I’m a sucker for crunchy homemade granola, but I always wish there was a way to make it without loading in the oil and sugar. Well, when I made a batch of Pumpkin Spice Granola last fall, I accidentally discovered that fruit purée can act as a binder in a similar way to the oil and sugar in traditional granolas. Sooooo, I decided to experiment with that theory some more and I made this No Sugar Added Banana Nut Granola.
For this Banana Nut Granola, I combined mashed up bananas and unsweetened apple sauce to act as the binder. When the granola bakes, the fruit purées dehydrate and bind the oats together into beautifully crunchy clumps. Perfect! And instead of adding a big slosh of oil, I just went with some natural peanut butter. The oil in the peanut butter helps makes things crispy and adds a wonderfully nutty flavor (banana+peanut=YUM). I also added a handful of unsweetened shredded coconut for more texture and flavor, and tossed in a few crushed up banana chips at the end.
The result is a rich, nutty granola with a faint whisper of natural sweetness, but it’s not a sweet granola like something you’d buy off the shelf. If someone in your house does like sweet granola, simply customize their bowl with a quick drizzle of honey (honey+PB=YUM). And I can’t lie, a few chocolate chips thrown in at the end wouldn’t be a terrible idea, either. Not terrible at all.
No Sugar Added Banana Nut Granola
Servings 12 (2/3 cup each)Ingredients
- 2 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup) ($0.51)
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce ($0.79)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter ($0.93)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.28)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 6 cups old fashioned rolled oats ($0.99)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut* ($0.91)
- 1 cup banana chips* ($0.92)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Mash the bananas with a fork until they’re mostly smooth (a few chunks are okay). Measure the banana mash, then add enough unsweetened apple sauce to make 2 cups total (about one cup of each).
- Place the bananas and apple sauce in a small sauce pan with the peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir and cook over low heat for about five minutes, or until the mixture is evenly mixed and warmed through (this makes it more runny and easier to mix with the oats).
- Add the dry oats and shredded coconut to a very large bowl. Pour the banana, apple sauce, and peanut butter mixture over the oats and coconut, then stir well until all of the ingredients are incorporated. There should be no clumps of dry oats left.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the oat mixture in an even layer over the parchment, no more than one inch thick. If there is too much for one baking sheet, divide the mixture between two sheets.
- Bake the granola in the 300 degree oven for one to one and a half hours, stirring once after 30 minutes, then every 15 minutes after that**. Baking time will vary depending on whether you use one or two baking sheets. Keep an eye on the granola and stir every 15 minutes towards the end. The granola is finished when it is crisp and golden brown. Allow the granola to cool completely. Crush the banana chips into small pieces, then stir into the granola. Store the cooled granola in an air-tight container.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Banana Nut Granola – Step by Step Photos
Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees. Mash up two bananas. Measure the mashed bananas (should be around one cup) and then add enough unsweetened apple sauce to make two cups (about 1 cup of apple sauce).
Add the banana and apple sauce to a small sauce pot with 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Heat and stir these ingredients together over low heat until it is smooth and warmed through. This just helps make it a little more fluid and easier to mix with the oats.
Add six cups of old fashioned rolled oats and 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut to a very large bowl.
Pour the banana/apple sauce/peanut butter mixture over the oats and coconut, then stir and stir and stir until everything is very evenly mixed. You should not have any dry oats or dry clumps left in the bowl.
Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the wet granola over the sheet in an even layer. If there’s too much granola for one baking sheet (it shouldn’t be layered more than one inch thick), divide it between two baking sheets. I prefer parchment for this as opposed to foil because foil reflects the heat and can cause faster browning. Bake the granola for one to one and a half hours, stirring once after 3o minutes, then every 15 minutes after that. Cooking it low and slow like this helps the fruit purée to dehydrate rather than “cook”. The time it takes your granola to bake will depend on how thick it is piled on that baking sheet, so if you use two it will bake faster. You’ll know it’s done when it’s all dry and slightly golden brown.
Break one cup of banana chips into smaller pieces so that you get more pieces in every bowl and bite.
After the banana nut granola is finished baking, stir in the crushed banana chips.
Make sure to let the banana nut granola cool completely before storing it in an air-tight container. This recipe makes about 8 cups, or 12 servings of 2/3 cup.
Oooh yeah, pour some ice cold milk over THAT.
TRY THESE OTHER GRANOLA RECIPES:
Your photographs alone convinced me that I need to make this granola! I love the flavors that you used. I have all of these ingredients in my kitchen right now. Looks like I’m going to be making this very soon.
What can I use in place of applesauce? Would abut utter work?
