Homemade Tropical Granola

This easy homemade granola recipe for tropical granola is loaded with coconut, mango, mandarin oranges, and pineapple! It is delicious by itself for breakfast or you can add it to smoothie bowls or parfaits for an extra special treat!

I love researching the origins of ingredients. Although macadamia nuts are usually associated with Hawai’i I knew they were not indigenous to there. Turns out they are actually from Australia!

So here is another fusion mix for you, coconuts from Hawai’i, mangoes from India, mandarin oranges from China, pineapple from South America combine together to make a popular breakfast staple from the US.

We love granola but the commercial stuff is SO sweet. It gives me a toothache and makes me feel a little nauseous. Plus I can make a ton at home for just a fraction of the cost of buying a pound. I buy the oats in bulk at Costco and the add ins on sale at our local Sprouts and Trader Joe’s.

There are a few staples in our house of vanilla almond granola and chocolate granola. This tropical granola really hits the spot being not too sweet but having nice little bursts of fruit.

Ingredients

• rolled oats
• coconut strips
• macadamia nuts
• dried pineapple
• dried mangoes
• dried mandarin orange slices
• coconut extract
• coconut oil
• honey
• ground ginger

The coconut strips and mandarin slices were from Trader Joe’s and the macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dried mango were from Sprouts bulk bins.

The coconut strips and mandarin slices were from Trader Joe’s and the macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dried mango were from Sprouts bulk bins.

If your coconut strips are a bit chunky, cut them in half and roughly slice them. Don’t go for shredded, just a little thinner.

Other optional add ins

The beauty of making your own granola is you can add or take away as you wish. Here are some other great fruits to add in if you want more fruit or don’t like any of those above.

• banana chips
• golden raisins
• dried papaya

In the vein of where are these ingredients indigenous to, bananas come from Southeast Asia, raisins came from Persia/Egypt, and papayas from Mexica/ Central America.

How to make this

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, macadamia nuts, and coconut.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut extract, coconut oil, brown sugar, ground ginger, and honey. Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until the oats are well coated.
4. Spread the granola over greased rimmed cookie sheet. Press granola down slightly. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool completely without stirring it. Break apart and add in the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.
6. Serve over yogurt or with milk.

Other recipes you might like

• Cherry Macadamia Nut Granola
• Cinnamon Blueberry Granola

Top tips

The key to getting granola clumps is to not stir it too much, especially as it cools. Allow it to cool and then break the granola into clumps.

If you want a muesli style, go ahead and stir it once or twice before it cools completely.

Unless you can find diced versions of the fruit, you’ll need to slice up the fruit into bite sized pieces. Kitchen scissors will make this much easier!

Top tips for cooking with kids

Kids of all ages can help with the measuring, pouring, and mixing.

Let your children pick and choose which fruits to add to the granola.

You can also play a fun game of guess the fruit. Have them smell all of the fruits, then they need to close their eyes, and you hold a piece for them to smell. See if they can guess which fruit is which.

See here for more tips on cooking with kids!

Do you follow Jonesin’ For Taste on Facebook? Stop by, say hi, and let me know what kinds of recipes you want to see!

Recipe

Homemade Tropical Granola

This easy homemade granola recipe for tropical granola is loaded with coconut, mango, mandarin oranges, and pineapple! It is delicious by itself for breakfast or you can add it to smoothie bowls or parfaits for an extra special treat!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 366kcal

Author: Jade Jones

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups rolled oats
• ▢ ½ cup honey
• ▢ ½ cup melted coconut oil
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup coconut strips sliced into bite sized pieces if needed
• ▢ ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
• ▢ ¼ cup dried pineapple dices
• ▢ ¼ cup dried mango cut into bite sized pieces
• ▢ ¼ cup dried mandarin orange slices cut into bite sized slices

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, stir together the oats, macadamia nuts, and coconut.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, coconut oil, brown sugar, ground ginger and vanilla extract. Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir until the oats are well coated.
• Spread the granola over greased rimmed cookie sheet(s) . Press granola down slightly. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut dried fruits into bite sized pieces, if needed.
• Remove pan from oven and allow to cool completely. Break apart and add in the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
• Serve over yogurt or with milk.

Notes

Other fruit options that will work are: banana chips, dried papaya, and golden raisins.

The key to getting granola clumps is to not stir it too much, especially as it cools. Allow it to cool and then break the granola into clumps.

If you want a muesli style, go ahead and stir it once or twice before it cools completely.

Unless you can find diced versions of the fruit, you’ll need to slice up the fruit into bite sized pieces. Kitchen scissors will make this much easier!

Nutrition

Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 519IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @JonesinforTaste or tag #JonesinforTaste!