Banana Bread Granola (DF, GF, Vegan)
Banana Bread Granola – a different and delicious way to use up those ripe bananas.
My apologies if you stopped by yesterday for a recipe! We enjoyed having Michael home for Veteran’s Day (bless you, student schedule), and I decided to save our post for today. Can you believe that the holiday season is upon us!? It’s my very most favorite time of the year. This year, the holiday food looks a little different for us (sans gluten & dairy), but we’re excited to try new recipes and pave a new path!
Before I really start diving into the Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes, though, I had to share this dynamite Banana Bread Granola.
I have a crazy-strong love for breakfast food, and I’m a huge granola fan (insert hippie jokes here). My go-to Warm Spiced Granola is still made regularly, but I like switching things up every now and again. This tastes just like banana bread! It helps that you use a mashed or pureed banana that acts as both a binder and a natural sweetener, giving you those glorious granola clusters.
We love our banana bread with vanilla and almond extract (see this recipe), but if you’re more of a cinnamon fan (which we also love), you could swap out the almond extract for a few strong shakes of cinnamon and maybe one of nutmeg for good measure. Feel free to make it your own!
One tip: do be sure to turn the granola regularly and continue to bake it until the banana has really had a chance to dry out. Otherwise you’ll have soft granola clusters. (Lame-o.) This will keep about a week in an airtight container and tastes delicious. Enjoy!
Banana Bread Granola (df, gf, v)
Description
Do be sure to turn the granola regularly and let the banana fully dry out. Feel free to omit the almond extract if you’re not a fan, and add 1/2-1 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg instead for a different flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed or pureed (puree for a smoother texture)
- 3c old-fashioned rolled oats, *gluten free, if desired (don’t use quick-cooking)
- 1/2c sliced almonds
- 1/2c pumpkin seeds
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss all ingredients until well coated. Spread mixture out onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Stirring every 5-8 minutes, bake granola at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until banana has dried out and the oats are golden. Depending on how finely mashed your bananas are, and how regularly you turn the granola, you may need to bake it a bit longer.
- Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Granola will keep up to 1 week.
This sounds so yummy! I’ve got a huge box of ‘store’ granola to finish first, but then I can make this good stuff!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it this weekend.
I haven’t made granola in forever! I think this will be what I try next!
This looks awesome! I wonder if you could also add some chia seeds to this as well? I have been trying to sneak them in anywhere I can lately:)
Lisa- ABSOLUTELY! I put chia seeds in other granolas I make. They work great!
Mmmm…I am baking this right now, and my house smells like banana bread heaven!
YAY!!!!