(Typo) would nut butter work in place of applesauce. I can’t have apples
I think I would try to double the bananas, since it already contains a lot of nut butter. The fruit sugars and fiber are what help hold it together.
An alternative option is to take a mild-tasting, fibrous produce like pears or certain squashes, and mash it to the consistency of applesauce. If you don’t mind added an extra flavor to the granola, you could use peaches, mangoes, plums, or some such.
I have had success replacing applesauce with baby food. Hey don’t laugh, it is just pureed fruit/vegetables which is what applesauce is. I used the prunes baby food because it is what I had on hand and it turned out really yummy. I did have to cook it a little longer but my oven sometimes is off so that could have been the reason. I have also made the original recipe and give it 2 thumbs up!
Hi Beth, this sounds delicious, but I can’t stand shredded coconut. Any sort of substitute or can I simply omit it? Thanks!
You can just omit it, if you’d like, or try adding some other type of chopped or sliced nut. Granola is very flexible when it comes to the add-ins, so you can make it to fit your likes and dislikes. :)
Any other nut would probably substitute well. How about sliced almonds?
I like bananas but not banana chips. Can you suggest a replacement or just leave out?
You could just leave it out, or add your favorite dried fruit. :)
Hi Beth…love love love your blog! Can I use apricot preserves instead of applesauce-since I don’t have any on hand…
OOOooooo I want to know the answer to this too. If we could substitute, I’d like to use Smucker’s Simply Fruit.
I’m not sure Smuckers Simply fruit is really just fruit purée, though. I think it contains fruit pectins to make it thicken up and solidify into the jelly like texture, and I don’t know how that would affect the granola.
I’d say it depends on how open you are to experimenting and iterating. If you’re looking for perfect results the first time, it’s best to try a recipe as-is, but if you’re open to having to make multiple attempts and adjusting the ratios in-between, then go for it. My dad’s been playing around for several weeks now with different fruit binders in his own granola, and they can generally be made to work, but sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right.
I don’t think that will work quite the same. Apricot preserves contain a lot of sugar and pectin and I’m not sure how that will work when baked into the oats.
I’d say it depends on how open you are to experimenting and iterating. If you’re looking for perfect results the first time, it’s best to try a recipe as-is, but if you’re open to having to make multiple attempts and adjusting the ratios in-between, then go for it. My dad’s been playing around for several weeks now with different fruit binders in his own granola, and they can generally be made to work, but sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right.
This would probably taste great paired with cottage cheese or plain yogurt, thank you for your fabulous recipes!!
This sounds wonderful…as in I really want to make it RIGHT NOW! (BTW, I just put on a big pot of your slow cooker baked beans for dinner tonight and the whole house smells of YUM.) however, I don’t have any applesauce (and it is sleeting, so no trip to the store). Anything else I can sub for that? Maybe double the bananas? Add a tad of oil?
Coconut oil maybe?
And yes, coconut oil would taste great in this!
Yep, I would double the bananas :)
Which kind of peanut butter do you use?
I just used Smuckers Natural, creamy.
This sounds great! I’m going to try it this morning. The way I’ve always made it is with butter.
I use a number of recipes off Budget Bytes and like your approach. I do think you neglect the implications of cooking fuels. 1-1/2 hours in the oven for granola is a big deal. I don’t think I’d do that without something else in the oven at the same time (bread? lasagna? casserole?) to maximize the benefit of the cost of heat.
I made half the recipe because I dont need 6+ cups of granola and cooked in at 375° for about 25 min. Its delightfully crispy.
omg this looks like the perfect breakfast :)
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This sounds great! I’ve been wanting to try some healthier granola.
Could you recommend a good substitute for someone like me who doesn’t like peanut butter? Back to oil?
Or another nut butter like almond or cashew. The problem is that peanut butter carries a LOT of the flavor for this granola. It might be a bit bland just going back to oil.
Thanks! I don’t like nut butter in general so this looks like it’s going to get more difficult than I thought. I think I’ll try a mixture of coconut oil and honey.
At first I would like to appologize for my bad english, I am not native speaker. I would like to ask if there is not a problem to keep in this granola because of fresh banana and apple? Thanks for your great blogg :) Iva
As long as it has completely dried in the oven, it should be shelf stable at room temperature because the fruit has been dehydrated. If you are not sure if has dried completely, keep it in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. :)
Do you think that this recipe would hold together enough to be cut into bars if pressed into a baking dish instead of a cookie sheet? Is it sticky enough?
By the way, love your blog! It is one of my favorite! :)
Thanks Beth!
Hmm, I don’t think it’s quite strong enough to hold together into bars.
Beth, this sounds perfect for us and for the Grands when they visit. Thanks – I’ll let you know how turns out.