Coconut and Cashew Granola
Get this recipe for homemade coconut and cashew granola if you are looking for a fast, fresh, and totally delicious from-scratch granola.
I’m sad to report that ever since I posted about these fabulous granolas, I haven’t made granola since.
I blame it all on my dad.
You see, he’s kind of a granola, in an old-fashioned, outdoorsy kind of way. He’s into hiking, gorp, scaling the highest peak in every state, four-wheeling and that kind of stuff. And he loves him some granola.
He and my mom (who is not granola in any sense of the word) came to visit us recently since we made our cross-country move to the depths of Wisconsin. I knew in honor of their visit I needed to make my granola dad some granola.
Enter my Aunt Marilyn (who happens to be my dad’s sister but who is not a granola). She sent me a recipe for granola weeks ago and insisted I must try it. But of course I hadn’t because I only make granola when my dad comes to town.
I made it the day before my dad arrived. And there was barely enough left when his plane landed because…
…who knew that my non-granola husband loved granola? Not I.
Three devoured batches later, we are officially in love with this granola. (And so was my granola dad.)
Coconut and Cashew Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups (300 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup cashews
- ¾ cup (64 g) shredded sweetened coconut
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, oil and salt.
- Combine both mixtures by slowly pouring the liquid over the oatmeal mixture and stirring well. Divide in half and pour onto two 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets, spreading out into an even layer on each sheet.
- Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden.
- Remove from the oven and transfer into a large bowl, slightly breaking up the clumps. Add the raisins and gently mix until even distributed.
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn
This has been my go to, all time favorite granola to make for year now. I guess it’s about time to leave a review. Thank you Mel! My family loves your recipes! ❤️
You don’t stipulate whether it’s 250 degrees centigrade or Fahrenheit. I set my oven at 250 degrees Centigrade and after only about 15 minutes the top tray began turning very dark brown very quickly. I stirred it around to turn the mixture over in order to bake it evenly and even swapped over the trays but after about ten more minutes the top layer was beginning to burn. I was upset that all those lovely ingredients would go to waste. A very expensive waste too.
Please stipulate clearly what temperature it should be in more that’s one method. Many thanks
This is a fabulous recipe! I know this is an old post but I just tried it. (Your peanut butter granola is bomb though!)
I make granola often as I’ve stopped buying store bought cereals/granola. Not only are they terribly expensive for such a little portion but even the healthier options aren’t that great for you. I love the ability to be able to add whatever I want.
I did change the recipe a bit according to what I had on hand. I subbed the oil for grapeseed oil and used whole almonds instead of slices. But for some odd reason this took way longer to cook then expected. Could be my oven. I think next time I’ll cook on higher heat for shorter time and just keep an eye on it. I was really thinking it wasn’t going to come out good. (It wasn’t super crunchy to what I’m used to) But still shocked it came out delicious. Not disappointed!
Best granola ever! Store bought granola doesn’t even come close to how good this is.
Love this! My new favorite granola!!
I absolutely love this recipe and have made my for years. Where I live now though, I don’t have access to brown sugar or molasses. Will the recipe still work if I use a sugar similar to light brown sugar?
I can’t say for sure without trying it myself or knowing what sugar substitute will be used, but it’s worth a try!
I’ve made this many, many times! It’s my go-to granola recipe, minus the coconut and raisins. I’m wondering – I only have quick oats on hand at the moment. Can I substitute these for old fashioned rolled oats? If I use my quick oats, do you recommend any alterations to the other ingredients?
Hi Mary, yes you can sub in quick oats but the granola will be more dense and not quite the same as the classic granola texture.
Granola – Totally Toasted
(Dr. Dream’s Toasted Granola Rocks)
6 heaping cups old fashion rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ plus ½ to 1 cup of wheat bran
1 cup shredded or flaked coconut
3/4+/- Cup water
1 cup of canola/light olive oil
1/8 +/- cup dark sesame oil (Asian grocery)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ to 1 cup malt powder/syrup, adds depth if available (beer making or Asian grocery store)
½ cup jelly/jam etc (something you have but are not using up)
2 tsp vanilla – real or artificial
1 Tbsp seasoned, mineral or sea salt
1 tsp of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger (should not be recognizable spice flavor)
1 cup sesame seeds (toasted if available) (Asian grocery)
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw green pumpkin seeds
1 cup raw walnuts (English and/or some black if you like them)
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup raw cashew pieces
1 cup banana chips
1 cup freshly ground flax seeds (gold or brown).
Put all liquid ingredients in a pot on low heat, stir occasionally. If using powdered malt put in with some of the water first and mix it into the liquid on low heat.
Mix all dry ingredients together. Add liquids (if using two/three bowls, add one large spoonful of liquid to each bowl alternatively) until half gone. Mix ingredients. Add rest of liquid in same alternating manner (this assures equal amounts of oil in the bowls). The resulting mixture should be thoroughly just moist, not quite wet. The wetter the mix the chunkier/crunchier the granola – I like a little of both, chunks and crumbles. The mixture should press into a “sheet cookie”.
