After tasting the strawberry cupcakes I made for Abby’s birthday, my husband told me that the icing reminded him of a sweet yogurt. He also just returned from a business trip to Vermont, where he tried some homemade granola that he loved. I think you see where I’m going with this.
I quickly began researching the best method for making non-dairy yogurt for my yogurt and granola parfait, then headed straight for the kitchen.
I came across this tutorial from Tasty Yummies and followed the directions almost exactly. I used two cans of full-fat coconut milk, 4 capsules of probiotics (I recommend these), one Tablespoon of pure maple syrup, and 2 Tablespoons of tapioca starch dissolved in 4 Tablespoons of cold water to thicken. I fermented my yogurt in my dehydrator, but you can also use your oven if you don’t own a dehydrator (see tutorial).
My dehydrator actually has a yogurt setting.
My next task was to create a nutritious granola to go with my coconut yogurt. There are thousands of granola recipes out there, but I was eager to create my own and make it as nutritious as possible. The fun aspect of making granola is that you can add or subtract pretty much any ingredients to customize it as you like it.
Most granolas are very high in calories, so think small servings! I personally prefer a lighter granola with a slightly finer texture, but my husband prefers large clusters. I used coconut sugar for this recipe, but you could replace the sugar with maple syrup for a stickier, more cluster-like granola.
I pulsed my oat and seed mixture in a food processor a few times to give it a finer texture.
After stirring in the wet ingredients, I poured my granola onto a Silpat-lined baking sheet and baked it at 300°F for 25-30 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. The cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut sugar made my house smell AMAZING — like a giant oatmeal cookie!
You can serve your granola in a bowl with a splash of non-dairy milk and fruit, or you can make a beautiful parfait with coconut yogurt!
- 1 batch (about 4 cups) coconut milk yogurt (http://tasty-yummies.com/2014/06/03/how-to-make-coconut-milk-yogurt/)
- 1 cup fresh berries
- 1 batch (4 cups) vanilla granola (ingredients below)
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- 2 cups rolled oats (certified GF if necessary)
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1 T. Chia seeds
- ¼ t. fine sea salt
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ t. ground cinnamon
- ¼-1/3 cup almond butter (I used Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter)
- ⅓ cup + 2 T. coconut oil
- 1 T. vanilla extract
- ¼ t. almond extract
- Make your yogurt the day before you need it -- it needs several hours to ferment and cool.
- Make your granola: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- If you're like me and prefer a fine-textured granola, pulse your dry ingredients in a food processor a few times to break up the large nuts and seeds. If you like a more trail mix-type granola, omit this step.
- In a microwave or small saucepan, melt and stir together the coconut oil and almond butter until completely smooth. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk to incorporate.
- In a large bowl, pour the wet mixture over the dry mix and stir to completely coat the granola crumbs.
- Spread the granola out on baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes, stirring once or twice in the process. Allow granola to cool completely on the baking sheet, then transfer to an air-tight container for storage.
- Assemble your parfaits: Layer the yogurt, granola, and berries a few Tablespoons at a time in a clear container. Enjoy!
Because the yogurt and granola are fairly high in calories, I recommend going heaviest on the berries, which are relatively low in calories. You only need a few spoonfuls of the yogurt and granola to make this a delicious treat!
This is a nutritious and filling breakfast, and this recipe makes enough to last you all week!
Enjoy! 🙂
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