If you like peanut butter and honey, this easy homemade granola is for you.
After a weekend visiting friends in Baltimore, eating cupcakes, Easter candy, and Berger cookies (if you’re in Baltimore you KNOW) and drinking hot chocolate, mimosas, and cappuccinos… I’m ready for something on the healthier side today. Well, semi-healthy.
A little M&M never hurt nobody.
Today’s recipe is the sequel to my original trail mix granola. The most snacky, munchable granola of them all. The week I made that particular granola, I made two other varieties. And clearly, I’m taking my time posting each of them. Whoops!
Granola is one of my favorite snacks to have around. I almost always have a tupperware of my peanut butter & jelly granola, pumpkin granola, or granola clusters on hand, and bowls of this chocolate crunch granola are the next best thing when all you’re craving are chocolate candy bars. Store-bought granola is usually full of strange ingredients, masked by way too much refined sugar and unnecessary fat. That’s why I always make my own. Full of ingredients I recognize and love. Including homemade honey roasted peanut butter.
Have you ever tried my homemade honey roasted peanut butter before? It’s made from one ingredient– honey roasted peanuts. Shocking, right? It’s the peanut butter I love to eat on its own or on a sandwich/wrap/celery/apple/spoon. I don’t bake with it much since baked goods really require that box-brand creamy and thick peanut butter consistency. But I eat this stuff like it’s going out of style.
Paired with a little honey, some coconut oil (for a light crunch!), vanilla and cinnamon for extra flavor, oats, and peanuts… we’ve got ourselves a tasty new granola recipe. 7 easy ingredients mixed up in 1 bowl.
If you like honey and you like peanut butter, this granola is for YOU.
With a little almond milk, I love a bowl of this honey roasted peanut butter granola for breakfast. It has so much incredible flavor! On the snack side, though, I like to add M&Ms and some peanut butter chips. As the granola cools, toss in a handful of each. The peanut butter chips will slightly melt making each bite a little sweeter and the M&Ms will mostly hold their shape. This fun version tastes like a monster cookie. You’ve tried my soft-baked monster cookies before, right??
Think of the M&M, peanut butter chip version as the “healthiest dessert but not really dessert” dessert you’ll have this week. Quick, straightforward, simple, peanut butter. 4 things I love about a new recipe.
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Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Granola
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-5 cups
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you like peanut butter and honey, this easy homemade granola is for you.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56g) coconut oil*
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey
- 1/2 cup (125g) honey roasted peanut butter*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 1 cup (140g) honey roasted peanuts
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- optional: 1/2 cup (90g) peanut butter chips
- optional: 1/2 cup (100g) mini or regular size M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C) degrees. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large heat-proof bowl, microwave the coconut oil and honey together for about 30 seconds. Alternatively, you may melt these ingredients together in a small pan on the stovetop. Remove from the microwave and using a fork or rubber spatula, stir until they are melted together and smooth. You may need to microwave it for 10 more seconds or so. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Add the oats, peanuts, and cinnamon. Toss the mixture to coat everything. Make sure all of the oats are moistened.
- Spread onto the prepared baking sheet (it usually always fits onto just one—if too crowded, use two baking sheets and bake at the same time on different racks) and bake for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and allow the granola to cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the peanut butter chips and M&Ms on top. Stir everything together gently on the baking sheet. Allow to cool completely before enjoying.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Granola is the perfect recipe to make ahead because it stays fresh for so long. Store this in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Spatula
- Oil: Either canola or vegetable oil instead of coconut oil is fine. If using either of those, you do not have to melt it with the honey in step 2. Simply whisk it with the honey.
- Peanut Butter: If not using my homemade honey roasted peanut butter, simple use your favorite brand. Keep in mind that you may need to use 1/2 cup of honey (instead of 1/3 cup) if your peanut butter isn’t slightly sweet like the homemade honey roasted peanut butter is.
- Gluten Free: Use certified gluten free oats if intolerant.
Keywords: honey roasted peanut butter granola, peanut butter granola
Would it be possible to turn this into granola bars in a pan? I’ve suddenly had a craving for a “monster cookie” type granola bar and this sounds like a good idea!
