This nut-free granola is a perfect back-to-school mix of spiced crunchy oat clusters, chewy sweet cranberries and tropical shredded coconut! A great addition to any packed lunch or snack for your little one! 


These school lunches have all of my normal go-to lunch recipes flipped up side down.

In a good way.

I always enjoy a challenge and now that Ellie’s lunches have to be nut free, I have to think outside the box – her lunch box that is <—- sorry had to!

As much as I kinda joke around about the nut free thing, I now realize how hard it must be for parents who have kids that cannot have any nuts – because nuts are in EVERYTHING!! And I find that I toss nuts into EVERYTHING!

When I went to make Ellie a fun Breakfast–>for–>Lunch box the other day, I realized my standard granola wouldn’t do – it was loaded with nuts.

So I quickly tossed together (as quickly as one can move at 6 in the morning with only half a cup of coffee in them) this granola and loved the mix of spiced crunchy oat clusters, soft chewy cranberries and tropical shredded coconut!

This granola is perfect for breakfast, lunch or even a quick snack. You can pour milk over it for a fast cereal, sprinkle of yogurt or eat it straight out of the container.

The key to make granola clustery without the nuts is the egg white! Super serious here! Egg whites make the oats into clusters. Kinda cool!

Without it, the granola would be more like toasted oats flakes and not clumpy granola. So as random as it might seem, go ahead and add the egg white in.

This recipe is beyond easy – all you have to do is mix the ingredients together in a medium bowl, dump everything onto a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, stirring every so often. It’s easy-peasy baking at this time of day!

Now that we got this granola made, lunches are packed and the kiddos are at school, let’s all collapse on the floor and call it morning yoga – this back to school thing is exhausting!

At least we have some yummy granola to snack on for the rest of the day:)


cranberry and coconut granola in a glass jar.

Get the recipe: Back to School Granola with Cranberries + Coconut

5 stars (1 rating)
This nut-free granola is a perfect back-to-school mix of spiced crunchy oat clusters, chewy sweet cranberries and tropical shredded coconut! A great addition to any packed lunch or snack for your little one! 

Ingredients 

  • 3 cups oats
  • 1 egg white whisked
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup*
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp cardamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup coconut flakes divided
  • 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat oven to 300 degree F. Spray or line baking sheet with tin foil, parchment paper or silicon mat.
  • In a medium bowl, add the oats, egg white, olive oil, honey, chia seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, salt and 1/2 cup coconut flakes and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
  • Pour oats onto baking sheet and spread evenly.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
  • Let cool, making sure not to stir once you take the granola out of the oven. Add the remaining coconut flakes and dried cranberries and stir.
  • Store in air-tight container.

Notes

Yield – 4 cups
Storage – 3 weeks in an air-tight container
* I have made this with both honey and maple syrup and actually prefer the darker taste of maple syrup for this time of year. But either are a great option.
**If you don’t need this granola to be nut free, you can totally add in 3/4 cup chopped almonds and increase the olive oil to 1/2.
Calories: 744kcal, Carbohydrates: 98g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 38g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Sodium: 318mg, Potassium: 399mg, Fiber: 14g, Sugar: 45g, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 85mg, Iron: 4mg

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