I've been looking to make breakfast a little more interesting and fun round here lately while I've got my little one home for the summer. Ugh! I can't believe she's about to be a big first grader. Anyway, these cute little granola cups were the perfect way to do that! They're cute, and little, and so easy to make!

What I love about these cups is that they are so versatile. You can use them as mini pie crusts, fill them with yogurt and/or fruit (like I did) for breakfast, or even as the base of a tart or other sort of dessert. I'm thinking mini cheesecakes!

By the way, did I mention that they are also vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free? Yep, yep, and yep! These little cuties definitely hit all the right notes. If all that isn't convincing enough, there's also chia seeds in them too; adding super crunch and even more texture.

If you haven't heard by now, chia seeds are these fun little blips of awesome and are pretty trendy right now with all the health food experts. They're definitely a power food that's loaded with good things that help digestive and heart health, boost your energy, help you build muscles and lose weight, and so much more!

I know there's sort of a debate going on right now about chia seeds and whether or not you need to soak them ahead of eating them, but from the research I've done on my own, I've found that it's perfectly okay to eat them either way. Especially in the small amount we've got going on here.

Of course, if you're wanting these to be gluten-free please be mindful of the brand of oats that you buy. I know there's a few out there that do sneak gluten in sometimes.

Today I filled my granola cups with some fat-free greek yogurt and different kinds of fresh and colorful fruits and berries. Yum! It really was the perfect way to stay out the day. But, like I said - these would be great used as the crust for any sort of breakfast or desert. The sky is the limit!

Granola Cups
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 Granola Cup • Calories: 114.9 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 8.6 g • Fiber: 1.9 g • Protein: 1.7 g • Sugar: 0.5 g • Sodium: 11.1 mg

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. Old-Fashioned Oats
1/2 C. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
2 Tbsp. Chia Seeds
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 C. + 1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil, Melted & Cool
1/4 C. Sugar-Free Maple Syrup

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly coat the inside of a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the 1 1/2 C. Old-Fashioned Oats, 1/2 C. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, 2 Tbsp. Chia Seeds, and 1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon.

Add in the 1/4 C. + 1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil and 1/4 C. Sugar-Free Maple Syrup; stir well to combine.

Scoop about 3 Tbsp. of the oat mixture into each of 12 'cups'.

Press the oats in at the bottom and sides.

I used a shot glass to do this because it fit so perfectly in the center to make the desired shape for my cups.

The more condensed and pressed you can get the oats, the more crisp your cups will turn out.

Place the pan into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the oats are starting to brown around the top edge.

Remove the granola cups from the oven to cool.

Once the granola cups are completely cool, carefully lift them up out of the muffin tin.

Using a large fork to do this will help if they need to be waffled free at all. I only had one casualty.

Fill with whatever you desire and enjoy!