Tropical Sugar-free Granola

In this tropical granola, we use a simple Sugar-free granola base. This recipe is versatile – simply add the fruit and nuts of your choice. It’s sweetened with apple sauce and cinnamon. Our family has been enjoying it with Hawaiian inspired add-ins during our winter holiday vacation, making it with our own tropical granola twist.

Sugar-Free Granola Base Healthy Keto Hawaiian Granola

How to Make Tropical Granola

use island-inspired ingredients such as macadamia nuts and coconut
use coconut oil and apple sauce to help bind the oats and create yummy clusters
add dried tropical fruit – pineapple and papaya are delicious in this mix (optional)

As mentioned, use the base of this recipe and customize the granola to your liking, tropical or simple. Once you have combined the dry ingredients (the oats and spices) with the wet ingredients (the dissolved coconut oil and apple sauce) and have mixed it until oats are coated, spread evenly on a baking sheet or tray.

How to Sweeten Granola without Sugar

use unsweetened apple sauce – check the ingredients list that it does not contain any added sugar or fruit juice
use cinnamon – creates a naturally sweeter taste
use dried fruit – coconut, pineapple, papaya (optional)

Making granola at home is fun. The smell will draw friends and family to munch and crunch on the nutty oat creation. It is baked in rounds. Bake and gradually add in dried fruit, coconut, nuts and seeds – anything goes! In our keto Hawaiian granola, we use macadamia nuts, almonds, coconut, cinnamon, and ginger.

The tropical twist in this recipe post was inspired by our holiday family trip to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. We have been blessed to visit this gorgeous island many times. This season, between Christmas and New Year’s we join Bob’s folks, his sister Cici, and Cici’s boyfriend in Kauai. We enjoy staying in condos and rented homes so that we have the flexibility of cooking vs eating out for every meal. Vacationing in this way makes healthy choices much easier. It’s fun cooking as an extended family and having meals together.

My in-laws rented this pretty blue house in Poipu beach where it is always sunny, even in the winter. The porch is the best place to watch sunsets.

Blue house Poipu Beach Kauai Hawaii with Leyla posing on the cute porch

Bob’s mom is our resident food critic. She is a brilliant Persian home chef. We had a big potluck brunch today. Our Persian Martha Steward Loved this granola, plans to make it back at home, giving it 2 thumbs up! As far as recipe testers go, she is a strict one and her approval means this one is definitely a keeper.

If you love nutty, healthy-ish granola’s but need something a little sweeter, hop on over and check out the recipe for Home-made Healthnut Granola from a few years back. In that recipe, we experimented with using coconut sugar and a touch of honey.

We eat fresh pineapples all day long here. If you love pineapples as much as we do, you’ll love this easy, Fresh Pineapple Mango Salsa that is nice alone or alongside some grilled salmon.

How about a tropical themed brunch? We have been blessed to visit this island a handful of times. With each visit, I am inspired to create a new healthy dish. Add Not Your Grandmother’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake to the menu – it’s moist, tropical, pretty and delicious.

Aloha and happy Hawaiian holidays from our family to yours –

Friday night art walk in Hanapeipei Kaui