light tasting olive oil, maple syrup, and almond extract in a measuring cup. Then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix until everything is lightly coated.

4. Spread: Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking tray and spread into an even layer.

5. Bake: Bake for 22-24 minutes, stirring once halfway in between and pressing down with the back of a flat spatula to create a more even layer – this helps with forming clusters. Then remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Bake for another 3-4 minutes, until the granola is crisp and the coconut flakes have lightly toasted.

6. Cool: Transfer the tray to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (at least 40 minutes). The granola will continue to crisp up as it cools.

7. Break into clusters and add dried fruit: Once completely cool, break the granola into clusters and stir in the dried fruits.

8. Enjoy! Enjoy with milk or Greek yogurt, or on its own as a snack. Or you can store the granola in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area for 2-3 weeks.

Cook’s Tips:

• Use honey and coconut oil for more clusters. Honey is stickier than maple syrup and will make the oats and other dried ingredients stick more to each other. Coconut oil will give the granola a denser texture than extra light tasting olive oil, and using it too will yield a more clustery granola.
• Rotate the pan after stirring halfway through. Every oven is different. Some ovens have hot spots, such as the back part where the fan is. Rotating the pan when you return the stirred granola to the oven (so that the front is in the back) will promote even baking.
• Use store-bought mixed tropical dried fruit blend for convenience.

FAQs

You May Also Like

• Apricot Almond Oat Slice (Oat Bars)
• Almond Meal Banana Cake
• Banana Nut Pecan Bread (with Peanut Butter!)
• Nutella & Peanut Butter Energy Balls
• Or feel free to check out the entire Breakfast & Brunch and Snacks recipes collections.

MADE THIS RECIPE? If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it! Take a photo and tag it with @thatspicychick on Instagram and hashtag it #thatspicychick and I’ll be sure to share your masterpiece!

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Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola

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This Tropical Coconut Pecan Granola is easy to make, incredibly delicious, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey. It’s full of toasty and crunchy oats, coconut flakes, your choice of nuts and seeds, and a tasty assortment of tropical dried fruit!

• Author: Lavina
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 24
• Total Time: 29 minutes
• Yield: 21 1x
• Category: Breakfast, Brunch
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (use gluten-free oats if needed)
• 1 cup raw Unsalted Pecans (or other nuts of your choice) – coarsely chopped
• ½ cup raw Unsalted Sunflower Seeds (or other seeds of your choice)
• ¼ cup Desiccated Coconut (optional)
• ½ TSP Fine Sea Salt
• ½ cup Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (or melted coconut oil)
• ½ cup Pure Maple Syrup (or honey)
• 1–2 TSP Almond Extract (or vanilla extract)
• ½ cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (or unsweetened shredded coconut)
• 1 cup Tropical Dried Fruit (dried apricots, mango, pineapple, papaya, cranberries, raisins, banana chips, etc.) – larger pieces chopped

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Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3, and line a large rimmed baking tray with parchment paper (nonstick cooking paper).
2. Combine dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, pecans, sunflower seeds, desiccated coconut (if using), and fine sea salt. Mix until evenly combined.
3. Combine wet ingredients: Combine the extra light tasting olive oil, maple syrup, and almond extract in a measuring cup. Stir, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients mixture. Mix well, until everything is lightly coated.
4. Spread: Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking tray and use a large flat backed spatula to spread into an even layer.
5. Bake: Bake for 22-24 minutes, stirring once halfway in between and pressing down with the back of a flat spatula to create a more even layer – this helps with forming clusters. Rotate the pan so that the back is facing the front when you place the stirred granola back into the oven – this promotes even baking. Then remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Bake for another 3-4 minutes, until the granola is crisp and the coconut flakes have lightly toasted.
6. Cool: Transfer the tray to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (at least 40 minutes). The granola will continue to crisp up as it cools.
7. Break into clusters and add dried fruit: Once completely cool, break the granola into clusters and stir in the dried fruits. (Note: This granola will have a few clusters only. See notes below if you’d like the granola to have more clusters.)
8. Enjoy and store: Enjoy with milk or Greek yogurt, or on its own as a snack. Store the granola in a sealed airtight container in a cool dry area for 2-3 weeks.

Equipment

tropical dried fruit blend

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Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

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wholegrain old fashioned rolled oats

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Notes

1. Nutritional information: This recipe yields about 10.5 cups. Nutritional information provided is based on ½ cup servings.
2. Nuts: Raw unsalted pecans, almonds, walnuts, macadamias, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, or whatever else you love and have on hand will work.
3. Seeds: Raw unsalted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, etc. are all great options.
4. Fine sea salt: Use less if using table salt.
5. Use honey and coconut oil for more clusters. Honey is stickier than maple syrup and will make the oats and other dried ingredients stick more to each other. Coconut oil will give the granola a denser texture than extra light tasting olive oil, and using it too will yield a more clustery granola.
6. Use store-bought mixed tropical dried fruit blend for convenience. I use a bag of Sunkist Premium Tropical Dried Fruits Blend, which has a variety of tasty dried fruits: dried mango, dried pineapple, dried papaya, dried cranberries, and raisins. It saves time, because you don’t have to chop anything. Note that some manufacturers add sugar to dried fruit. If you’d like to keep this granola refined sugar free, be sure to use a package of dried fruit with no added sugars.
7. Can I make it less sweet? Reduce the maple syrup amount to 1/3 cup. If you’d like to omit the sweetener entirely, note that without a binding agent, clusters will not form. It’ll still taste delicious even without the clusters though.
8. Can I add other flavorings? Ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice would be a great addition if you’d like to add a warming touch to the granola.
9. Can I freeze granola? Once completely cool, transfer to a freezer friendly bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes to allow the dried to soften before serving. I recommend freezing in individually portioned freezer bags so that you can thaw the number of portions that you need.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 cup
• Calories: 222
• Sugar: 9.9g
• Sodium: 66.9mg
• Fat: 12.4g
• Saturated Fat: 2.9g
• Unsaturated Fat: 9.1g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 23.6g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 3.1g
• Cholesterol: 0mg

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