Healthy Peanut Butter Granola
Posted Feb 17, 2019, Updated Sep 26, 2021
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This Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Recipe is a delicious make-ahead breakfast made with only 6 ingredients in 30 minutes! Plus it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free, oil free and vegan-friendly.
This Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Recipe is a tried and true family favorite in our house! We love enjoying it over yogurt or with a splash of almond milk!
This vegan granola recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and refined-sugar free! Perfect for any and all eaters in your life! It’s beloved by everyone who lives in my humble abode, it’s a great make-ahead breakfast for those of us who like to make the mornings as easy as possibly {i.e. sleep as long as we can}!
Healthy Peanut Butter Granola: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Oats: I have had great success with both quick-cooking and old-fashioned oats in this recipe! Using the quick-cooking variety produces a chunkier granola (it’s what I used in the batch pictured).
- Honey: You can easily substitute maple syrup for a vegan option!
- Peanut Butter: Any nut or seed butter can be used in place of peanut butter. If you use a firmer variety of peanut butter {not a runny, natural kind}, just be sure to melt it completely with the honey before adding the rest of the wet ingredients.
And that’s really it! There’s nothing much to this deliciously healthy peanut butter granola! Serve on top of yogurt, drenched in almond milk, or snack on it pain! There’s no wrong way to enjoy this healthy breakfast!
How to make Peanut Butter Granola
It is very easy to make this peanut butter granola recipe. Let’s discuss the process.
Begin by melting together the honey and peanut butter over very low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
Next add the vanilla and stir then add the dry ingredients & stir to combine.
Bake
Transfer the peanut butter granola mixture to a greased baking sheet and press it onto the pan and bake.
See! It’s such an easy granola recipe! The only note I have is that if you get to the final stage (before transferring the granola from the saucepan to the baking sheet), and the granola looks crumbly and not wet, add more peanut butter or honey until you reach the consistency pictured below. This is key in achieving clumps!
How to know when the granola is done baking:
The granola will look slightly golden-brown once it is done baking.
Tip: In order to be extra sure the granola is done, remove a piece or two from the pan and let it cool on the countertop. If it hardens relatively quickly (in 1-2 minutes) then it’s done. If not, continue baking until it is crunchy at room temperature.
Remove the granola from the oven and let it cool completely, then break it into chunks and serve or store.
Store/freeze
Store this granola in an airtight container or glass jar with a lid at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Serving suggestions
Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy this peanut butter granola.
- On top of yogurt. I recommend eating this served on top of your favorite yogurt with fresh berries! It adds the perfect crunch!
- In a bowl with your choice of milk! You can also serve this homemade granola as a cold cereal! Simply use your favorite dairy-free or regular milk and enjoy!
- As a snack! Sometimes we like to pack individual containers of this healthy peanut butter granola when we go hiking or to the park as a delicious snack!
Recipe FAQs
Here are a few commonly asked questions I receive about this peanut butter granola recipe!
Here are a few tips and tricks for ensuring that your peanut butter granola is crunchy (and stays crunchy)…
Bake at a low temperature. This peanut butter granola bakes at 325 degrees F, which a lower temperature than I usually bake most recipes. The low, slow baking process ensures that the granola will dry out sufficiently to stay nice and crunchy.
Use enough wet ingredients. The clumps are what make this peanut butter granola so amazing. Making sure the mixture is sufficiently wet before baking is very important.
How you bake the homemade granola is key. This peanut butter granola needs to be baked in one sheet pressed to the bottom of the pan to achieve maximum crunchiness. The reason for this is that it creates clumps, which are very important to crunchy granola!
I recommend storing this peanut butter granola in an airtight, glass container at room temperature.
This homemade peanut butter granola lasts 3-4 weeks when stored at room temperature in an airtight, glass container (assuming it has been baked to be crunchy and not soft).
I recommend not storing this homemade granola recipe in the refrigerator! It’s best when stored in an airtight container at room temperature!
It absolutely is healthy! Just check out the nutrition facts in the recipe! One serving of this granola contains plenty of protein, fiber and other nutrients!
It also keeps you full for a long time, which helps get you through a mid-morning slump!
If you do under bake this healthy peanut butter granola and it becomes soft the next day, no need to worry.
Simply pop it back into the oven for a few minutes to re-crisp it! Just be SUPER careful not to forget you put it back in the oven…IÂ may have done this on more than one occasion. Whoopsies.
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Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned or quick cooking oats*
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 6 TBS natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup for vegan
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together oats, salt and cinnamon. Set aside
- In a microwave safe dish or on the stovetop, melt the peanut butter and honey (or maple syrup) together until smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Stir in dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Spread mixture on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until granola is lightly browned, stirring the granola once gently half way through. (A great way to test for doneness is to remove a small portion of the granola from the pan and set it on the counter. If it hardens as it cools the rest of the granola is done)!
- Remove from oven and let sit until cooled.
- Once cooled, break apart and eat!
Video
Notes
Store/freeze
Store this granola in an airtight container or glass jar with a lid at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.Ingredient Substitutions
- Oats:Â I have had great success with both quick-cooking and old-fashioned oats in this recipe! Using the quick-cooking variety produces a chunkier granola (it’s what I used in the batch pictured).
- Honey: You can easily substitute maple syrup for a vegan option!
- Peanut Butter:Â Any nut or seed butter can be used in place of peanut butter. If you use a firmer variety of peanut butter {not a runny, natural kind}, just be sure to melt it completely with the honey before adding the rest of the wet ingredients.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A great make-ahead breakfast!
Yes it’s true. I am not a “hot breakfast every day” mom. We eat lots of muffins, smoothies, breakfast bars, baked oatmeal, and yogurt with granola…..all of which have been made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Oh and I can’t forget…we even eat….cereal {gasp}… 😉
I like to make breakfast as easy and desirable as possible for my kids. They almost always get to choose their breakfast in the mornings.
This is why I think it’s important to have a bunch of nutritious options, like this Healthy Peanut Butter Granola, on hand and ready to be chosen by hungry little tummies.
More healthy breakfast recipes (with peanut butter)
- These healthy breakfast bars are my all-time favorite recipe.
- Start your day with aChocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie is so good, it’s like drinking a peanut butter cup (but it’s full of healthy ingredients)
- Who doesn’t love Blender Peanut Butter Banana Waffles that are healthy?!
- These peanut butter overnight oats are so yummy, and they’re a great meal prep recipe!
- Chocolate peanut butter baked oatmeal tastes like dessert but it’s healthy enough for breakfast!
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bran is quick, easy, delicious and healthy!
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My peanut butter was a little dry ’cause it was at the end of the jar…so next time I’m going to use a newer one. But still-this was delicious, WOW. thanks! I don’t need to do store bought again.
This turned out so so good! I made a pb chocolate version and a pb raisin version. My husband & I have been devouring this, it’s definitely not going to last long!