Homemade Peanut Butter Granola (Vegan, GF)
Current food obsession: granola. I'm not really sure why, but for the past few weeks it's been a staple high on my grocery list every time I shop. And my favorite thing to do with it you ask? Make my own almond milk yogurt parfaits. I won't lie, I've been drinking almond milk for years. But the thought of trying almond milk yogurt freaked me out. I've grown accustomed to the taste of almond milk. And because I don't like regular milk and I'm lactose-intolerant, its all I drink and all I buy. So I started with a brand I've heard over-the-moon recommendations about, Kite Hill. From their cream cheese to their ricotta, I've heard such good things about Kite Hill, so I figured their yogurt has to be just as good. And I was right. Like almond milk, the taste takes a bit of time to get used to. So to adjust myself to the flavor profile of the yogurt, I started adding fruit and granola to jazz it up a bit. And thus my granola obsession blossomed.
Those crunchy oats come with an even crunchier price tag though, and not too mention way too many additives. And being that granola is literally just baked oats with a few other ingredients, obviously I had to cut costs and make it myself. Due to the fact that peanut butter is it's own food group in my life, this peanut butter granola recipe from Joy Food Sunshine was exactly what I was looking for. Although homemade granola should be healthier than store bought, too many recipes include oil or butter as a binding agent and I knew I did not want either of those as ingredients. This recipe was super quick and easy to follow and tastes so good!
A few things to keep in mind:
Next time I would probably double the recipe. Granola is pretty shelf stable, so I wouldn't mind having more of it (especially if I continue to eat it everyday like I have been).
Be sure to smush everything together really well. I didn't do this so my granola was more loose than chunky.
I use natural peanut butter (the ingredient is literally just peanuts). Because there are no stabilizers or solidifiers like sugar in it, natural peanut butter is naturally liquid-like. Because of this, I didn't feel the need to melt the peanut butter and syrup together. I just mixed it really well and they combined. If you are using a firmer peanut butter like Jif or Skippy (I won't judge), you will need to melt the ingredients together.
You can really use any nut butter of your preference. Mix it up! Throw some almond butter or cashew butter in there. I'm sure it'll taste great!
Add in other textures and flavors. Try dried fruits or chia seeds. I actually meant to add dark chocolate chunks to mine but I forgot to buy them at the grocery store. If you do add dried fruit or chocolate, I recommend adding once the mixture has cooled (for pretty self explanatory reasons).
Peanut Butter Granola (Vegan, GF)
Ingredients:
2c gluten free old fashioned oats
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4c natural peanut butter
1/4c maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together oats, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.
Melt the peanut butter and maple syrup together until smooth.*
Let cool slightly and stir in vanilla.
Mix in dry ingredients until well combined.
Spread out mixture on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir halfway though baking.**
Remove from heat and let cool.
*I use a natural peanut butter that is already very runny, so I actually skipped this step.
**Helpful tip from Joy Food Sunshine to test granola: 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!
Recipe from Joy Food Sunshine