This simple Cashew Butter Banana Granola recipe is perfect for snack time or breakfast. My favorite is enjoying it yogurt topped with bananas and cashew butter! Vegan and gluten-free friendly.
Basically if I were a granola flavor this is what I would be: Cashew Butter Banana Granola.
I have a serious love for cashew butter and baking with bananas is one of my favorite things. The amount of extra ripe bananas hiding in my freezer door is a clear indication of my obsession. Or maybe it just means I buy bananas too often and somehow they never get used. Hhmmm. I digress.
I hadn’t made granola before in way too long, and I’ve had this hankering to make granola again.
side note: Drew wanted me to use the word “hankering” in a blog post for reasons that I don’t recall but there it is.
Why You Should Make Cashew Butter Banana Granola
Making granola at home is wonderful for many reasons. One being that it makes your house smell awesome. Another reason being that it is often a heluva lot cheaper than buying it. I mean I totally get the laziness and convenience factor. Not to mention there are some damn good granola companies out there making ridiculous flavors that are out of this world.
But if you’re looking to save some dolla dolla bills, ya’ll… homemade is where it’s at.
Not to mention you get to make fun flavors like banana cashew butter that you probably won’t find in store!
Ingredients You Need
- rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
- cashew pieces (optional)
- cinnamon
- cashew butter
- banana
- maple syrup
- coconut oil
- chia seeds
How to Make Homemade Granola
- First mix together the chia seeds with water so they can gel up.
- Then mix the dry ingredients together separately and set aside.
- Next combine the wet ingredients separately – cashew butter, mashed banana, maple syrup and coconut oil – in a large bowl. You can microwave the ingredients together if your cashew butter is really thick.
- Then everything gets added together before you spread the mixture out on the pan and bake.
Some Notes about the Process (getting the best results!)
- If your cashew butter is hard to stir, you can microwave the cashew butter, maple syrup and coconut oil together for about 15 seconds.
- You can mash your banana with a fork separately first, or blend in with the cashew butter using an immersion blender.
- Once the cashew butter banana mixture is ready, everything else gets combined with the dry ingredients.
- Don’t be afraid to use your hands to get everything well mixed at the end. Then when transferring to the baking sheet, leave some clumps together if you want clusters.
- *FLIPPING* the granola with a large spatula (in 10 minute increments) will make sure you get clusters. If you don’t want clusters, simply stir the granola around.
- Make sure to let the granola cool on the pan completely before storing – the air will help create a crunchier texture
The granola clusters have a slightly softer texture because of it being made with mashed banana, but I personally enjoyed the combination.
Let me know if you give this a try by leaving a comment and review on the blog. I love hearing from you and it helps others find the recipe too!
Xx Ashley
How to Make…
Cashew Butter Banana Granola [vegan, gluten-free]
This simple Cashew Butter Banana Granola recipe is perfect for snack time or breakfast. My favorite is enjoying it yogurt topped with bananas and cashew butter! Gluten-free, vegan-friendly.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: about 4 cups granola 1x
- Scale:
Ingredients
- 1 TBS chia seeds + 3 TBS water
- 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 cup cashew pieces
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup creamy cashew butter (homemade works)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup* (make sure it’s room temperature)
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- 2 TBS coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ºF and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine chia seeds with water and let sit for about 3-5 minutes.
- In large bowl combine oats, cashew pieces and cinnamon; set aside.
- In a medium microwave safe bowl combine cashew butter, maple syrup, oil and mashed banana. You can also microwave cashew butter and maple syrup together before adding mashed banana if tough to stir. Add chia seed mixture and stir until combined.
- Transfer cashew butter banana mixture to bowl of oats, using large rubber spatula to combine at first before using hands to make sure oats are fully coated.
- Transfer to prepared baking sheet; bake for a total of about 40 minutes, flipping the granola in 10 minute increments. *Flipping versus stirring the granola will result in clusters*
- Remove granola from oven and allow to cool completely, do NOT stir again. While the granola cools, the air will help set the crunchy texture. If you want less clusters, you can stir the granola here.
