A grain-free granola built on coconut, nuts and seeds rather than oats, with cacao and cinnamon through it. Serves ten, and keeps a week in the pantry.
It bakes in about 20 minutes and is a good way to work a gut health powder into breakfast if you would rather not drink one.
Key points
- Grain free. No oats, so it suits low-carb eating.
- Serves ten. Five minutes prep, 25 in the oven.
- Toss it halfway. The edges catch otherwise.
- Keeps a week. Airtight, in the pantry.
- Let it cool untouched. That is what makes the clusters.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded coconut (90 g)
- 1 cup mixed nuts and seeds, chopped (pecans 40 g, cashews 60 g, pepitas 20 g, sunflower seeds 20 g)
- 1/2 cup almond meal (60 g)
- 4 scoops gut health powder
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp honey
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl mix the vanilla, coconut oil and honey. Add to the dry ingredients and combine well.
- Spread evenly on the baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, toss, then bake a further 5 to 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the tray.
- Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to seven days.
Add it to yoghurt or milk for breakfast, or eat it on its own as a snack.
How do I get proper clusters?
Leave it completely alone while it cools. That is the whole answer, and most people get it wrong.
Granola crisps as it cools, not while it bakes. Coming out of the oven it will still feel soft, and the instinct is to stir it or break it up. Do not. Press it down flat with a spatula instead and walk away for 30 minutes. It sets into a sheet you then break into clusters.
Stirring it warm gives you loose granola. Not wrong, just not clusters.
Why did mine burn?
Coconut and nuts both catch fast, and this granola has no oats to buffer them.
- Toss it at the 10 minute mark, as the recipe says. The edges cook far quicker than the middle.
- Spread it thin and even. Piles steam, thin patches burn.
- Start checking at 15 minutes. The last five minutes are where it turns.
- Trust smell over colour. Cacao powder makes it hard to judge browning by eye. When it smells toasted, it is done.
Can you eat granola before a workout?
You can, though this particular granola is not the best choice for it, and it is worth being straight about why.
Pre-workout food wants to be mostly carbohydrate and easy to digest. This is a grain-free granola built on nuts, seeds and coconut oil, so it is high in fat and fibre. Both slow digestion, which is exactly what you do not want sitting in your stomach mid-session.
Better before training: a banana, toast with honey, or a bowl of ordinary oats. Save this for breakfast on a rest day, or eat it well before you train.
What should I eat 30 minutes before the gym?
Something small, mostly carbohydrate, low in fat and fibre.
- A banana. The default, and hard to beat.
- Toast with honey or jam. Fast and light.
- A small bowl of oats, if you have closer to an hour.
- Just a coffee, if you train early and food does not sit well.
Thirty minutes is not much time to digest, so keep the portion small. If you have two hours, you can eat a proper meal and stop thinking about it.
Is granola good for building muscle?
Not especially, and it is not really trying to be.
Muscle growth needs adequate total protein and progressive training. Granola, including this one, is mostly fat and carbohydrate. Nuts and seeds contribute some protein but not in the amount or the quality that whey, eggs, dairy or meat do.
Where it fits is as an energy-dense breakfast or snack, which genuinely helps if you struggle to eat enough overall. Served over Greek yoghurt it becomes a much more useful protein meal, and that is the version worth making if muscle is the goal.
What should I not eat before training?
- High fat. Slows digestion. This granola, nut butters, fried food.
- High fibre. Same problem, plus the obvious risk. Large salads, beans, bran.
- A large meal. Whatever it is, size matters more than composition.
- Anything untested on a heavy day. Do not experiment before a session that matters.
The honest caveat is that this varies enormously between people. Some train fine on a full stomach. Use your own experience over any list.
Which gut health powder should I use?
Whichever one you already have. The cacao and cinnamon carry the flavour well, which is what makes granola a sensible vehicle for a powder you find hard to drink.
An unflavoured or chocolate blend suits it best. Check the label if yours contains probiotics, since baking at 180C will kill live cultures. In that case stir it through after the granola has cooled instead.
The gut health range has the options.
For more like this, browse the full recipe collection.
