- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed or flax seed meal
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (maple syrup has lower GI)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon **
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- (optional) 3/4 to 1 cup of dried cranberries, raisins or other dried fruit (most dried fruit has added sugar, freeze dried usually doesn't)
- Preheat oven to 275 F. Lightly grease a sheet pan or for easy clean up, line with parchment paper.
- Combine all nuts and seeds as well as coconut flakes (don't add dried fruit) in a large bowl.
- Over low heat, combine honey/maple syrup and coconut oil until heated through. Remove from heat and add cinnamon and vanilla.
- Pour over mixture in bowl and mix well. Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 45-60 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes to keep granola at the edges of the pan from burning. Watch carefully after 45 minutes as ovens vary.
- Once the granola is a nice golden brown, remove it from oven and allow to cool. (The longer you let it cool, the more clumpy it will be.)
- Add any dried fruit after the granola has cooled.
** Experiment with spices, you can also use nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, etc. You can also use no spice and just add more vanilla.