Spread mixture onto greased cookie sheets 1” thick. Press into semi solid “mass”. Bake at 400 (30 min +/- depending on thickness) until browning/toasted on top/edges, rotate (or use convection) to keep toasting even. Keep close watch when heat is high. When edge starts to brown remove from oven, move edges into center by turning them over, then run spatula under “cookie” just breaking it into chunks and leaving it “jumbled” to allow heat all around it for toasting and drying. Lower heat to 300 +, check often until a little toasted again (15 min +/-). Repeat spatula turning once. Lower heat to 250 for 15 minutes, remove from oven and turn again. Leave to cool/dry on wire rack. When cool taste/test for dryness. If not completely dry return to oven for 15 min at 250. When completely cool/dry store in air tight containers, adding dried or fresh fruit if desired when served. Make notes for recipe/baking adjustments. Easier/better each time.
I usually make a triple recipe, since its bone dry it keeps for a long time (keep some in your car for emergencies). It is a labor of love, don’t expect too much from the first small/single batch. It will still be better than anything you can buy, but maybe not quite giving-away quality first time. It is my standard/requested present for people who don’t need anything. Heavenly house smell.
Why in the world would you post a recipe in the comments of a recipe? If people were looking for a different recipe they wouldn’t be here. You bring absolutely nothing useful. Not to mention your recipe sounds disgusting compare to Mel’s.
Wouldn’t it be kinder to simply skip over Mark’s recipe if you are not interested rather than say it looks disgusting and berate him for taking the time to post? A little kindness goes a long way, and if you can’t be kind you can at least be quiet.
This recipe has been on my to-do list for some time, and I finally made it today. It’s delicious!! I shouldn’t have waited for so long. This one is definitely a keeper. Thanks.
Delicious! Made it as written except used pecans for cashews. I cut the sugar and maple syrup back to the 1/4 cup since the first time. Nice and crunchy.
What the heck. This is my calorie breaker. Just made it today (even though I have my own longstanding granola recipe) and there’s no going back. It is SSSOOOO good. Didn’t have dark brown sugar so I just added 1/4 T of molasses to the wet ingredients. Also was lazy and didn’t want to wash two pans so I just used one jumbo jelly roll/cookie sheet pan. Worked great. Thanks again for another great recipe!!!
This Coconut and Cashew granola was thee BEST! It was simple to make too. I didn’t have enough almonds so i just added pecans …but i ALSO added a lil Cardamon and it took it over the top! THIS recipe will be repeated over and over again, my husband loves it as well!
Thanks Mel for sharing!
This recipe is so good that I almost burned my tongue snitching it hot off the pan!
Did a half batch (my oven isn’t deep enough to do 2 jelly roll pans side by side) & it took 40 minutes, flipping/stirring once. It’s the perfect balance of salty and sweet and fantastic over plain yogurt.
Delicious granola. I just made two batches for Christmas brunch. Out of curiosity, I’m wondering why the salt is added to the wet, not dry, ingredients. Is there a kitchen chemistry reason?
Great question, but I don’t know…it’s just the way I’ve always made it. Sorry I’m not more help!
Can you bake both pans at the same time, rotating the pans half way through the cooking time? Or is it better to bake them separately?
Sure – just keep an eye on them so they don’t over bake.
This was super delicious!! My kids loved it. I used pecans in lieu of almonds because I didn’t have almonds on hand. Canola oil was an easy switch. So good and the perfect crunch!
You say in your peanut butter granola post that you use coconut oil in this (as have a few other commenters). Do you just use the same amount as the vegetable oil? Do you melt it first or use it in its solid form? Thanks! This is my all time favorite granola recipe, but I would love to try it with coconut oil.
Yep, I use the same amount of coconut oil and melt it first.
Just made this for the first time tonight and I am so glad I did. It is amazing! I used coconut oil and added in some walnuts. It is just amazing!! My entire family was enjoying it. Thanks for the great recipe!
This granola is FANTASTIC! Everyone I have shared it with loves it too. I baked mine on a sheet pan lined with parchment and it came out perfect. Like you, I used coconut oil to up the coconut taste. I am so glad that I tried this recipe!
This is so super delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it!! To use what I had on hand, I subbed marcona almonds and pepitas for the nuts and dried cherries. If you are using light brown sugar, just add 3/4 tsp. molasses to the oil/maple syrup mixture. I know I will make this again and again! Thanks again Mel!
Mel, I’m really loving this granola. It’s been on my “recipes to try” list for quite a while. Since I live overseas in the tropics, the price of maple syrup (imported from Vermont) is through the roof. What we have found that’s the next best thing here is maple-flavored honey, so that’s what I used in place of the maple syrup. It tastes great, but I wonder if using honey made the granola more likely to burn. I was having to stir it around to avoid burning from about 10 minutes into the baking, and I left it in only 40 minutes total because I was risking ruining the whole batch. What do you think? Perhaps other environmental factors played into the burning issue (90 degree heat, 100% humidity, small quirky Asian oven, etc.)
Hi Julia – yes, I think the honey could definitely make the baking a bit more finicky. If it’s done after 40 minutes, though, then you should be ok. The other thing you might try is decreasing the oven temp by 25 degrees and see how that goes.
This is amazing! I will never even try another recipe. I used coconut oil instead of canola since I like the flavor of coconut but not the texture and it’s delicious!