During my sophomore year of college, I lived in an apartment with three other ladies strategically located directly across the street from a large grocery store. All of us walked over at least once a week, if not more often, to shop for staples and sweets to fill up our pantry and fridge.
With rather limited space in both, each of us had an assigned shelf on which we stored our food. You would usually find an eclectic mix of Filipino and Mexican ingredients, ample amounts of fresh produce, various healthy snacks, and a never-ending supply of dark chocolate. (Guilty as charged for that last one!)
Because of how often I created granola and yogurt parfaits in the dining hall the year before, I always stashed a handful of single-serving cups on my shelf in the fridge to enjoy for breakfasts, snacks, or even with chocolate chips as dessert. I sampled nearly every flavor the grocery store offered, from blueberry and strawberry to pink grapefruit and key lime pie.
Although I eventually picked a favorite flavor (pink grapefruit, surprisingly enough!), I never found a really good variety of granola at the grocery store to go with the yogurt. I tried nearly every brand I saw, including a few from the health food store on the other side of town, but nothing quite tickled my fancy.
Now this, however… This Healthy Almond Joy Granola is a completely different story! Crunchy, lightly sweetened, and packed full of the familiar candy bar flavors, this granola is one I couldn’t stop eating straight from the pan. It took most of my willpower to save some for Greek yogurt parfaits!
Even better? It’s mindlessly simple to make and only requires a few common ingredients! So let’s briefly talk about that.
The base begins with two things: old-fashioned oats and crisp brown rice cereal. I always, always, always use both in my granola recipes! The old-fashioned oats are a fairly predictable ingredient, but the crispy brown rice provides an extra crunch without lots of extra oil. Many store-bought granolas use it too!
Those cereals are held together with a blend of coconut oil, almond milk, and honey. (For a vegan version, substitute agave or maple syrup!) Make sure your milk is at room temperature so it doesn’t chill and re-solidify the coconut oil. Simply whisk those together and pour over the cereal mixture; then pop the pan in the oven to bake.
There are two keys to crunchy granola clusters: (a) stir the pan every 15 minutes to ensure the granola bakes evenly {nobody likes the burnt bits from the edges!}, and (b) be very gentle when stirring because the more you move around the cereal clumps, the more you break up those clusters. I don’t mind smaller pieces, but I savor those clusters even more!
The hardest part is always waiting for the granola to cool, but that’s extremely important for this particular recipe! The chocolate chips will melt if added to the warm cereal in the pan, so let the granola come completely to room temperature before sprinkling those morsels on top. And of course, don’t forget the coconut either!
Almond, coconut, chocolate, and cereal… Aka almond joy candy bars for breakfast!
And that’s definitely something I’ll wake up for!
| Healthy Almond Joy Granola | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (150g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 cups (60g) crisp brown rice cereal
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup (60mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) honey
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 3 tbsp (15g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats and brown rice cereal. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, almond milk, and honey. Pour the honey mixture over the cereal mixture, and lightly toss with a spatula until the cereal is evenly coated.
- Spread the cereal mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes, gently stirring every 15 minutes, or until the granola is golden and crispy. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before sprinkling the coconut and chocolate chips over the top.
Any milk may be used in place of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
That must of been so handy having a supermarket across the road in college, perfect if you ran out of dark chocolate ;D This granola looks amazing, it even looks crunchy from the pictures! It is so smart how you added almond milk to bind the mixture instead of using lots of oil and honey. Love the GIF too!
Thanks for your sweet words and noticing the GIF Eve! I’m touched! 🙂 It was so handy living that close to a grocery store throughout all of college. It definitely spoiled me!
Chocolate for breakfast? Yes, please! This looks so tasty 🙂
Thanks Marsha!
What a fun twist on granola! 🙂
Thank you!
Your college story reminds me of mine, except I lived with 10 other girls and across from a yo-fro store! Haha!
And by yo-fro I mean fro-yo 🙂 🙂
A froyo store?? That sounds like bliss Beth!!
Can I substitute almond milk with soy milk and coconut oil with olive oil?
Yes! I hope you enjoy the granola!
Hi Amy, I’m trying to take my family in a clean~er direction. I don’t use almond milk. Do you think i could substitute coconut milk?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Nadine! I actually answered that already in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the granola!
Thanks for not answering my question. ? Definitely looking for another recipe.
Nadine, the Notes section states, “Any milk may be used in place of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk.” I understand the Notes section can be easy to miss.
Just out of curiosity how do you store the granola? I didn’t know if it needed to be refrigerated due to the milk being used in the recipe.
I just store it in an airtight container in my pantry at room temperature! Since it’s made with almond milk that has been baked, there isn’t any need to refrigerate it. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think if you try this granola Mandy!
Could I substitute the oil for egg whites like some of your other granola recipes use?
Yes! Substitute 2 egg whites for the oil, and reduce the almond milk to 2 tablespoons. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this granola Angela!