Banana Almond Butter Grain Free Granola

This Banana Almond Butter Grain Free Granola is a crunchy + filling snack, made without any grains or refined sugars! It makes the perfect yogurt or smoothie bowl topping, or just grab a handful to hold you over until your next meal.

Phew, happy Monday, friends! Normally I write my posts at least a few days in advance, but with all the chaos of celebrating my birthday AND going to Kaaboo for the last four nights, I was absolutely exhausted and just didn’t get it done.

Although…I must say, Kaaboo was totally worth the exhaustion. If you were watching my constant concert Insta-stories or Snapstories, you heard me singing and dancing my heart out to the Chainsmokers, Fall Out Boy, Flo Rida, and Matoma, and I got right up front for Capital Cities, Cold War Kids, RAC and Rebelution.

It was a series of amazing shows by incredible performers, with Jack Johnson magically closing things off last night, and I was running around a happy girl all weekend (though maybe a little unhappy about being 5’0″…not a great concert height).

So I’m up bright and early this Monday morning, writing quickly so I can get to the kitchen ASAP and make myself a cup of tea and a BIG granola parfait topped with lots of this banana almond butter grain free granola. Swoon. I’m already getting antsy for it, so let’s make this rather short and sweet, yeah?

I’m not going to take all the credit for coming up with this delicious banana nut butter grain free granola idea, but I really took a whole lot of inspiration from the folks over at Purely Elizabeth. I rarely buy granola, but when I do, it’s usually from them. When I spotted their banana nut butter grain free granola at Whole Foods, I grabbed a bag and proceeded to become obsessed.

So being a homemade granola person, I had to recreate it from scratch, with my own twist. It went really deliciously well. I’m a big fan of banana in my granolas anyways (cases 1 and 2), and they add so much sweetness here as well as helping to help form some big delicious granola clusters.

Because this is a grain free granola, we’re skipping all the oats! If you’re wondering what the heck you make granola from when there aren’t any oats in it…it’s a wonderful combo of nuts, seeds, and coconut. A hearty, super wholesome, and nutrient-packed switch, if you ask me.

For my nut/seed/coconut combo, I went with sliced almonds, chopped cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and coconut flakes. If you don’t have one of these on hand OR don’t like one, just substitute them out for each other or your other preferred nuts/seeds. The best thing about granola is that as long as the dry:wet ratio stays relatively stable, the granola will turn out well and deliciously.

The wet ingredients are a couple mashed bananas, melted coconut oil, and creamy almond butter. A little bit of coconut sugar is added to that mix too – the only sweetener besides the bananas. If you have other nut butter preferences – cashew would be amazing here and is what’s used in the original Purely Elizabeth version – just switch it in for the almond.

This banana almond butter grain free granola is super filling because of all those nuts and seeds, and little bit will go a long way…especially if you manage to resist eating tons of it off the tray as it cools, like I always do ;) if you’re needing a Paleo, grain-free granola recipe that will knock your socks off, look no further. I hope you’ll love this one! Enjoy.

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Remember to #bakerita if you try the recipe!

Banana Almond Butter Grain Free Granola

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Author: Rachel Conners

Serves: 5 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 bananas, mashed (~1/2 to ⅔ cup)
• ⅓ cup coconut sugar
• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup creamy almond butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF and line a baking sheet (or 2, if they're smaller) with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, chia seeds, and hemp seeds.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the bananas, coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated. Spread the granola mixture into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet(s).
5. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, turning the pan every 20 minutes and mixing to ensure it doesn't burn.
6. Remove from the oven and press down slightly to help form clusters, and then let cool completely without disturbing to help the clumps form.
7. Store in a sealed container or bag at room temperature for about a month.

Notes

Inspired by Purely Elizabeth's Banana Nut Butter Grain Free Granola

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