- Once the granola has cooled completely, store in airtight container. Granola should stay fresh up to 3 weeks – if it lasts that long 😀
Recipes Notes:
See notes about the process in the post. The granola is slightly softer in texture because of the banana mixed in. You can try stirring the granola more instead of flipping, which will reduce clusters and make crunchier texture.
*This recipe is also not super sweet as written. Should you want a sweeter granola, I’d recommend adding in up to 1/4 cup brown or coconut sugar, stirring in with the wet ingredients.
Recipe can be easily doubled for a larger batch.
Nutrition approximate, based on about 1/3 cup servings.
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: 1/3 cup
- Calories: 206
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 23
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Unsaturated Fat: 3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 26
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 0
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Lynn says
When do you add in the Chia seeds?
Ashley says
Hi Lynn! Thanks so much for pointing that out 🙂 It goes in with the wet ingredients after the banana. Fixed now! 🙂
Rachel (Little Chef Big Appetite) says
This sounds awesome! I would never have thought to put the banana in the granola.
Sol says
What can I use instead maple syrup ??
Ashley says
Hi Sol! You could use honey if you’d like, agave syrup, or another type of liquid sweetener. I’d stick a liquid sweetener of some kind if you can to help keep the wet-dry ratio similar. Hope that helps!
Elizabeth says
Can you sub something else for the chia seeds (I am not the biggest fan) but not with flax seeds or something like dried cherries etc. What I mean are the chia seeds just a taste/heath add or are they added for texture?
Ashley says
Hi Elizabeth, the chia seeds do help act as an additional binder, but you may be fine with just leaving it out. If not vegan you could use 3 TBS liquid egg white as an even replacement. Or just leave out and the granola may not get *as* clustery. Hope that helps!
Bibliophile.Scientist says
Can you use another neutral oil, like canola, in place of coconut oil? Or will it mess with the final texture? I’m allergic to coconut.
Ashley says
Another oil should be just fine here! Thanks for bringing that up – I’ll update the recipe 🙂 hope you enjoy!
Jess B says
I just saw mention of this granola on your Insta and had to come check out the recipe! This sounds drool-worthy!
Liz says
Delicious and husband approved!! I added cashew pieces and sunflower seeds. I am surprised how crunchy it is even after storing in plastic containers for a few days. Will become a staple recipe and breakfast in my house! 😋
★★★★★
Ashley says
Awesome Liz! I am so glad you both loved it! Thank you so much for the comment and review, it means a ton 😀
Megan says
Did I miss something about microwaving the cashew butter and banana and coconut oil ? It said place in microwave safe dish but then nothing about microwaving it…
Ashley says
Ah yes, sorry that step was a little confusing as written. If you need to microwave together to help the ingredients together, then putting it in a microwave safe bowl is best. If your cashew butter is already pretty drippy you won’t need to microwave. I often have homemade cashew butter on hand and it isn’t as creamy as when I buy packaged, and the microwave helps it come together. Hope that makes sense!
Tiffany says
Do you know how many calories there are in the whole recipe/per serve by any chance?
Ashley says
I don’t without adding into a calculator – I just use myfitnesspal when calculating estimates though. You should be able to plug in the URL and it should give you an idea. It’s something I am working on adding to more of my recipes, it’s just another step/more time I have to complete.
Cassie Autumn Tran says
I have a massively horrific addiction to granola. It’s BAD, SO BAD I cannot keep granola in the house. Otherwise, I’ll most certainly eat the entire bag in less than two days! Anyways, I love making single-serving batches of granola so I can consume a reasonable amount instead of multiple bowls of granola in one sitting. At the very least, making a healthy batch of granola will make the damage a bit less permanent, LOL! This cashew butter banana granola looks phenomenal. Did it smell like banana bread when you pulled the batch out of the oven? It would be marvelous if it did!