Use up your brown bananas in this healthy Coconut Banana Bread Granola Recipe! Easy to make, vegan, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup, this homemade granola is perfect for breakfast or afternoon snacks.
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Have you had store bought granola recently? I sure hope not, because that stuff is expensive! What the people trying to jack you out of your hard earned dollars with $8 boxes of granola don't want you to know is that homemade granola is super easy to make.
We love making healthy granola recipes here on HNL, like our Maple Apple Granola or Healthy Pumpkin Granola. We've even got a Chocolate Granola Recipe buried deep in the archives.
The best part about making homemade granola is that you can make it with healthy whole food ingredients you feel good about feeding your family. Also, homemade granola makes a great gift!
This Coconut Banana Bread Granola is the perfect thing to use up those brown bananas you've got kicking around. It's naturally sweetened, perfectly crisp, and delicious. I love serving it over yogurt, or just eating it by the handful straight from the jar.
Ingredients
- Bananas! --> The older the better. Seriously, they've got great flavor.
- Rolled oats --> That's a no-brainer in the granola game.
- Coconut oil --> Just a l'il bit.
- Coconut chips --> You know, the big fancy ones. Coconut flakes work fine as well.
- Walnuts --> Gotta get those omega-3s and other healthy fats.
- Maple syrup --> The good stuff, please.
- Cinnamon --> To spice up your life.
Equipment
You're going to need either a food processor (I have this one) or a blender (I have this one) to blend the wet ingredients together.
Otherwise, a couple of nice big sheet pans for baking the granola. I like to use parchment paper for this - it's optional, but makes mixing the granola easier.
How do you this recipe?
It's super easy to make this homemade granola, my friends!
First, you combine your super-ripe bananas, coconut oil, and maple syrup in a food processor and whizz till it's super smooth.
Then, you put your oats, coconut chips, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt into a big bowl. Then you pour the wet mixture over top of the dry ingredients, and mix well.
After that, spread your granola mix out nice and even on two sheet pans, and put them into a pre-heated oven. Bake for 10 mins, give it a 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!
Pro tips / Recipe notes:
- 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 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.
- Is this recipe gluten-free? If you use gluten-free oats it is. But please note that some folks who are sensitive to gluten still have trouble with gluten-free oats.
- I don't have coconut oil. No problem. You can totally make this recipe with another oil, like olive oil or a neutral-flavoured oil like sunflower oil instead. It'll taste less coconutty, but that's not a big deal.
- Want to make nut-free granola? Just leave out the walnuts and add extra coconut if you like. Or, you can swap out the walnuts for almonds, pecans, or another nut that suits you better.
- Want to make it fancy? A friend of mine skips the nuts and adds a handful of dried blueberries after the granola has been baked, which is delicious. You could also add a handful of chocolate chips, raisins, or other dried fruit depending on what you're into.
Hey Nutrition Lady, what's the deal with oats?
Good question!
Oats are rich in indigestible carbohydrates called beta-glutens which help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Oats are also host to a number of phenolic compounds which have antioxidant properties. Due to the high levels of those beta-glucans, oats are also helpful in stabilizing blood sugar.
In fact, eating oats in the morning may help keep your blood sugar stable throughout the entire day. Oats are also a good source of dietary fiber and protein. Look for gluten-free oats if you're celiac or have another gluten sensitivity.
What about coconut oil?
Here's the Reader's Digest version: Coconut oil is mega high saturated fats, which, for ages were demonized as being 'bad fat's. Current research indicates there are actually different types of saturated fats, and some types of saturated fats, including those found in coconut oil, are actually good for you.
Other research has some scientists and health care professionals saying, woah, hold up, maybe it's not so good. I take a deeper dive into the issue in this post: Is Coconut Oil Healthy?
Other Tasty Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Healthy Pumpkin Granola
Maple Apple Walnut Granola
Coco Cocoa Granola
Spelt Flour Pancakes
Orange Earl Grey Muffins
Coconut Banana 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 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
This recipe was originally published February 27, 2014. It was retested, rephotographed, and updated on December 11, 2018. Last updated December 10, 2021.
Taunia
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
Yay! Glad you enjoy this as much as we do - It's my family's favourite granola recipe too.
Robin
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
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
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
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
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
It's one of my favourites! Perfect for old nanners. The browner the better!
Victoria Mitchell
Mike made this this morning. Delicious, and will be great with yogurt and fruit!!
Gail Hunt
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
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
Taking this on the ski trip. Just right to start a morning on the hill.
Emelie
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
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
So delicious and I appreciate your hard work with PETB and on behalf of the misunderstood banana.
Katie Trant
No brown banana shall be left behind!
Jess
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
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
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
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
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
A public service! Well then really, what choice do I have? Thanks for the encouragement!
erika
No choice at all 😉
Kelly FlatEleven
This looks delicious. Banana and coconut… what a lovely flavor combination. xo
themuffinmyth
Thanks Kelly! It really is delicious. I hope you give it a try.
Deena Kakaya
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
Thanks Deena. An yes, golden and glorious indeed 🙂