Two of my favorite foods paired in one perfect package. This Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Granola will fuel you for hours, and is the perfect fuel for travel (plus, it’s seriously addicting!)
While we all know that I have a bit of a granola problem, production has been at an all time high in our household. Which is saying something, considering an extremely slow time is one batch at least every 10 days.
If granola is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Why so much of the granola goodness? TRAVELING. This spring is a little nuts for us. It’s packed with baby showers, bachelorette parties, helping family move, weddings, work trips, and a vacation to Paris & Barcelona (!!!!!) And, if you didn’t know this already, I’ll let you in on a little secret: granola is the best travel food EVER.
It keeps well, it’s packed with lots of healthy good stuff plus the ever important protein, it’s so portable, and it’s basically the most delicious snack ever. Hence, granola production basically all day erry day.
In an effort to keep my taste buds guessing, and to keep myself from straight-up turning into strawberry almond granola (but there are worse things, I suppose…), I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different granola flavors, and wooooo boy have I hit the granola jackpot over the last few weeks.
Current granola obsession: gluten-free Peanut Butter Granola.
I mean, when two of the most glorious foods on planet earth collide (peanut butter + granola, duh) how could you NOT be obsessed. I’m pretty sure absolutely positive it’s impossible.
I’ve made this granola using both natural peanut butter and what my friend Lynn so appropriately calls “candy peanut butter” aka processed peanut butter, and both work wonderfully here! The only tip I’d have is just to use a smidgen less honey (maybe a Tablespoon or so less?) if you’re using the more processed peanut butter, as there is likely some sugar added. While too much sweetness is usually not a bad thing, you do want to leave some sort of salty/savory element in this granola.
Another little tip/secret to making this recipe an absolute cinch? Don’t worry about dirtying a pot and heating the wet ingredients on the stove. While you do need to heat the honey, peanut butter, and coconut oil to get everything to meld together perfectly, I’ve found that my microwave does a pretty bang up job of it, AND saves me time and pots to clean. Laziness, FTW! Just zap everything together, stir, stir, stir and VIOLA! The wet ingredients are ready to get their groove on with the dry ingredients.
Another crucial note about this recipe: you MUST stir halfway through the bake time. Thanks to the ooey gooey goodness of the peanut butter and honey, you’ll need to stir this bad boy once as it bakes, and once right when it comes out of the oven, to make sure all of the goodness doesn’t sink to the bottom of the pan and form a film. You want the oats and nuts to be perfectly covered in all the peanut butter glory. Trust me on this.
ALSO, this granola has a much shorter bake time than my other granolas, partly due to its higher oat-to-nut ratio, and partly because of the peanut butter coating. WHICH really only means peanut butter granola in your mouth sooner rather than later. YASSSS.
My favorite way to eat this granola? Straight out of the jar, for sure.
But I’ve also loved it mixed into some peanut butter oatmeal (to die for), piled high on top of a bowl of yogurt and bananas, sprinkled on coffee ice cream (YES — TRY IT), and mixed with a big old handful of chocolate chips/chunks to satisfy my ever present sweet tooth. You really can’t go wrong. Promise.
While our schedule may be a little nutso this spring (no pun intended!) I’m not complaining one bit, as each event is a joyful occasion/ celebration AND it means ENDLESS peanut butter granola in my life. Can’t beat that!
Keep your eyes peeled for a few new granola recipes comin’ atcha over the next month or so. (hint, hint: mocha, and coconut, and banana, OH MY!)
Peanut Butter Granola
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup shelled sunflower seeds
- ¾ cup sliced almonds
- 1 ½ Tablespoons PB2 or other peanut powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup honey*
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter**
- Preheat oven to 300℉. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, PB2, and salt, stirring until evenly combined.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the honey, coconut oil, and peanut butter. Microwave in high for 30 seconds, then remove the mixture and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and then stir vigorously one more time, until all of the ingredients are combined well.
- Drizzle the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Spread the granola out on the prepared pan in a thin, even layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes, and then remove the granola from the oven, stir very well, and spread into a thin layer once more. Bake for another 15 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Quickly stir the granola once more, and spread into a thin, even layer, and then set aside and do not touch again until the granola is completely cool.
- Once the granola is cool, break it into chunks, and enjoy!
* If you are using processed peanut butter (Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan, etc.), reduce the honey by 1-2 Tablespoons
** Natural peanut butter and processed peanut butter both work well for this recipe