Irresistible Granola Breakfast Tarts: Your New Favorite Healthy & Versatile Morning Treat
Kickstart your day with a burst of flavor and nutrition! We’re thrilled to share these delightful granola breakfast tarts, a truly exciting way to enjoy your morning meal. Forget soggy cereal or rushed toast; these tarts offer a wholesome, customizable, and incredibly delicious alternative that will quickly become a household favorite. Imagine a perfectly crisp, subtly sweet granola shell, brimming with creamy yogurt and vibrant fresh fruit – it’s breakfast perfection, ready to grab and go or savor at your leisure.
The inspiration for these fantastic tart shells came from the innovative idea of using granola as a base, a concept that immediately sparked joy. While the original inspiration came from another fantastic food blog’s granola tart shells, we’ve put our own spin on the recipe, adapting it from our beloved Coconut Granola recipe. This ensures our granola shells form beautiful, sturdy clusters, making them ideal for holding all your favorite fillings. The best part? This versatile granola recipe can also be enjoyed on its own or adapted to create tart shells from almost any granola mixture that clumps together well.
Why Granola Breakfast Tarts Are a Game-Changer
Using granola to create edible tart shells is nothing short of brilliant. If you’re a granola enthusiast, this idea will resonate deeply! These tarts transform breakfast from a routine into an enjoyable experience. They’re incredibly versatile, allowing for endless combinations of “breakfasty” fillings. Think creamy yogurts, an array of fresh fruits, a sprinkle of nuts, or a drizzle of honey – the possibilities are truly limitless. Beyond their deliciousness, these tarts are also wonderfully portable, making them perfect for busy mornings, school lunches, or a healthy snack anytime.
Crafting Your Perfect Granola Shells
The foundation of these amazing tarts is, of course, the granola shell itself. Our recipe combines old-fashioned rolled oats, oat bran for extra fiber, and unsweetened shredded coconut, offering a wonderful texture and natural sweetness. The binding agents – honey (or maple syrup for a vegan option) and melted coconut oil – are crucial for ensuring the shells hold their shape beautifully. A touch of vanilla and sea salt enhances the flavors, while a little sucanat or brown sugar adds that perfect hint of caramelized sweetness as they bake.
When preparing the granola mixture, ensure all ingredients are thoroughly combined. The wet ingredients (honey, oil, vanilla, salt, sugar) need to evenly coat the dry ingredients (oats, oat bran, coconut) to create those desirable clusters that make for sturdy tart shells. Once mixed, a crucial step is pressing the mixture firmly into greased muffin tins. Don’t be shy with the pressure! This compaction is what gives the shells their integrity and prevents them from crumbling once baked. Filling each cup with a heaping two tablespoons and pressing it about three-quarters of the way up the sides will create a perfect little cup for your fillings.
The Art of the Filling: Yogurt and Berries
For our initial batch, we opted for a classic and satisfying combination: creamy Greek yogurt, a medley of fresh berries, and a delicate drizzle of honey. We made these tarts twice to perfect the recipe, learning that the right amount of honey in the granola mixture is key for optimal stickiness and structure. For the filling, while sweet Greek yogurt works, we found that plain Greek yogurt with a light honey drizzle offered a superior balance. The inherent sweetness of the granola shells and fresh berries often provides enough sugary goodness, but customize to your preference! If you love an extra sweet treat, a flavored yogurt would be a fantastic choice.
The fruit toppings truly offer endless creative possibilities. While berries are a perennial favorite, don’t limit yourself! Embrace seasonal produce for the freshest and most vibrant flavors. In the spring, consider sliced strawberries or raspberries. Summer brings peaches, plums, and apricots. For fall and winter, finely diced apples or pears, perhaps lightly spiced with cinnamon, would be absolutely divine. Other ideas include sliced bananas, kiwi, or even a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds for a burst of color and tartness. Mix and match to discover your personal favorite combinations.
