This homemade peanut butter banana granola recipe is loaded with nourishing ingredients. It creates the perfect gluten free and vegan breakfast or snack!
Super easy to make, this recipe creates an ultra satisfying and crunchy granola loaded with nuts and seeds, peanut butter, banana and cinnamon. It’s perfect for meal prep and great to take on the go.
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Is Granola Vegan?
Many homemade granola recipes are vegan, but a common granola ingredient that’s not vegan is honey. Fortunately, this can always be replaced with a different liquid sweetener like maple syrup.
Despite homemade granola commonly being vegan, many store-bought/ boxed granolas contain non-vegan ingredients including dairy. I have no idea why food companies want to put dairy in everything but it’s super common.
Luckily, it’s easy and satisfying to make your own delicious and nutritious vegan granola. I like to load mine with peanut butter, banana and nuts for a super filling breakfast or snack. This combination is like a peanut butter banana bread granola – yum!
Peanut Butter Banana Granola Ingredients
Making a vegan granola recipe from wholesome ingredients may be easy, but you’ll have to prepare it ahead of time. It creates a super crunchy texture as it cools; and yes, the wait is worth it!
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Rolled oats: Take your oats to the next level by turning them into a crisp and flavorful granola! The base of this recipe is oats which are a nutritious whole grain.
- Walnuts and pecans: To add a great crunch, healthy fats, plant-based protein and tasty nutrients, I like to add walnuts and pecans. You can use one or the other if you prefer. Sliced almonds also work well; just aim for 1 cup total of nuts!
- Flax seeds and hemp seeds: For extra nutrition, including omega fats, I try to eat seeds every morning. Tossing ground flax seeds and hemp seeds into this granola is a simple way to increase your intake of essential nutrients.
- Cinnamon: For a boost of flavor, add some cinnamon into your peanut butter granola!
- Salt: If your peanut butter is unsalted, a dash of salt creates a great balance of flavor (but is optional if you aren’t a fan of sweet-salty foods).
- Maple syrup: For the perfect amount of sweetness, maple syrup helps create a truly irresistible vegan granola!
- Peanut butter: You can’t make peanut butter granola without this star ingredient. The peanut butter flavor comes through perfectly in every bite.
- Oil: Some vegetable oil keeps the granola from drying out and adds healthy fats to make a satisfying and filling vegan breakfast.
- Vanilla extract: I love adding vanilla extract to almost any sweet recipe for a delicious flavor addition.
- Banana: A mashed banana works perfectly to coat the oats and makes the granola taste like banana bread!
How to Make Vegan Granola Bursting with Nuts
This one-bowl recipe is incredibly easy to make and quick to prep. Just mix all the ingredients thoroughly, bake, cool and eat!
Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients
Mash a banana in your large mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining liquid ingredients including peanut butter, oil, vanilla extract and maple syrup.
Mix until everything is well combined.
Step 2: Stir in Dry Ingredients
Add the remaining dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. This includes rolled oats, walnuts, pecans, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds, cinnamon and salt (if using salt).
Stir everything together until well combined and the oats are evenly coated with liquid ingredients.
Step 3: Bake and Cool
Cover your baking tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Spread the granola mixture into a thin, even layer across the baking tray.
Flatten the granola so it’s no thicker than ½ cm (¼ inch). If you like extra crunchy granola, spread it even thinner. For a chunky granola, stick to about ½ cm.
Place the granola into a preheated oven, set to 325 °F. It’ll take about 25 minutes to cook and should be golden brown on the top and bottom. If you want smaller granola pieces, or an extra crispy granola, break apart the large clump of granola halfway through the baking process (optional).
Once out of the oven, cool for about 20 minutes before crumbling. If the center of your granola still feels moist, put it back into the oven (another 5 minutes should be enough).
Serve warm or allow to cool completely (another few hours). When completely cooled, transfer to an airtight container or jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Step 4: Serve
Granola is a delicious breakfast or snack! You can serve it like a cold cereal with plant-based milk or create a parfait by serving with vegan yogurt and fruit.
Adding fruit to the granola makes this recipe delicious and balanced! I love adding berries, sliced banana and/or apple!
You can also eat this granola as-is for a snack. It’s easy to pack and take to work/ school and have around to munch on when you’re hungry. This is an energy-dense recipe that should keep you feeling full!
Banana Granola Tips and Variations
The biggest tip to keep in mind is making sure the granola is cooked through. Depending on how thick your layer of granola on the baking tray is, it may not cook through in 25 minutes.
Once out of the oven, check that the center of the granola is crisp. If not, crumble it and toss it back into the oven for 5 minutes to help the center crisp!
There’s plenty of variations you can try with this vegan granola recipe. The two main substitutions I make are the nuts/ seeds and spices.
I’ve used walnuts and pecans here, but most nuts work, so use what you like and have on hand. Almonds are particularly delicious in granola!
You can also alter the spices. This recipe only uses cinnamon but feel free to add other spices like nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger, pumpkin spice blend or whatever you’d like!
How to Store Homemade Vegan Granola
It’s very important for the granola too cool completely before storing. It takes a couple hours to cool fully.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to a week. I store it in the fridge for peace of mind, knowing it’ll last a week. It can be stored in the cupboard for a few days but will not last as long.
I hope you enjoy this easy homemade vegan granola with peanut butter and banana as much as I do! Granola with berries and soy yogurt is one of my favorite breakfast meals since it’s so quick to make and keeps me full and satisfied.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Peanut Butter Banana Granola (with Nuts)
Equipment
- Parchment paper (or silicone baking mat)
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup walnuts , chopped
- ½ cup pecans , chopped
- 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt (only if using unsalted peanut butter)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup peanut butter (natural)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup banana , mashed (about 1 small banana)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 °F.
- In a large bowl, mash banana.½ cup banana
- Stir in maple syrup, peanut butter (natural), avocado oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup peanut butter, 2 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- To the bowl, stir in rolled oats, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, cinnamon and salt (only if using unsalted peanut butter).2 cups rolled oats, ½ cup walnuts, ½ cup pecans, 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 3 tablespoons hemp seeds, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Once everything is mixed and the oats/ nuts are evenly coated with your peanut butter banana mixture, spread out onto a parchment (or silicone mat) covered baking tray.
- Flatten into a single layer that’s about ½ cm (¼ inch) thick.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the granola is golden brown on the top and bottom.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before breaking apart the granola (use a spoon or your hands). Cool the granola completely before storing in an airtight jar/ container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
Jeannette
I've been snacking on this tasty granola and just can't get enough. It is so much better than store bought and extremely easy to make.
Nicole Stevens
Awesome! I'm making another batch for myself today since I can't seem to get enough either 🙂