This coconut banana bread granola is the perfect way to use up overripe bananas. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and packed with rolled oats, coconut flakes, walnuts, and warm cinnamon, it bakes into big, crunchy clusters with a delicious banana bread flavor. Easy to make, vegan, and great for breakfast or as a snack, this homemade granola is one you’ll keep coming back to.
Let's go bananas
This Coconut Banana Bread Granola is my new obsession. It’s the perfect way to use up those brown bananas sitting on your counter, and it bakes into crisp, maple-sweetened clusters with the coziest banana bread vibes. I love it over yogurt, with milk, or eaten by the handful.
The clumping game is strong with this one, and I mean that in the best possible way. You know the ones you keep sneaking out of the jar. I see you. There's something about bananas and oats together, ya know? I feel it here, and I feel it with our gloriously simple strawberry banana overnight oats.
When you make banana granola yourself, you control the ingredients. Whole foods you feel good about, natural flavors, and zero weird additives. It's a healthy breakfast recipe you can feel good about.
The tl;dr — homemade coconut banana granola is incredibly easy to make and tastes about a thousand times better than the store-bought stuff.
Step 1: gather up your ingredients!
Let's give those spotty bananas a new life in this easy banana granola recipe!
Step 2: make the wet mix
Now, combine your super-ripe bananas, coconut oil, and maple syrup in a food processor or blender and whizz till it's super smooth.
Step 3: mix everything together
Then, put your oats, coconut chips, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt into a big bowl. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well.
Step 4: bake that granola!
Spread your granola mix out evenly on two sheet pans, and put them in a preheated oven. Bake for 10 mins, then stir and bake again. We want crispy granola, not burnt granola, you hear?
Once it's nice and golden, let it cool down, transfer to a jar, and you're done!
Coconut Banana Bread Granola
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas the riper the better
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 5 cups rolled oats not the quick cooking kind
- 1 cup coconut chips or desiccated coconut
- 1 cup raw walnut pieces chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- a generous pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a couple of big baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, whiz together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and bananas until smooth. Alternately, you can mash the bananas with a fork and then whisk everything together by hand.
- In a large bowl, mix the oats, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt together.
- Pour the wet mix over top, and give everything a good stir to mix it together.
- Spread the granola in even layers on the prepared baking trays.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, pulling the trays out to stir the granola every 10 minutes, and rotating the trays in the oven at least once.
- Watch the granola carefully towards the end to be sure the edges don't burn. It should be smelling amazing and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the trays.
- Transfer to a clean glass jar, or you can store in the freezer in plastic bags. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
- How ripe should my bananas be? The riper the better, my friend. That sad shrivelling black banana you found at the back of your counter would be perfect for this recipe.
- How do I know when my granola is done? When it's nice and golden brown. You gotta trust the colour.
- My granola doesn't seem crispy. It'll continue to crisp up as it cools, so it may still seem slightly soft and chewy when you first remove it from the oven. Letting it cool down IN the oven (with the door propped open) ensures for a nice crispy granola.
- I don't have a food processor. No worries! You can just mash the heck out of your bananas and then whisk them into the liquids.
- How long does this homemade granola last? It keeps well for a few weeks in an air-tight container in your cupboard, or up to three months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Sarah Fox says
for this recipe, what is the serving size??
Katie Trant says
Roughly 1/2 cup of granola per serving.
Taunia says
Honestly the BEST granola I've ever had! I've made it for family and friends numerous times and they keep coming back for more! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Katie Trant says
Yay! Glad you enjoy this as much as we do - It's my family's favourite granola recipe too.
Robin says
Yes. Thank you for this recipe. Taunia has made it for us several times. It is absolutely delicious. Guess it’s time to make our own.
Judy Hauser says
Katie - I made this recipe yesterday. Delicious! I, honestly, had never heard of coconut oil before this recipe. I found it at the grocery store. I'm afraid I did not see the part about melting the coconut oil so I put the glob in with the maple syrup and bananas to process. I wondered why it did not totally dissolve with the other two ingredients but it did mix in enough. User error! But the granola is great!
