Any muesli fans out there? How about muesli haters? Muesli is typically made with raw oats, nuts and dried fruit, and maybe some spices for good measure. I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of store-bought mueslis aren’t awesome—the raw oats taste like horse food (yep, I said it), and the healthy oils in nuts and oats can go rancid if the muesli sits on the shelf too long. I’m aiming to turn all the haters into muesli lovers with this recipe. Starting with raw nuts and oats from a store with a healthy turnover rate is key. Then I suggest you commit muesli blasphemy—mix in a tiny drizzle of maple syrup and coconut oil, and toast the ingredients in the oven to maximize the flavor and minimize the horse food effect. This is healthy homemade cereal that you’ll actually want to eat!
The inspiration for this muesli came from Pinch of Yum’s photography workshop. Lindsay and her team served Minneapolis-made Seven Sundays muesli for breakfast, with a beautiful spread of fruit and toppings to choose from. The hard part was not eating the muesli before I was done photographing it. I fell in love with Seven Sundays’ cherry, pecan and vanilla combination, so I just had to recreate it. I can’t say I made an exact replica of their muesli, but it’s delicious regardless. Muesli is very flexible, so you can easily change it up—see the recipe notes for suggestions. As always, please let me know how you like it in the comments!
Serving suggestions: Serve this muesli with your milk of choice (regular milk, store-bought almond milk, homemade cashew milk, or even homemade pecan milk). Top with fresh fruit like sliced bananas, fresh berries or chopped apples. You might want to let the muesli and milk mixture rest for 10 minutes before eating, to soften up the oats. Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. Make it nut free: Replace the pecans with pepitas (green pumpkin seeds). Coconut haters: Replace the dried coconut with additional oats. Omit the coconut oil or replace it with olive oil. Change it up: Feel free to substitute other nuts for the pecans (chopped if large) or use a different type of dried fruit (chopped dried apricots, cranberries or raisins would be great). You can substitute honey for the maple syrup, but you might need to warm it up in the microwave for just a few seconds beforehand, so it’s easier to mix into the other ingredients. You can find more options in the special diet notes above. If you love this recipe: Don’t miss the mango lassi smoothie bowls with toasted coconut muesli in my cookbook! Check out similar recipes for granola and granola bars here.