Baking and Cooling for Perfection
Achieving the perfect granola tart shell requires a gentle bake and patience during cooling. You’ll notice that the inside of the tart shells might not get quite as golden as the outer edges, and that’s perfectly normal. As long as the edges are golden brown and the inside has started to firm up and take on a golden hue, your shells are good to go. The low and slow baking at 300 degrees Fahrenheit ensures they become crisp without burning. Remember to rotate and switch your muffin tins halfway through to ensure even baking.
A critical step, one that we cannot overemphasize, is to **lightly grease your muffin tin!** Learn from our past experiences: one batch of our early attempts sadly ended up as regular granola because the shells stubbornly refused to release from the ungreased pan. A quick spray with non-stick cooking spray or a light coat of coconut oil or butter will save you a lot of frustration. While standard muffin tins work perfectly, if you happen to have individual free-standing mini tart shells, they can make for an even cuter presentation. Ultimately, any appropriate baking vessel you have on hand will work, as long as it’s properly prepared.
Serving Ideas and Portability
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this recipe is the incredible portability and ease of consumption. Once baked to perfection and fully cooled, these granola shells are sturdy enough to be picked up and eaten right out of hand, making them ideal for on-the-go breakfasts or healthy snacks. Of course, a fork is always an option if you prefer, but we were genuinely surprised at how mess-free they generally are for adults. For younger eaters, a fork might still be a good idea, as kids’ enthusiasm can sometimes lead to delightful, albeit messy, experiences!
These tarts are also a fantastic option for entertaining. Imagine serving them at a brunch or a breakfast gathering: a platter of crisp granola shells alongside bowls of different yogurts (plain, vanilla, fruit-flavored), various chopped fresh fruits, a selection of nuts and seeds, and a few drizzles like honey, maple syrup, or chocolate sauce. Guests can then customize their own tart, creating a fun and interactive breakfast bar. They can be prepared ahead of time, making party planning a breeze.
Nutritional Benefits
Beyond being incredibly tasty, these granola breakfast tarts offer a host of nutritional benefits. The base of rolled oats provides complex carbohydrates, essential fiber, and sustained energy, keeping you full and satisfied throughout your morning. Oat bran further boosts the fiber content, aiding digestion and promoting heart health. When paired with Greek yogurt, you get a significant dose of protein, which is vital for muscle repair and satiety. Fresh berries are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, contributing to overall well-being. By choosing unsweetened ingredients and controlling added sugar, you create a breakfast that fuels your body without the unnecessary sugar crash.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
These granola tart shells are excellent for meal prepping. You can bake a batch of shells on the weekend and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. When you’re ready to enjoy one, simply fill it with your desired yogurt and fruit. This makes healthy breakfast an effortless affair even on the busiest weekdays. For longer storage, the baked shells can be frozen for up to a month. Thaw them at room temperature or refresh them in a low oven for a few minutes to regain their crispness before filling.
Enjoy the process of creating these wonderful breakfast tarts and savor every delightful bite!
Granola Breakfast Tarts with Yogurt and Berries
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 C old fashioned rolled oats (use GF oats for a GF version)
- 1/2 C oat bran (use GF oat bran for a GF version)
- 1 C unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1.2 C honey or pure maple syrup (maple for vegan)
- 1/4 C coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp sucanat or brown sugar
- For Filling:
- Yogurt or Greek yogurt (or coconut / almond / another dairy-free yogurt for vegan)
- Berries
- Other fresh fruit cut into small pieces bananas, apples, peaches, plums, apricots cherries, etc…
- Raw honey to drizzle over top (omit for vegan)
Instructions
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For the tart shells, prepare 2 muffin tins by greasing the cups. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
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Stir together the rolled oats, oat bran(or more oats) and coconut. In another bowl stir together the honey, oil, vanilla, salt and brown sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until completely combined.
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Put a heaping 2 tbsp of the granola mixture in each muffin cup and press down with your fingers to form a little tart, coming up the side of the muffin cup about 3/4 of the way. Repeat with the rest.
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Place in the oven and bake for 32-37 minutes, turning and switching the pans as needed until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely without touching. When completely cool gently remove and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
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Serve with your favorite yogurt or Greek yogurt, berries or other fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey if desired.