Fresh Cherry Grain-free Granola Recipe
A satisfying from-scratch gluten-free granola recipe made with fresh cherries, honey, shredded coconut, almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and almond flour.
Cherry season is the absolute best. We have been putting cherries IN and ON practically everything! Our chocolate cherry muffins and our chocolate cherry lava cakes are two of our favorite ways to bake with cherries.
And we have been really enjoying adding them to granola, like in this grain-free granola recipe. Fresh cherries are pureed here, which makes it a satisfying and unique recipe.
Why this recipe works
- It is great for those following a dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, or Paleo diet.
- It is simple to customize.
- It is simple to use! This granola tastes great on top of yogurt, ice-cream, milk, etc.
- Its a great way to use fresh cherries!
Recipe ingredients
- shredded coconut
- sliced almonds
- pumpkin seeds
- chia seeds
- hemp seeds
- almond flour
- cinnamon
- honey
- cherries
- vanilla
- olive oil
Additions/ Substitutions:
- Instead of sliced almonds, you can use another nut of choice.
- You can omit the chia seeds or hemp seeds.
- You can use maple syrup instead of honey.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Pit the cherries and put them into a food processor. This will make a puree of sorts, but it should still be a bit chunky, with some larger pieces.
Step 2: Mix the pureed cherries with honey, olive oil and vanilla and heat it up on the stove for about a minute.
Step 3: Mix the cherry mixture into a big bowl of shredded coconut, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, almond flour, and cinnamon.
Step 4: Spread the mixture onto a large cookie sheet and bake everything for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Let it rest out of the oven for 10 minutes.
Prep 10 minutesCook 30 minutesTotal 40 minutesMakes 8
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 cup shelled raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds, (optional)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup pureed cherries, ( 13 cherries pitted and pureed in a food processor)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extreact
- 2 Tbs olive oil
Method
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix shredded coconut, almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, almond flour and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
- Put honey, pureed cherries, vanilla, and olive oil in a small pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot, has dissolved into the mixture, about 1 minute.
- Pour the honey cherry liquid mixture on top of the coconut granola mixture and stir to combine.
- Spread the mixture evenly on the cookie sheet and bake, stirring once halfway through, until a bit crispy on the edges, about 30 minutes.
- Mix and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes in the pan when out of the oven and it will harden during this time. If after 10 minutes, you would like the granola to be a bit more toasted put it back in the oven for no more than 10 minutes, but make sure to keep an eye on it.
Notes
- Instead of sliced almonds, you can use another nut of choice.
- You can omit the chia seeds or hemp seeds.
- You can use maple syrup instead of honey.
