If I didn’t lure you over to the homemade granola club with my Crunchy Chunky Coconut Granola, how can you resist peanut butter and chocolate?! I’ve been rotating between these two recipes over the last few months and this one has become the front runner.
The beauty of making your own granola is that once you have a basic recipe you love, it’s easy to mix up the add-ins. As in the coconut recipe, this Peanut Butter Chocolate granola is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with healthy fats from nuts and unrefined coconut oil (although olive oil would be just as delicious and great for you!). And as usual, I like to add a dose of super seeds whenever I can.
all about cacao!
You can read about cacao powder and butter in my Easy Homemade Dark Chocolate post, and I saved the best for last: cacao nibs. They don’t melt so they’re the perfect ingredient to give baked goods a hint of dark-chocolaty flavor. Because they’re made from crushed cacao beans and minimally processed, cacao nibs retain almost the full nutritional value of the beans — which actually makes them the best way to max out on the benefits of cacao.
Cacao nibs are a great source of antioxidants, fiber and iron. They’re also one of the best food sources magnesium, a super-important mineral that’s key to muscle and nerve function, and much more.
Anyway, this granola is delicious — let me know in the comments below if you try it!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Organic)
- 1 cup sliced raw chopped/sliced nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts) or pepitas
- ½ cup hemp seeds and/or flaxseed
- ½ cup raw cacao nibs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, if using unsalted peanut butter
- ⅓ - ½ cup melted unrefined, virgin coconut oil or olive oil*
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter) with no added sugar
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 F. Line a 13 x 18" cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and remaining (wet) ingredients, and then pour this mixture over the dry ingredients, stirring well. (Or you can add the wet directly into the dry, but this way makes it easier to evenly mix).
- Spread onto the cookie sheet, using a spatula or large spoon to press it down into an even layer. Bake at 250 F for 75-90 mins, depending on how toasted you want it, rotating the sheet halfway through; don’t stir if you want large clusters. Let the granola cool in the pan, ideally on a cooling rack, for at least two hours (again, for clusters). I usually just shut the oven off and let it cool inside overnight. Once completely cool, break it up into pieces.
- Storage: I keep mine in a plastic Ziploc in the freezer and eat it straight from there, but it will also stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container or bag for about two weeks.
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