Keto Coconut Clusters

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Sometimes finding snacks on the keto diet can be a challenge. These keto coconut clusters are perfect as a snack but they also double as an amazing granola substitute when you need some crunch on your low carb yogurt or smoothie bowl!

These keto coconut clusters were inspired by some coconut clusters I found at Costco for my kids. As far as pre-packaged snacks go, they’re better than most in terms of ingredients and macros and whatnot.

They are, however, still a bit too high carb for a ketogenic lifestyle. And yet I found myself snitching juuuust a little piece (or two… or three…) whenever my kids were getting them for their snacks.

They’re just that good.

So naturally I had to make myself a low carb version.

Keto Coconut Clusters

These coconut clusters are lightly sweet and salty, satisfy the need for crunch, are nut free*, gluten free, grain free, and vegan. Everyone wins!

*Ok, so coconut is classified as a tree nut on a lot of allergy information labels. However, most people with tree nut allergies do not react to coconut. Obviously, you should ask anyone with a potential allergy whether they react to coconut before you serve them this.

Alright. We start with coconut flakes– the big kind— and add pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds.

The pre-packaged stuff does not have any added oils (probably because people still think low fat foods are good for them) but to make this keto version, I used a little bit of coconut oil.

In this way, it’s more like a traditional granola recipe.

For sweetener, I used my low carb sweetener blend. But you can use whatever 1:1 sugar substitute you like.

So here’s a little note about my sweetener blend: it’s a mix of erythritol and stevia in a ratio that I find to be perfect for most baked goods in terms of not leaving either a cooling effect (from the erythritol) or a bitterness (from the stevia.)

However, on it’s own it retains a little bit of the cooling sensation. Because of this, and because we’re not mixing it into a typical sort of baked good here, I added just one drop of stevia glycerite to balance out the cooling sensation. This isn’t strictly necessary and really depends on how your taste buds react to low carb sweeteners, but I feel it gives a more neutral sweetness.

Once you’ve mixed the coconut/seed mixture into the coconut oil mixture, spread it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you’ve ever made granola before, this should be familiar to you.

Bake in a 350° oven until the coconut flakes are turning golden brown.

Because coconut flakes brown quickly, you’ll need to keep an eye on this the first time you make it. Ovens are really variable, but this should take somewhere in the 5-10 minute range.

I like mine a little more toasted than the original, but you can take this out at whatever level of browning you prefer.

For most even browning, give this a little stir after about 3 minutes or so.

Let this cool completely on the pan before breaking it up into clusters.

A 1/2 cup serving of this comes out to 2.2 net carbs, verses 8 net carbs from the original.

I’d call that a win!

But I would definitely still suggest measuring out a serving instead of hanging out near the jar… these things have an addictive quality for sure.

I feel like they fulfill a similar role as kettle corn– lightly sweet, a little salty, a nice crunch.

While I love eating these on their own, they really shine atop some low carb yogurt, like Two Good or Elli Quark. It’s the perfect level of crunch.

Did I mention you can whip these up in 15 minutes? I call that a total snack win.

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