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This Peanut Butter Granola recipe is has homemade crunchy peanut butter, peanuts, and other wholesome ingredients like raisins, flax, unsweetened coconut, and honey. It’s super easy to make and packs a boost of protein. Perfect to top your breakfast yogurt parfait or as a healthy on-the-go snack.
This was one of my first products sold in my specialty bakery over 12 years ago. It is similar to my cranberry almond granola or classic granola and super easy to swap out ingredients to make it your own.
Ingredients to make Peanut Butter Granola
Wet Ingredients
- Honey is produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers that is considered an unrefined natural sugar.
- Canola oil is perfect for baking as it has a neutral and light flavor.
- Peanut butter is made from peanuts, oil, sugar and salt turned into a creamy or chunky texture. Look for one that has “fully hydrogenated oil”, minimal trans fats, and no high fructose corn syrup. Some varieties labeled “natural”, may be “Peanut Butter Spread” containing palm oil. Authentic “all-natural” peanut butter is made from ground peanuts and salt.
- Vanilla provides hints of caramel and spice, enhancing the depth of flavor to baked goods. The best quality is an all-natural and made from real vanilla beans containing at least 35% alcohol.
Dry Ingredients
- Oats are a whole grain that are high in fiber and available in their natural whole form, or as quick oats, which are finely cut and pre-cooked.
- Brown sugar is granulated sugar combined with molasses, sold as either light brown sugar (with 3.5% molasses) or dark brown sugar (with 6.5% molasses) for a more robust flavor.
- Cinnamon comes from dried bark from the tropical Asian cinnamon tree and is available as whole cinnamon sticks or ground. There are two types: Cassia which has a warm, sweet flavor, and Ceylon known as “true cinnamon”, which has an intense spicy bite.
- Pink salt is a type of rock salt found near the Himalayas, that is minimally processsed and contains trace minerals.
Wholesome Mix-Ins
- Coconut is the fruit of palm trees found in tropical regions, that comes either unsweetened or sweetened and in various forms, such as coconut flakes, shredded or finely shredded.
- Flax seeds are the unprocessed seeds of the flax plant that come in brown or golden varieties, and are available whole or ground into a fine flaxseed meal.
- Peanuts are legumes that grow underground and are rich in protein, healthy fats and fiber. Look for “dry roasted” with either “no-salt” or “lightly-salted” on the label, because most brands labeled “dry roasted, salted” often contain added ingredients like spices, msg, or sugar.
- Raisins are sun-ripened dried grapes, made from either green or purple grapes. They are naturally sweet and add chewy texture to baked goods.
Homemade Ingredients to Use
Homemade peanut butter is so easy to make from fresh roasted, salted peanuts in which you just place in food processor and blend to desired consistency. Use roasted peanuts without salt or lightly-salted, and grind in a food processor for 2-3 minutes.
Vanilla: Purchase Grade B vanilla beans (also called extract-grade), which have less moisture and a more concentrated flavor. Place 8 oz. of bourbon (or vodka) in glass bottle or jar. Split 5-7 vanilla beans down the middle and add to bottle. Let it sit for 3-6 months in a cool, dark place. As you use it, continue to replace the bourbon and add more beans as it keeps for many years.
Before baking, smooth out and press granola into an even layer on the baking sheet. Only stir granola after it has cooled down when adding the dried fruit.
Use a natural sweetener such as honey or molasses.
Homemade peanut butter or a natural chunky peanut butter works well.
Dietary Substitutions
Making granola can be very versatile and you can basically swap out the ingredients to fit your dietary needs.
For the oil, substitute a neutral tasting coconut oil or extra light olive oil.
If you need to avoid certain types of nuts like tree nuts, swap out the coconut with peanuts or seeds like sunflower seeds or hemp seeds.
If you have a tree nut allergy avoid these: almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, chestnuts and coconut.
Equipment
Recommended tools: (affiliate links)
Storage
- Store in an airtight container such as a glass jar on counter up to 2 weeks.
- You can also seal in in freezer safe bags using a heat sealer for up to 6 months.
Related Recipes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 325°. Grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment.
- In a large bowl, mix together oats, quick oats, peanuts, flax, spices, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together peanut butter, oil, honey, and vanilla and pour over the dry ingredients.
- Pour granola into a thin layer onto a baking sheet.
- Bake granola at 325° for 30 minutes.
- Turn off oven, toss in the raisins, return to oven for 10 minutes.
- Let cool on the pan. Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
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