• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

join the eatmail for exclusive recipes & meal ideas

Join now

Subscribe for new recipes, meal plans & 3 free ebooks!

  • About
  • Contact

Live Eat Learn

Easy vegetarian recipes, one ingredient at a time

free ebook

Subscribe for new recipes, meal plans & 3 free ebooks!

  • Recipe Index
  • Vegetarian 101
  • Travel
  • Meal Plans
  • Course
    • Breakfasts
    • Lunches
    • Dinners
    • Appetizers
    • Sweets
    • Drinks
  • Diet
    • Dairy Free
    • Gluten Free
    • Low Carb
    • Paleo
    • Raw
    • Vegan
  • Season
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
  • Ingredient
    • Avocado
    • Bean
    • Cauliflower
    • Chickpeas
    • Eggplant
    • Mushroom
    • Tofu
    • Quinoa
    • View All
  • Collections
    • All Time Favorites
    • Air Frying
    • Budget Friendly
    • Comfort Food
    • High Protein
    • Meal Prep
    • Meatless Monday
    • Quick Dinners
    • View All
  • Visit our kombucha site
Home Eat Breakfasts

Tropical Quinoa Granola

No ratings yet
Recipe Print Share
Share on:
By: Sarah BondUpdated: Feb 05, 2022 2 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.

This Tropical Quinoa Granola is packed with quinoa, tropical dried fruit, and loads of coconut! Perfect for sprinkling over yogurt, serving with milk, or snacking on its own.

Before we begin…history lesson! Because what better way to get you really excited about granola than with some riveting granola history.

The history of granola

Dr. James Caleb Jackson (1811-1895) of upstate New York was a health hipster of his time. A vegetarian, believer in unprocessed grains, and the owner of a water therapy spa, he was wholesome and nutritious before it was cool. So obviously the typical American breakfast of that time (eggs, sausage, bacon, the works) just didn’t fly with him. So he invented the first dry/cold breakfast cereal…granula. Granula was a heavy cereal made from graham flour, and everyone at his spa loved it.

But then Dr. John Kellog (1852-1943) of Battle Creek, Michigan caught wind of this granula stuff and thought “hmm, yep I’m going to make that, but with oats instead of graham flour, and I shall call it….granula!” Yea he didn’t even change the name. Which of course led to a big lawsuit which resulted in Kellog changing the name to “Granola”.

Kellog’s company took off as they created (and in a few cases copied) other breakfast cereals, and sadly, granola took the backburner for a while. That is until the age of the hippies. In the 1960s, granola had a comeback amongst the health nuts. They added dried fruits, it steadily moved from the health nut circles to the general population. And boom, granola, all day everyday everywhere.

Quinoa Granola

What’s the difference between granola and muesil?

Oh and quick side note, I discovered muesli during my first time in Europe. It’s like granola’s cousin…kind of the same, but not really.

  • Granola: baked rolled oats, originated in New York
  • Muesli: unbaked rolled oats, higher protein content, less sugar, originated in Switzerland around the same time as granola with the intention of providing high calorie nutrition to hospitalized patients
Quinoa Granola

So this was a pretty exciting kitchen escapade. One: because yea, it’s damn delicious. And two: because while I usually would have gone and paid an arm and a leg for store-bought granola, I realized that I could just make it instead. And obviously any recipe that is both delicious AND saves me money is an exciting recipe in my book.

Okay I’ve got to add one more exciting thing. Three: it’s tropical!

Ingredients for Tropical Quinoa Granola

The foundation: rolled oats, chia seeds, macadamia nuts, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, and quinoa.

Quinoa Granola

The flavor-makers: I nixed the butter that is common in a lot of granola recipes, exchanging it with coconut oil. And I thought “hmm, why limit this to raisins or cranberries? Let’s keep the tropical train a’rollin!” So I threw in some chopped dried pineapple, mango, and papaya. Oh and shredded coconut. Hold it all together with maple syrup (or honey)!

