A crunchy peanut butter-y granola loaded with healthy nuts and chia seeds, this homemade granola tastes so much better than store bought and makes your house smell fabulous!
Last week I saw this recipe that totally intrigued me … PB&J Breakfast Banana Splits. OMG! They looked amazing. I couldn’t wait to try them. BUT before I could, I had to go get me some Greek yogurt and yeah, MAKE granola. Despite what my ayurvedic expert tells me (he says you should only eat yogurt that you make yourself), I am perfectly fine with buying store-bought yogurt, but for some reason, I just can’t run to the store and grab granola. Oh no! I HAVE to make it myself. And since I have this gigantic bag of chia seeds in my cupboard, my granola MUST have chia seeds.
Why make homemade granola?
- Because it tastes SO much better than the store bought stuff. AND you can customize it to your own liking.
- Because it’s super easy. You just stir it together, spread it out on a pan and then bake at low temp, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until it’s a nice, crunchy golden brown.
- Because you don’t have to worry about any extra “added” ingredients you don’t recognize or want in your food. No strange chemicals! Just whole food goodness.
So I went to the store and bought some Greek yogurt. The healthiest vanilla Greek yogurt I could find. And fresh strawberries. We already had bananas … Oh man. I could … not … wait … to try that pretty dessert breakfast! (I wonder if perhaps I’ve been depriving myself a little too much of the simple pleasures in life?)
You could make this Elvis granola by adding mini chocolate chips (once it has cooled). Or if you want to go fruity, add some chopped apricots or golden raisins or whatever other dried fruit you like. I nixed the add-ins because I just wanted the peanut buttery oat and nut goodness that will be the sprinkles on my breakfast banana split.
Just you wait. We will get there. In the meantime, let’s snack on some dang good crunchy granola!
They don’t call me a granola girl for nothing. 😉
Print
Peanut Butter Chia Granola
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: About 10 1/2 cups of granola 1x
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 1/2 cups mixed nuts and seeds
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 3/4 cup dried coconut
For the peanut butter sauce:
- 1/2 of a ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup flaxmeal
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons grass fed butter or coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix-ins (optional):
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips, golden raisins, chopped apricots or other dried fruit
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with silicon baking mat or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients until well mixed.
- In a separate smaller bowl, add the peanut butter sauce ingredients and give it a quick stir. Microwave on high for 1 minute, then stir until everything is well mixed and melted. Microwave another 30 seconds if needed and stir again. Drizzle the sauce over the nut/oat mixture in the large bowl, a bit at a time, stirring to coat all the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
- Bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until the granola is golden brown and nicely toasted. Let cool completely, then stir in 1 – 1 1/2 cups of any mix-ins you’d like such as raisins, chopped dried fruit or mini chocolate chips.
Notes
Make this granola gluten free by using gluten free oats.
Don’t skip out on the coconut! Once the coconut flakes are toasted, they transform into a whole different thing altogether. SO good!
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 254