Hi Jessica! It would take some recipe testing to adapt this for granola bars (we fear they’d be too crumbly as is), but you might like one of these recipes instead: Peanut Butter Trail Mix Bars, Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Bars, or Healthy Peanut Butter Chunk Oatmeal Bars. Let us know if you give any a try!
My mom and I have taken to making this granola on the regular. We add various nuts and chip flavors. It is amazing on its own with just a spoon… or in yogurt or with milk in the mornings. Perfect for snacking!!
★★★★★
I’ve used my homemade honey roasted peanut butter to make no bake granola bars, I’ve used it to make some awesomeness peanut butter cookies, I’ve even added a dollop of it to yogurt with your vanilla almond granola…. I don’t know how I managed to overlook this recipe. This is hands down the best use of that peanut butter to date!!!! I made the mistake of letting so friends taste it….I am currently making several batches to give them so they will stop hounding me. 🙂 Another huge win, Sally! You are a genius!!!!!!!
Made this today to have on hand for breakfasts this week. I don’t think it’s going to last until Friday though, because my mom and I just started snacking on it when it came out of the oven and it became our lunch! Skipped the peanut butter chips and m&ms (so we felt so healthy eating it), but it was still so good! Theoretically, how long would this granola last stored in a container in the cupboards? (I doubt it’ll ever reach that point in this house)
Hey Hayley! You can store this in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. 🙂
Made it without the pb chips and m&ms, still very delicious!
I have it in the oven as I write this! I like honey only sometimes, like in tea, so I’m wondering if you can substitute corn syrup instead. (I know, *gasp*! How could I?!?!?! Lol) I did taste it before I put it in the oven and it’s delicious. I love your recipes. They’re amazing!
Can’t say enough for how delicious this granola was. Couldn’t stop eating it. It served as a snack, dessert after dinner, breakfast treat, snack again…. it didn’t survive 24 hours in a household of 3. Whoops.
Don’t make this! Never make it, because once you start making it, you will never stop! People will be begging you to make it over and over again because it’s SO GOOD! My husband took it to work today and it was gone by lunch because everyone was eating it. It’s great fuel for someone like me who runs and bikes. And the homemade peanut butter? Seriously. Never buying from the store again. Just need to stock up on nuts.
I am making this now and it smells amazing! I was lazy and had a jar of natural peanut butter on hand but I will for sure try making my own next time! I’m adding mini chocolate chips instead of m&ms I cannot wait for breakfast tomorrow morning!! Is it 6:00am yet?!
I just made this last night and I am possibly never buying cereal again! I bought a little tupperware box of it into work with me (I added raisins instead of M&Ms) and it was so good. I made the peanut butter as well and like you say, it’s so easy!
I am planning on making your lemon and blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting tomorrow to surprise my friend for her birthday. She’s dairy-free so I’m hoping doing lactose-free substitutes won’t ruin it!
Thank you for bringing this into my life! I love peanut butter and I’ve neve have one of your recipes fail me. You’ve changed the way I bake!
I’ve got this cooling on the counter right now to share at my weekend retreat! Instead of M&Ms I used Reese’s Pieces and then threw on a few mini chocolate chips so I still had a bit of chocolate in there. I’m also baking a batch of your Hit the Trail Granola! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I just made this and although totally yummy I think my oven is running hot because mine seemed on the verge of being overdone. My chips also melted quite a bit when added, even though I waited a full 10 minutes. My husband is a granola and pnut butter fiend so he loved it nonetheless, but I felt I could do a bit better. Using homemade pnut butter makes a world of difference. The honey nut butter is one of the first things I made when I got a vitamix. So good, and so easy!! Thanks for such great recipes and continued inspiration Sally!!
Thank you Chelle! And yes, you can certainly reduce the baking time OR the temperature. Whatever best suits your oven.
Just made a batch of this granola with the addition of chocolate chips. Hands down the BEST granola I have ever tasted. This will be something I make weekly from now on it is that good. Thank you so much for sharing!