Quinoa Granola
Quinoa Granola

Tropical Quinoa Granola

No ratings yet
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Author: Sarah Bond
Calories: 247kcal
Servings: 5 cups
Print Rate
This Tropical Quinoa Granola is packed with quinoa, tropical dried fruit, and loads of coconut! Perfect for sprinkling over yogurt, serving with milk, or snacking on its own.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup white quinoa uncooked
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 2 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup macadamia nuts chopped
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/3 cup dried pineapple chopped
  • 1/3 cup dried mango chopped
  • 1/3 cup dried papaya chopped
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix quinoa, oats, chia seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, and dried fruit.
  • Add coconut oil and maple syrup, mixing until even.
  • Spread mixture out onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees F for 60 minutes.
  • Allow granola to cool on pan, then break into pieces.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 0.5cups Calories: 247kcal (12%) Carbohydrates: 30g (10%) Protein: 4g (8%) Fat: 15g (23%) Sodium: 12mg (1%)
Did You Make This?

Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!

Tag on Insta! Leave a Rating Pin on Pinterest

You may also like...

  • Quinoa Vegetable Soup
  • This Tropical Watercress Smoothie is packed with aromatic watercress, tropical fruit, and citrus!
    Tropical Watercress Smoothie
  • Collage of vegetarian quinoa recipes
    15 Vegetarian Quinoa Recipes You'll Love
  • 19 Gluten Free Vegetarian Dinners
Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Rate this Recipe:




  1. Justine says

    Posted on 8/3 at 8:01 am

    I love quinoa in granola! This looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      Posted on 8/3 at 9:55 am

      Thanks, Justine! 🙂

      Also I have to say your blog name is perfect. My last name is Bond so I searched high and low for a good Bond-esque domain. Clearly I didn’t have much success!

Primary Sidebar

Hello!

I'm Sarah

A flavor-loving nutritionist and sensory science specialist showing you how to make easy vegetarian recipes, one ingredient at a time.

Let's Meet

What's for Dinner?

A free cookbook full of our favorite vegetarian dinner recipes!

Get in now!

Subscribe for new recipes, meal plans & 3 free ebooks!

Summer Recipes

Watermelon salad on a white platter

Grilled Watermelon Salad

Portobello Mushroom Burgers with an orange background - With melted sharp cheddar, the perfectly meaty texture, and best-ever Fancy Sauce, these Portobello Mushroom Burgers are the vegetarian recipe that'll have you craving mushrooms for dinner.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Vegan PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

How to Make a Smoothie

Veggie spring rolls cut in half on a plate

Vegetable Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Vegan tomato tuna sushi bowl with rice, avocado, and cucumber in a bowl on a blue background

Vegan Tuna Sushi Bowl

Dinner This Week

Vegan tikka masala with naan and rice in a white bowl

M

Chickpea Tikka Masala

Roasted Chickpea Gyros

T

Roasted Chickpea Gyros

Vegan Thai red curry in a bowl on a red background

W

Thai Vegetarian Coconut Curry

Vegan nachos on a black plate on a white background - These vegan nachos are piled high with easy mushroom BBQ "pulled pork" and a cashew-based queso cheese sauce that will knock your dairy-free socks off.

R

BBQ Mushroom Pulled Pork

Roasted Cauliflower Street Tacos

F

Roasted Cauliflower Tacos

Lemon risotto in a bowl with basil on a yellow background

S

Lemon Basil Risotto

As featured on:

Free Vegetarian Dinners eBook

Join our Eatmail newsletter to get a free copy of our “Dinner Is Served” Cookbook, new recipes, exclusive meal plans, and more!

Follow Along

  • Easy Vegetarian Facebook Group
  • Kombucha Brewers Facebook Group
Back to Top
  • Web Stories
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Collaborate
© 2022 Live Eat Learn
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled Support by Foodie Digital
777 shares