Vanilla Bean Coconut Granola

As I talked about in my post, Vanilla Everything, vanilla is definitely occupying my thoughts these days. Vanilla extract, vanilla beans, vanilla sugar, vanilla salt, vanilla lollipops, vanilla macarons, vanilla marshmallows, vanilla, vanilla, vanilla. As a matter of fact, I have begun to smell like vanilla. Not an all together unpleasant situation.

Hahahahaha. That last line makes me laugh. We have been watching Jane Austen movies over the Holidays and I find myself speaking like the characters from her books. Katie goes around the house saying, “Emma, don’t shoot my dogs” and John always quotes from the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice– “He simpers and smirks and makes love to us all.”

If you have never seen the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice (Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth), make some time to watch it. It is long, six 55 minute segments, but completely addictive. Settle in with some great movie-watching treats and be prepared to come away quoting your favorite lines.

Speaking of treats, do you consider granola a snack or something more substantial? Certainly it has it’s place as a delicious snack for random munching; however, I like to eat it as a cereal for breakfast and as a topping for fruit and yogurt parfaits. Inspired by all of the vanilla extracts and vanilla beans in my house right now, I decided to take my tried and true granola recipe and rework it to accommodate the wonderful sweetness of vanilla and coconut.

Although the word “delicate” is not generally used in association with granola, I feel that it is the best descriptor for this particular granola. For me, this Vanilla Bean Coconut Granola has a perfect balance of flavors with the vanilla, vanilla beans, coconut, and coconut oil. It is full of good-for-you elements, right down to the chia seeds (which I guess are good for you…at least that’s what people say…it could be that the chia pet people needed a new market, so they started touting chia seeds as the next, great end-all be-all, live-to-be-1000 health product).

Print Recipe

Vanilla Bean Coconut Granola

The flavor of this granola is made delicately sweet with the addition of vanilla bean caviar, pure vanilla extract, shredded sweetened coconut, coconut oil, and cinnamon. It is wonderful eaten as a healthy breakfast cereal or served as a topping on fruit and/or yogurt or ice cream.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Servings: 15 3/4 cup servings

Calories: 351kcal

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

• 6 cups regular rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened)
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup golden syrup or honey (I used Lyle's Golden Syrup)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 whole vanilla beans

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350-degree F.
• In a large mixing bowl, put the oats, slivered almonds, shredded coconut, wheat germ, chia seeds, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Stir together until ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix together well the melted coconut oil, golden syrup (or honey), and vanilla extract.
• With a sharp knife, cut each vanilla bean in half lengthwise. With the dull edge of the knife, scrape out the vanilla bean caviar and add to the liquid ingredients. Stir well.
• Pour liquid ingredients evenly over dry ingredients. Stir together well until all of the dry ingredients are coated with the wet ingredients.
• Divide equally between two 9- x 13-inch baking pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until granola is light golden brown. Be careful not to over-cook.
• Turn out onto paper towels to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week-10 days.

Notes

• Substitutions: an additional 1/2 cup rolled oats may be used in place of the wheat germ. Either sesame seeds or an extra 1/2 cup slivered almonds can be substituted for the chia seeds.
• Coconut oil: if your coconut oil is in a soft solid state, put the measured amount in a small bowl and melt it in the microwave for 20 seconds on high or until melted.

 

Nutrition calculations for this recipe are approximate per an on-line nutrition calculator. They are meant to be a guide and are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 21mg | Potassium: 273mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 3mg

Regarding vanilla beans, do not purchase them from the grocery stores because they can be very pricey and of questionable quality. I ordered my beans from Beanilla and am happy with them. At this time Beanilla is offering 25 Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans for $25.00. They are also running a small sale on their Tahitian Vanilla Beans, five for $17.00. The Tahitian beans are especially beautiful, soft and fat and full of wonderfully floral vanilla bean caviar.

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