A grain-free, no oats granola made with coconut flakes and dried fruit
This is an adaptation of a Paleo Pumpkin Granola recipe from Empowered Sustenance and is my go to in lieu of a boxed granola-type cereal. And like many other recipes on my site it is easy to customize by swapping out ingredients. I have made this many times and it comes out different each time, only because of the ingredients I may or may not have on hand.
I try not to go to the store specifically for this recipe, and since I like to play with my food, I may try different items each time.
The original recipe calls for pumpkin puree which is easy enough to keep in your pantry. But during the fall, Trader Joe’s has a Pumpkin Butter that is a delicious substitution. This year however, I was a little late in the game and when I went to buy it, they had already sold out for the season!
So this time I used Trader Joe’s Fig Butter which adds a nice sweet touch and I believe is available all year.
If you have tried this or something similar, leave a comment below. We would love to hear what ingredients you used and how it came out!
Grain Free Granola
Materials
- 1½ cups coconut flakes or chips unsweetened
- 1 cup chopped raw almonds or a combination of nuts and seeds of your choice I used a combination of raw slivered almonds and pepitas
- ½ to ⅓ cup dried fruit – ex. cranberries, dates, raisins etc. I used dried cranberries and chopped dates
- 1 to 2 TBSP fig butter, pumpkin butter or pumpkin puree I used Trader Joe's Fig Butter, but when available I use Pumpkin Butter
- 1 TBSP maple syrup or honey
- 1 to 2 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Gather all of the ingredients
- Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl
- Melt the coconut oil and mix into the dry ingredients
- Then add in the fig butter or the pumpkin puree and mix everything together
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
- Spread the granola mixture evenly onto the baking sheet
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch closely, the coconut tends to brown very quickly
- Remove from oven and let cool. The mixture will crisp up a bit more as it cools