Anna Streule says
This is actually too delicious!! There is no longer any point in any other cereals or granolas as this is just so darn delicious. And simple to make! And good for you! Love!
pamela says
This is my favourite granola recipe. It's so easy, and so adaptable with different nuts and dried fruit. I remember a moment when a friend was over (remember pre-covid when we could have friends over!?) and they ate part of a banana and threw the rest in the compost because it had a bruise. I just about had a heart attack. Sadly there was some gross stuff in the compost bin, so I left that half banana....but it was half a perfectly useful banana!! But anyways. Love the granola.
Allison says
This granola is easy and just the right amount of sweet! And always nice to have a different way to use up rotten bananas. New go-to recipe
Katie Trant says
It's one of my favourites! Perfect for old nanners. The browner the better!
Victoria Mitchell says
Mike made this this morning. Delicious, and will be great with yogurt and fruit!!
Gail Hunt says
hey, Katie - had this for lunch today. It's a great way to use up bananas - you're right. A question for you: do you consider honey vegan?
Katie Trant says
Good question, Gail! I should clarify that I'm not vegan, so I do eat honey, eggs, cheese, etc. Some people who identify as vegan choose not to eat honey as they consider it to be an animal product, so if you're cooking for someone who is vegan you should check ahead of time where they stand on honey. I know some vegans who do eat honey (beegans!) and others who don't.
Tessa says
Taking this on the ski trip. Just right to start a morning on the hill.
Emelie says
This has become my go-to granola recipe – so easy and sooooo good! My seven-year old loves it, and it's at the point where she pretty much refuses to eat any other store bought cereal. I usually skip the walnuts (small sacrifice to keep the kid interested) but add dried blueberries instead, which are delicious together with the coconut and banana flavours. Might need to make a new batch this weekend....
Katie Trant says
Dried blueberries is a great idea! I've often thought of doing a variation with dried blueberries and cardamom instead of cinnamon. Yum!
Sustainable Cooks - Sarah says
So delicious and I appreciate your hard work with PETB and on behalf of the misunderstood banana.
Katie Trant says
No brown banana shall be left behind!
Jess says
This conjured up such nice images of you "chasing" after stray bananas, Katie! I do my best not to let a single one go to waste, but we've sure got a constant stream of all sizes and shapes of bananas parading through our kitchen. I love this tropical combination of coconut and banana - yum!
themuffinmyth says
I'm sure there is no shortage of bananas in your world, or coconuts! I wish I could find fresh coconut more often like what I ate in thailand. I know it's out there, it just isn't something I seek out regularly.
kellie@foodtoglow says
Love this, Katie! I am not too much of a coconut fan I'm afraid but I have fancied for ages doing a pureed banana granola. Nigella does one but it isn't anything like this (yours being much nicer looking and kinder to the ahem, constitution). Bookmarking and pinning!
themuffinmyth says
The coconut is absolutely not necessary. Swap the coconut oil for olive oil, and use a handful of extra nuts in place of the coconut. No problemo! I don't think much of what Nigella does is good for the ol' constitution, but I love her all the same 🙂
erika says
Ugh this sounds so good. You're making me hungry. And I totally get you--I am a huge banana hoarder! My fridge is filllllled with black bananas. My poor roommate. And then my friend called me up the other day and gave me like 8 large ripe bananas. So I made banana bread! Fully indulgent banana bread, which I am now regretting because I feel like a blimp even though I gave most of it away 🙁 So please share your whole grain healthy banana loaf idea with us...it's a public service, really 🙂
themuffinmyth says
A public service! Well then really, what choice do I have? Thanks for the encouragement!
erika says
No choice at all 😉
Kelly FlatEleven says
This looks delicious. Banana and coconut… what a lovely flavor combination. xo
themuffinmyth says
Thanks Kelly! It really is delicious. I hope you give it a try.
Deena Kakaya says
Lovely be retaining post, I smiled from the first line. I love Banana and coconut together, but worry about them becoming stodgy. As you demonstrate, if can be golden and glorious. X
themuffinmyth says
Thanks Deena. An yes, golden and glorious indeed 🙂