Project Breakfast: Tropical Granola with Greek Yogurt

Photo by Josh Bassett Photography

In my first post on project breakfast, I did admit that I eat a lot of granola in the mornings. With my new mission to vary my breakfasts more, I don't plan to stop but I will make an effort to make my own granola often and to experiment with the flavors and nutrients that I include. I have been making my own granola for about a year and it is always loosely based on a recipe that I adapted from Eric's. While wandering through my favorite organic market last weekend, I saw the dried pineapple and papaya and was inspired to try a tropical version:

Tropical Granola


6 c rolled oats
1 c honey
1 c diced papaya, diced
1 c dried pineapple, diced
1 c coconut
1 c heart healthy mixed nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oats, coconut and nuts in a large bowl and stir together. Pour honey over the mixture and stir slowly until all ingredients are coated. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 or lager (metal or glass) cake pan. Bake for up to an hour, checking on the mixture and stirring every 7 minutes or so. Check more frequently as the granola gets closer to being done to avoid any parts of it burning. Let cool and stir in the dried fruit. Done!

Serving Size: 2/3 cup; Calories: 230

This process is a little labor-intensive, mostly because you have to pay such close attention to the granola as it bakes. It's likely that the tiny oven in my 80-year old apartment is worse than most of yours so you'll need to try it out once and see how well the oats do without burning in your own oven. It is worth spending the time on because it provides you breakfast for 2-3 weeks!

Granola with Yogurt


Most days, I mix 2/3 c granola with greek yogurt or soymilk. Last week for the challenge, I used 2/3 c granola with about 1/2 c yogurt. It was delicious and kept me full until about 11.

Calories: 340

Tropical Granola and Fruit Parfait


Last Friday, I had some fruit to use up and I was feeling extra adventurous so I threw it all into a lovely breakfast parfait. I used:

3/4 c tropical granola
1/2 c vanilla greek yogurt
4 large strawberries
1/2 banana

Slice strawberries and bananas. Layer granola, yogurt, and fruit in a glass and serve!

Calories: 500

This combination was delicious but still kept me full to just about 11. I would like to try replacing the strawberries with mango slices or fresh pineapple to really top of the tropical theme but I just used what I had in the fridge. This is definitely my favorite way to eat granola because it is fresh, crunchy, and a little creamy and it combines so many flavors. It is a little more work though so it will definitely have to continue as a Friday morning treat!