At Topia, continental breakfast is meant to be light, nourishing, and easy. Most mornings our guests are getting up to move their bodies—whether that’s surfing, yoga, or Pilates—so breakfast is something people can grab quickly that still provides real nourishment.
One of the things we serve regularly is this house granola. Guests usually enjoy it with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, often papaya or pineapple.
People ask us about it all the time. They say it’s the best granola they’ve had and want to know why. Like most of our food, the secret ingredient is the people who make it. In the case of the granola, it’s Tía Marta—and sometimes she lets me, Chelle, help.
This is the recipe. Duplicate it at home and put your own love and special spin on it.
Topia Granola
Yield: about 5–6 cups
Servings: about 10–12 (½ cup each)
Oven: 350°F / 180°C
Ingredients
• 1½ cups rolled oats (old-fashioned oats)
• ⅓ cup chia seeds
• 1 very ripe banana, peeled
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• ¼ cup whole almonds
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup cashews
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• ¾ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ⅓ tsp nutmeg
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven
Preheat to 350°F (180°C). Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat.
2. Make the banana mixture
Mash the banana until smooth. Stir in the olive oil, maple syrup, orange zest, and water.
3. Combine the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, mix the oats, chia seeds, coconut, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Combine everything
Pour the banana mixture over the dry ingredients and mix until everything is evenly coated.
5. Spread onto the pan
Spread the granola evenly across the prepared sheet pan.
Bake the granola
Bake for about 30–60 minutes total, depending on your oven, the size of the pan, and how crisp you like your granola.
This is an active process. Every 8–12 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula to fold the granola over itself, bringing the toasted granola from the bottom up to the top.
As you do this, chop through the mixture with the edge of the spatula to create clusters, then spread it back out evenly on the pan.
Return the pan to the oven and repeat this process until the granola is evenly golden brown and fragrant.
Let it cool completely on the pan, where it will crisp up.
