Banana Bread Granola Recipe

Joy Wilson’s food blog, Joy the Baker, is a digital hub for all things decadent (and her fun and approachable style might even give you the confidence to finally try that lattice pie crust technique.). Her third cookbook, Over Easy, celebrates one of our favorite meals: brunch! In this recipe, Joy combines the comforting flavor of banana bread (think warm spices like nutmeg and cinnamon) with crunchy granola for a crowd-pleasing recipe.

“This granola recipe bakes up in big batches and can be jarred and stored for weeks, if not eaten by the handful first. I like to use dehydrated banana slices in this recipe, as they’re softer and more tender than crisp banana chips. If you prefer them crisp, banana chips are the way to go. Either way, this is a fragrant and comforting granola that is lovely served with tart Greek yogurt.”

—Joy Wilson, from her cookbook Over Easy

Banana Bread Granola

Yield: 4 cups
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 ½ cups rolled oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup pure maple syrup
⅓ cup melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups dehydrated or dried banana slices

Instructions

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, flaxseed meal, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the oat mixture and stir well. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Stir in the coconut flakes during the last 10 minutes of baking. Remove the pan from the oven and let the granola cool completely on the pan.

Once cool, toss in the dehydrated bananas. Store the granola for up to 2 weeks at room temperature in a large jar with an airtight lid.

Reprinted from Joy the Baker Over Easy. Copyright © 2017 by Joy Wilson. Photographs copyright © 2017 by Jon Melendez. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Photo credit: Paul Delmont
Recipe credit: Joy Wilson