How to Make Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola
Blog #95: My favorite granola mixes are Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Cinnamon Chocolate, Oats and Honey and Vanilla Oats and Honey. There are so many flavors you can try with granola. Today I am going to show you how simple it is to make Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola. Granola is a must have in my home. We add it to parfaits (using coconut whip in place of yogurt), as a snack, topping for açaí bowl and our favorite, served as cereal, with milk. Yet, we run through it within days as most bags are sold in smaller sizes. I do prefer some brands over others, Love Crunch being my absolute favorite.
How to Make Granola
I decided to give it a shot and make some granola. How difficult could it be? This was my opportunity to make granola with milk chocolate chips, as my son prefers this over dark chocolate. After some research I found that you need equal parts oil and syrup. That was simple enough to remember! I started with half cup of coconut oil, half a cup of maple syrup and 1/4 cup of peanut butter and placed these three ingredients in a saucepan until the coconut oil melted and peanut butter became loose. Then I poured the 3 ingredients over 3 cups of oats and mixed well. Next step is to spread it evenly on a cookie sheet. Stick it in the oven for 20 minutes stirring after 10 minutes to make sure everything bakes evenly. The first time time I made it I burnt it! Therefore, make sure your oven is no higher than 300 degrees. Once baked, let it sit for a few minutes. Sprinkle some salt and cinnamon and add the peanuts. After about 10 or so minutes you can mix the granola and add the chocolate chips.
Makes about 6 cups.
Peanut Butter
I used natural peanut butter. Make sure the ingredients are just salt and peanut butter. Some brands may list oil as well. This is fine. Beware of the jars that say natural but contain sugar. Make sure to look at the ingredients even if it says natural. My go to natural peanut butter brands are Teddy, Smuckers and Peter Pan. Natural peanut butter works best as it has a looser consistency and healthier than most peanut butters you may find in store.
Tips
- Use natural peanut butter WITHOUT sugar
- Use milk or dark chocolate chips or chunks
- Feel free to omit the cinnamon. I like to add it for extra flavor and for the health benefits! To name a few it’s full of antioxidants and is anti-inflammatory.
- Feel free to use any nuts, I used peanuts with this recipe but cashews or almonds taste just as good!
- If you like granola chunks, let the granola sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes before mixing to get those extra chunks. If you don’t enjoy the chunks mix granola immediately. Chunks start to form easily as the granola cools down.
- Add the chocolate chips after the granola cools or they will melt!
- I added the peanuts after the granola was done baking. Doing so during the baking process would have burnt the peanuts.
- The granola may look wet when you remove from the oven but that is okay. It will dry up as it cools down.
How to Make Peanut Butter and Chocolate Granola
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes25
minutes35
minutesHave granola on hand to snack on, for cereal, parfaits and toppings!
Ingredients
3 Cups of Quick Oats
1/2 Cup of Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup of Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup of Natural Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup of Roasted Peanuts, lightly salted
1/3 Cup of Chocolate Chips (I used milk chocolate)
1/2 Tsp of Cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 Tsp of Salt, plus more for sprinkling
- Makes 6 Cups
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- In a saucepan, add the maple syrup, coconut oil and peanut butter. Heat on HI until the coconut oil is melted and the peanut butter starts to loosen up. About 5 minutes.
- While the saucepan heats up, add 3 cups of oats in a large bowl. Mix in the cinnamon and salt.
- Remove saucepan from heat and immediately pour over oats. Mix well and pour mixture on a cookie sheet. Spread out evenly.
- Bake for 10 minutes; stir the granola and bake another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with cinnamon and salt. Do NOT Stir YET. Add the peanuts.
- After about 10 minutes, your granola should have cooled down a bit and start to harden. Give it a stir and you will see some chunks in there! Add the chocolate chips once granola has completely cooled and enjoy!
The Verdict!
The granola was so delicious it did not last 24 hours! I plan to double the recipe next time. It stores well in mason jars or in a plastic bag. These are perfect for gifts presented in a mason jar with ribbon!
I plan to make more variations by omitting the peanut butter and chocolate and adding raisins, almonds and doubling the cinnamon. Sounds so good doesn’t it!
Let me know what you think of this recipe and what is your favorite granola flavor!
Enjoy!
I love home made granola and have been making my own for sometime but very different from your recipe which looks yummy. I will give this a try!
Thank you! Let me know what you think or any tips I should try!
Wow, I love these! You know i have this one big packet of oats sitting on my shelf and i was wondering what to do with it. Now i do! Thanks!
oh good! Enjoy ?
We are huge Love Crunch fans as well, and this recipe tastes just like it! Much better than some others I’ve tried. I added some almond extract which gave it some great flavor too. Thanks for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! I’ll have to try it with almond extract. Thank you for the tip!