Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Today we are making a Gluten-Free, Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe! I don’t know about you, but granola is one of my top breakfast options. The big, chunky clusters of oats with nuts and seeds, cold plant-based milk and a drizzle of maple syrup on top is the most delicious thing to eat in the morning for a healthy breakfast (in my personal opinion, compared to what you can find in stores that usually isn’t devoid of added sugars).
Homemade chunky granola is terrific though, because buying bags of store-bought granola has got me tired. First of all, one small bag of granola can get quite expensive, not to mention even more so if the label has words like “gluten-free” or “vegan” on it. Once a food product has specific labels, the expensive prices seem to be more justified to customers buying it. Personally though, aside from the high cost, I find that pre-made granola (and a lot of pre-made snacks) turn out to be disappointing once I open the bag. It isn’t as crunchy, as flavorful or as fresh as I would like it, especially with granola! So the only option for me is to make my own – I’m very picky with what constitutes good granola!
So I just know you’ll love today’s homemade peanut butter granola recipe, because it checks off all the granola boxes. It has the perfect-sized crunchy clusters, uses simple ingredients, is full of peanut flavor and it’s easy enough to make. Let’s get onto the recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe
Maximum Peanut Butter Flavor: This vegan granola recipe contains peanut butter in the oat base mixture, but also crunchy peanuts throughout for the maximum peanut flavor! Homemade granola is easy to make – mix together all in the (whole foods) ingredients in ten minutes, spread it out on a baking sheet and bake! Once the granola is removed from the oven, it cools down and forms clusters as it cools. This makes for that crunchy granola you know and love!
Substitutions
Pure Maple Syrup: This should be pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Pure syrup will only contain one ingredient on the label. You can substitute with agave nectar or another liquid sweetener. For example, date syrup, brown rice syrup or coconut nectar with varying taste.
Peanuts: Use roasted, salted peanuts. You can use raw peanuts as well, but they won’t contain as much flavor as roasted ones. Do not substitute with another nut – otherwise you won’t get the maximum peanut flavor here!
Peanut Butter: Use natural, creamy peanut butter. Natural peanut butter only contains one ingredient on the label – roasted peanuts! It should not have additional oils or sugars. Do not substitute with another nut or seed butter.
Vanilla Extract: Choose a non-alcoholic vanilla flavor (which doesn’t contain alcohol so can’t have that extract label) or a vanilla extract without any added caramel color or dyes.
Coconut Oil: Use refined coconut oil, that doesn’t smell or taste like coconut. Virgin or extra-virgin coconut oil won’t work in this recipe in terms of taste. Do not substitute with another oil, as they don’t have the same properties that coconut oil does. To keep it nut-free, use vegan butter. Melt Organics makes delicious salted vegan butter sticks. This is not referring to a margarine-type spread!
Oats: Quick-cooking oats were used in this recipe, but rolled oats (aka, old-fashioned oats) can be a substitute. It would be a good idea to break up the rolled oats into smaller pieces, similar to quick oats, in a spice grinder for a second until they’re smaller flaked. The maple syrup mixture may not properly stick to the full rolled oats otherwise, due to their larger size. For those with a gluten allergy, choose specific gluten free oats, to avoid cross contamination.
Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe Notes
- My favorite way to eat this granola is with some cold plant-based milk, such as oat milk or almond milk, vegan chocolate chips, a sliced banana (or banana chips!), pumpkin seeds or more for a breakfast cereal bowl!
More Granola Recipes You’ll Love
Maple Quinoa Nut & Seed Granola
If you make this Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Vegan Chunky Peanut Butter Granola Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
- Oven
- Stovetop Pan or Microwave
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp roasted, salted peanuts
- ½ cup dry rolled oats
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- ⅛ tsp salt omit this if the peanut butter you are using already has salt in it
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Melt the coconut oil and peanut butter in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat. If using the microwave, melt at 20 second intervals or it might burn.
- Once melted, pour it into a small bowl and mix in the maple syrup to create a smooth mixture. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, oats, chia seeds and roasted peanuts.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and stir to incorporate.
- Spread the peanut butter mixture out in an even layer on a baking sheet or on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Put it in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes.
- Once the granola has cooled down, enjoy it with some plant-based milk as cereal, or as a snack!
Notes
-
Storage
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
