This granola was inspired by halawa or halva as some call it, a Middle Eastern tahini based fudge for the lack of a better term. It’s typically made with tahini and sugar and/or honey and studded with pistachios or other nuts. It’s dense and crumbly, yet it melts in your mouth, and writing about it brings me back to my childhood and memories of eating it rolled up in pita bread.

This tahini coconut granola is an ode to that childhood experience and my beloved halawa. It’s a flavour bomb of tahini, coconut and black sesame seeds nestled in crispy crunchy oats that’s lightly sweetened with creamed honey. You could replace the honey with another liquid sweetener of choice if you must, but I highly recommend you don’t. The combination of honey and tahini is like a match made in sweet treat heaven and really lends to that authentic halawa experience.

There’s not much else to say about this granola, as the taste really speaks for itself. Give it a try, I guarantee you won’t be able to put down the jar. That’s if you don’t eat it all straight off the baking tray first.

Just a few notes.

If you need this to be gluten free, make sure to use certified gluten free oats. If you can’t find them in stores, try on-line.
This recipe calls for raw creamed honey. What this is, is simply honey with a thick creamy texture, not liquid and transparent, that hasn’t been heated over 42 C.
If you don’t eat honey, you can use brown rice malt syrup, it’s the closest you’ll get in texture to creamed honey and it’s neutral enough that it won’t disrupt the flavour of the granola, as maple syrup would.
If you don’t have black sesame seeds, you can use white ones. I used the black ones for colour contrast here and sometimes I mix the two.
If you want it to be more clumpy and clustery, increase the liquid ingredients by half. So use a full cup of liquid ingredients (tahini and honey) instead of the 3/4 cups called for here. I like my granola crumbly with tiny clusters throghout which I achieve with 3/4 cups of liquid.

Halawa Inspired Tahini Coconut Granola

Author Nissrine Boufawaz @ HolisticNiss.com

Time under 60 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Servings 5 cups
Diet vegan, gluten free option
Category Snack

Ingredients:

2 C (240g) Rolled Oats, use certified gluten free if necessary
1 C (100g) Shredded Coconut, not sweetened
1 C (50g) Coconut Flakes, not sweetened
1/2 C (70g) Black and/or White Sesame Seeds
1/2 C (145g) Tahini
1/4 C (95g) Raw Creamed Honey
Pinch of fine sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add oats, coconut, sesame seeds and a pinch of salt to a large bowl and toss to combine.
Add tahini and creamed honey and mix until you have clumpy slightly mixture.
Spread into a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden, , stirring frequently to prevent the coconut flakes from burning.
- Total bake time for my oven is about 40-50 minutes but this will vary based on the size of the baking sheet you use, how thinly the mixture is spread out and the potency of your oven. Watch it carefully and stir it often to prevent it from burning but you'll need to bake it at least 30 minutes to get a crispy crunchy result.