Pistachio Coconut Granol

Pistachio Coconut Granola is one of my favorite breakfast treats. So irresistible, it’s hard not to gobble it up before it reaches your bowl!

A Homemade Granola Recipe is easy to tweak by adding different nuts, dried fruit, and seeds. This highly adaptable recipe is hard to beat.

Homemade Granola

I make granola only once or twice a year. Not because I don’t want to eat it every single day, but because I could probably eat the whole batch in one sitting.  I tweaked the Eleven Madison Park Granola recipe and came up with this irresistible Pistachio Coconut Granola. If you’ve never made granola before, you’ll be surprised how much better it is than store-bought granola.

Is Granola Healthy?

It’s high in fiber and protein, so there are definitely health benefits. The sugar syrup adds calories, so portion control is key. Here’s the rundown on granola ingredients in this recipe:

• Old fashioned oats – fiber
• Pistachios, almonds – protein
• Coconut, dried fruit – fiber, carbohydrates
• Brown sugar, maple syrup – carbohydrates
• Olive oil – high in healthy monosaturated fats, antioxidants, plus anti-inflammatory properties

How to Eat Granola?

Besides a bowlful covered with milk, granola is excellent layered with berries and yogurt for a breakfast parfait. It also makes a nice snack if you can control yourself! Add it to muffin batter, pancake batter, or even mix with regular cereal for extra crunch.

What Is Granola? Is it the same as Muesli?

Granola is a breakfast dish typically made with oats (though other grains are used occasionally), nuts, and dried fruit. It’s often baked with oil, honey, or another sweetener to give it a sweet, crispy coating. Muesli is the German word for mixture. It’s a similar type of cereal made with raw or toasted grains like oats, dried fruit, nuts, grains, plus some spices. Muesli is unbaked, unsweetened, and can be served warm or cold. Granola is baked, sweetened, often in clusters, and served cold. Both granola and muesli can be sweet or savory.

Granola Cereal

I think if you were to look at a package of granola, it would tell you a serving size is a ridiculously small portion like a quarter of a cup. I fill my bowl and don’t think twice. I’m not much of a banana eater, especially since I prefer mine to be slightly green and they always ripen way too fast. But I do make sure I have a stash in my fruit bowl when I whip up a batch of any granola recipe.

The original recipe calls for pistachios and that was a new addition that I know I’ll repeat. I didn’t have any pumpkin seeds and couldn’t locate the sunflower seeds I wanted to substitute. Instead, I added some almonds. I was thrilled with the results. With this recipe, just toss in the dried fruit and nuts you prefer. Leave out the coconut if you’re not a fan. It’s the brown sugar, oil, and maple syrup concoction that’s the winner. Not too greasy, not too sweet. Perfect for baby bear…it’s just right.

How to Make Granola

This maple granola recipe, like most granola, is easy to make.  You will need to stir the granola mixture every 15 minutes or so while it’s baking so all the bits get crisp, so plan to be in the kitchen.

• First, mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I prefer to add the dried fruit at the end so it stays soft and plump, but it’s OK to add it to the dry mixture.
• PRO-Tip: The add-ins are highly adaptable. Add your favorite nuts or seeds, or leave them out. Hate coconut? Omit it. Only like raisins? Use all raisins or substitute any favorite dried fruit chopped into bite-sized pieces that will fit on a spoon.
• Next, mix together the sugar syrup that will coat the oats, etc.  Heat as directed to help melt the brown sugar.
• Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture and toss to combine, trying to get all the oats and nuts covered.
• Then, pour onto a rimmed quarter sheet pan and place into your preheated oven. PRO-Tip: Line your baking pan with parchment or foil for easy cleanup.
• Stir the mixture every 10-15 minutes for even baking. PRO-Tip: Stir less frequently if you like chunkier granola.
• Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
• Note: If you eliminate the nuts, add more oats (or use seeds) so there’s not too much extra sugar syrup.

More Homemade Granola Recipes You’ll Love:

This recipe was first shared in October 2014. Photos and text were updated in 2021.

Continue to Content

Pistachio Coconut Granola

An irresistible homemade granola with pistachios, coconut, oats and more!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Yield 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups oatmeal (not quick oats)
• 1 cup pistachios
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• A dash of salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used dried tart cherries, diced apricots, and craisins)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300º. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pistachios, coconut, almonds and salt.
2. In a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil by microwaving at 30 second increments just until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the liquids into the oats, tossing to coat and making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.
4. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and evenly spread the granola in the pan Bake until dry and golden, 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes
5. Remove granola from oven, and mix in the dried fruit.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container.

Notes

Yields about 6 cupx.

Total time does not include cooling time.

Stir less frequently for chunkier granola.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month. May freeze, too.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 276Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 85mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 4gSugar: 22gProtein: 5g

Skinny Tip

I’m offering a series of Skinny Tips. How I keep slim is one of my most frequent inquiries. I’ll feature more tips on some of my upcoming blog posts. Click on the #SkinnyTip tag at the end of this post to see all my previous tips.

Tip #48: I’ve discussed how willpower is decreased when you’re tired. My tip is to take a power nap on those days before you start raiding the fridge. Just 10-15 minutes will help relieve your fatigue, and hopefully, give you the strength not to give in to cravings.