This Strawberry Granola, made with freeze-dried strawberries, white chocolate, shredded coconut, and oats, is an easy and delicious meal prep breakfast or a great snack option to have on hand.

We are in a full-fledged granola phase at my house. The whole family loves it... for snacks, for breakfast and my son has been adding it to ice cream for dessert. Granola really does it all!

And this Strawberry version is super fun: freeze-dried strawberries are paired with sweet oats, crisp coconut flakes, slivered almonds, and some optional mini white chocolate chips. Admittedly, the white chocolate chips make it fall a little bit more towards the sweet dessert side of the spectrum, so they can be skipped if you want to make it just a bit more healthy. But they're a fun, delicious addition to it.

Though this granola doesn't technically have any fresh strawberries in the ingredients, it's recommended if you are serving it with yogurt you should top it with fresh strawberries!

So let's get to making it! The text below offers some tips for making it, or you can scroll down to the bottom for the complete recipe.

Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.

rolled oats
sliced almonds
unsweetened coconut flakes (buy the big kind if you can, as opposed to the finely shredded version)
granulated sugar
maple syrup
almond extract + vanilla extract
coarse kosher salt
coconut oil or light olive oil (one that doesn't have too strong of a flavor is ideal)
unsalted butter
freeze-dried strawberries (these are so commonly available in most grocery stores and I don't recommend skipping them or replacing them with fresh, for obvious reasons)
mini white chocolate chips (these are fun, yet optional)

Never Bought Freeze-Dried Strawberries Before?

Freeze-dried strawberries can be commonly found in most grocery stores. They are typically found near other dried fruit or nuts. I buy mine from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

You can also buy freeze-dried strawberries online.

The ingredients for strawberry granola in a bowl.

Crisp Granola vs. Granola Clusters

This recipe has a higher-than-typical amount of fat added to the granola in the form of both butter and olive oil. Adding that extra bit of fat not only improves the flavor, but also helps crisp up the oats.

Many people are often after the granola clusters you can pick up, but I find myself drawn to the separated crisp granola instead.

Luckily, with this recipe, you can do either and I'll share how.

If you want separated crisp granola: you'll want to make sure to stir the granola several times while baking, and once or twice as it cools.

If you want crunchy granola clusters: don't stir the granola while it's in the oven or as it cools.

The only downside to this is that you have to be careful not to burn the granola as it cooks if you are not stirring it. Stirring promotes more even cooking, but it is possible to cook it properly without stirring, so long as you pay close enough attention to the granola as it nears the end of the called-for cook time.

How to Tell When the Granola is Done

Nobody wants burnt granola. It's important to keep a close eye on the granola towards the end of the cooking time to ensure it's lightly toasted, but not dark brown. Setting a timer obviously is the best way to assist you while watching over the granola.

In addition, your sense of smell will be a good guide as to when it's done. As the oats, nuts, and coconut get toasty, they will start to exude their fragrant aroma. When you smell the toasty granola, you'll know it's done, or nearly done.

Serving + Storing

This granola will last at least a week, but likely a lot longer. I usually use mine up within a few weeks and it's always stayed just as good as the day I've made it. Do keep in mind it has no preservatives in it so you can't leave it for quite as long as you would store-bought granola.

If you made a big batch and you want to keep the granola very fresh for a longer period, it can be frozen without the freeze-dried strawberries or white chocolate chips for about 6 months.

Mason jars with tight-fitting lids are a great way to store granola.

More Strawberry Recipes

Making the recipe? Be sure to leave a comment with a star review on your experience! Have a question? Leave a comment below and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can!