Recipe: Honey Coconut Granola

When I started the Dekko Bird blog back in 2015, I used to write a ‘Friday Foodie’ post, sharing my favourite, easy recipes on here; and so as I was making our regular batch of honey coconut granola recently, I thought I’d feature it on here for you all to have a go at making.

After all, we’re spending more time at home creating, baking and making in our spare time, so using up store cupboard ingredients and getting creative with your granola mix might be the ideal way to put in some downtime in the kitchen.

Easy, crunchy honey coconut granola… so tasty!

We make a batch of this granola pretty regularly in our house. I’m not saying we avoid the shop-bought stuff – when life is busy and time is short we have our preferred brands that we pick up at the supermarket – but homemade granola is less sickly sweet than the shop-bought varieties and you can make it to suit your own tastes. You can throw any combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruits into the mix as pleases you! And it tastes so so superior to the ready made packet granola.

We love this particular granola mix as it’s super versatile: it’s a simple enough basic recipe that you can serve with yogurt, fresh fruit or simply a splash of ice cold milk on its own.

Or how about changing it up with dried apricots, dates or raisins added in at the end of baking time? Cashews or walnuts are another great addition for a lovely added crunch. We love coconut-anything in this house, but you could substitute it for some quinoa flakes, goji berries or even chia seeds for a healthy boost.

No two batches are ever quite the same, as we like to use up whatever nuts or seeds we have in the house. For this granola jar, I added whole almonds, one of our family’s favourite nuts, however you can change the texture up a little by crushing half the almonds and leaving the rest whole. Or throw in some ground almonds. It’s entirely up to you (and how strong your teeth are, of course!!)

Want to give it a go? Here’s the basic recipe I use to fill a 750ml (1 1/2 pint) sized Kilner jar. Obviously you can increase the quantities as you wish – just play about with your own recipe!

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You’ll need:

• 1 rounded cup porridge oats
• 1/2 cup nuts (almonds/cashews/walnuts/brazil nuts or a mix of these)
• 1/2 cup seeds (pumpkin/sunflower/sesame or a mix)
• 1/4 cup desiccated coconut or coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
• Optional: chia seeds/goji berries/linseeds etc

Place the oats, nuts (either left whole or half chopped and half left whole), seeds, coconut flakes and sugar in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Place the honey and coconut oil in a small microwaveable bowl and heat for around 1 minute until the coconut oil has melted into the honey. Add the vanilla essence to this, then pour onto the dry ingredients and combine well.

Empty the granola mixture onto a baking tray with high sides, lined with either foil or baking paper. Bake for 10 mins, give it a good stir, then return to the oven for a further 10 mins until golden. Be sure to mix the edges of the granola into the centre when mixing it together.

Leave to cool in the tin, then store in a glass jar or other suitable airtight container. Your honey coconut granola will keep for a couple of weeks (if you can resist it that long!)

Serve however you like it best: we don’t think you can go too wrong with a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries and an extra drizzle of honey! :)

Enjoy x