Toasted Coconut-Macadamia Nut Granola

Sweetened with honey, a dash of cardamom brings the rich, tropical flavors of this granola to a whole new level. Boring breakfasts, begone!

Coconut can do no wrong in my eyes. Coconut oil, coconut cake, coconut cream… I love it all!

Of all of the granola recipes I have thrown together, this toasted coconut and macadamia nut granola recipe has to be my favorite. Sweetened with honey, the warmth of these tasty toasted flavors will brighten up your morning. A sprinkling of sweet cardamom (or substitute cinnamon) blends harmoniously with the earthy flavors of this granola.

If you’ve never made your own granola, you’re missing out. It’s a quick breakfast for weekday mornings — cheaper than the stuff in the grocery store with less sugar, and even better because you pick and choose what ingredients make the cut!

I swear, granola is actually a sleeper crowd-pleaser. Case in point: my dad is *not* a granola guy, but one day after making this I caught him hovering over the pan, breaking granola clusters off the pan as they cooled. It’s gotta-have-it good!

And your home will smell sooooooo good. Candles? Who needs them.

Ingredients + Substitutions

rolled oats (not steel-cut oats!)
coconut flakes (or shaved coconut)
coconut oil
macadamia nuts
honey
vanilla
sprinkle of kosher salt
cardamom or cinnamon (optional)
chia seeds (optional)
Parchment paper or tinfoil

If you take away one piece of advice from this whole blog post, let it be this: LINE. YOUR. BAKING. SHEET. Trust me. Skip this step and you will regret it. I once found myself outside in my backyard, banging on the baking sheet, desperately scrape off the last remnants of cooled granola. The rabbits loved it, but I did not.

Now let’s talk optional ingredients and substitutions. I am obsessed with cardamom, but I know a lot of folks don’t keep it on hand. Cinnamon is also very delicious in this granola recipe. I sometimes like to add chia seeds for some extra protein, but you can definitely pass on this.

The oven will do the toasting of the coconut and macadamia nuts for you, so no need to buy coconut flakes that have already been toasted.

Swap honey for maple syrup if you’d like to make this granola vegan.

Coconut oil imparts a nice, subtle coconut flavor, but any oil on the neutral end of the spectrum will work.

Want to make this even more customized? You can use any nuts here (though none are so rich and fulfilling as the macadamia, in my opinion ?). After the granola has fully cooled, feel free to drop in dried fruit (pineapple or golden raisins would work well here), or peanut butter chips or chocolate chips. Yum!

Serving

As tempting as you will find the smell of freshly toasted coconut wafting out of your kitchen, do not touch until it’s cooled! The cooling process allows everything to clump together. I love big, chunky granola. Loose granola… Not so much my thing.

While granola clusters are a tasty snack in their own right, I love the ol’ standby: a bowl of milk, maybe served with a dollop of nut butter on the side. Granola yogurt parfaits are also a fun, photogenic treat, especially with some honey drizzled on top.

I often like to slice up some fresh fruit (peaches, bananas or blueberries are so good with this!) and drop it in with my granola.

Storage

If possible, try to keep your granola in an airtight jar at room temperature. I’ve used a Ziploc in the past and that works OK too. Enjoy within a week!