Chocolate + Banana Granola

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double chocolate + banana granola
{ a chocolate-y superfood party }

I love granola. I love to grab a handful to nosh on when I’m hungry. I like to make acai bowls at home for a quick meal. And nothing beats a bowl of granola with cut bananas and milk. I like almond milk in my granola. Don’t know why.  Just do.

I like to think you can have faith in my granola. Just like my salads. Because I’m not one of those people that gets a natural high from eating healthy. I have to really spit-shine my healthy so that it seduces me into its’ green and good-for-you ways.

I have several other granola recipes here and here. I recently revisited my Seven Spoons cookbook (which I highly recommend) and I read through her granola recipe. I incorporated two of her highly cool techniques into this granola. First, I love how she cuts back on some of the unhealthy stuff and uses oat flour to help the granola clump together. Yes, we like this. If I wanted something with the health-profile of a cookie, I’d just eat a cookie. I want my granola to make my skin glow. I want a little extra pep in my step. Second, she drops the granola in clumps on the baking sheet, thus further helping it clump. We like clumps in granola. A lot. BUT, I don’t like clumps that are so hard that I chip a tooth. These aren’t those types of clumps.

I’ve had friends tell me that they would be less inclined to make my granola because it sounds like too much work. Can I tell you this is easier than baking cookies…or roasting a chicken…or hoeing the garden. Easier than doing your nails or the dishes. It’s easy.

Let’s make some granola.

double chocolate + banana superfood granola | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife
double chocolate + banana superfood granola | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife
double chocolate + banana superfood granola | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife
{ double chocolate + banana granola }

Makes About 7 Cups

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 cups oatmeal (I use old-fashion oats)
  • 1 cup quinoa flakes
  • 1 cup raw almonds, chopped and whole pieces
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup oat flour*
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup whole flaxseeds
  • 1/4 cup hemp seeds
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup veggie oil (I use and love sunflower seed oil)
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 2 ripe banana)
  • 3 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 cup cocoa nibs (or chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate)**

*Grind roughly 1 cup of oatmeal in a food processor to yield about 1/2 cup of oat flour.

**I like the flavor of cocoa nibs but some people can find the flavor a little funky. You could easily replace them with your favorite chocolate…the darker the chocolate, the less sugar and the better it will be for you. Let your conscience be your guide. 

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
  • Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Put the oats, quinoa flakes, almonds, brown sugar, oat flour, coconut, flaxseeds, hemp seeds and cocoa powder in a large bowl and mix well.
  • Mix together the water, maple syrup, veggie oil, mashed banana, almond extract, cinnamon and sea salt, ideally in a blender, but you could also whisk together if a blender isn’t available. The more incorporated and ground up this banana mixture, the more clumps you’ll have. Yay.
  • Pour the banana mixture over the oat mixture and blend well.
  • Put half on each baking sheet, dropping in clumps around the sheet.
  • Put in the oven for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes give it a gentle stir. Put the baking sheets back in the oven for another 30 minutes (for a total of 60 minutes baking time) to finish cooking. It smells delicious, doesn’t it? I prefer to bake one sheet of granola at a time. If you do two sheets at a time, make sure to rotate, front to back and top to bottom midway through baking.
  • When done, pull the sheets out of the oven and let cool a bit.
  • After about thirty minutes, stir in the cocoa nibs or other chocolate. Let sit on the baking sheets until completely cool to the touch.
  • Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week…freezing any leftovers for a rainy day.

Comments

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7 Comments

  • MB@Bourbon and Brown Sugar February 20, 2016 at 8:05 PM

    Oh yum! This looks amazing. I could live on granola. Can’t wait to try this version…

    Reply
  • Josh February 17, 2016 at 12:38 AM

    This looks super good! Chocolate and Banana together, sounds delicious.

    Reply
  • Suzy Wallis February 17, 2016 at 12:27 AM

    This looks so good and easy! Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply