My kids love granola. I have often bought granola, but it is expensive and is full of ingredients that I cannot control. Making granola at home is a less expensive and much healthier option.
Over the years I have found several homemade granola recipes that my family really enjoys, but this recipe today is one that I have made many times and it is a favorite of ours.
The recipe originally came from an Ebook that Money Saving Mom put together several years ago. I actually think the Ebook was done before she started Money Saving Mom. I enjoyed the Ebook and this was my favorite recipe from it.
This is one of the easiest granolas that I have made. Not only is this granola easy to put together, but it is does not cook for long at all. Many granola recipes take close to an hour in the oven, this one cooks for less than 20 minutes.
This recipe contains peanut butter, which is the way I have made it many times. However, I recently adapted it for my daughter’s peanut allergy, using the Soy Nut Butter and it worked great. I think this would turn out well with any nut butter, so you can adjust it as needed.
This granola would also be great used in my granola cookies.
Peanut Butter Granola Recipe
- 6 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup peanut butter (or soy nut butter)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 7 cups oats
- Cook oil and peanut butter over low heat until it is melted and smooth.
- Remove from heat and add sugar.
- Add oats and stir well until oats are coated.
- Spread onto cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes stirring at least once.
- Cool and store in an airtight container.
I do not usually post recipes from other bloggers because their recipes are theirs, but this recipe is not on the Money Saving Mom site and the EBook is no longer available, so Cyrstal gave me permission to post it.
I love to cook and bake, and my family loves to eat. Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures is all about sharing my love of cooking, recipes, tips, and ideas of how I combine this cooking passion with a busy life. [
Do you recommend Quick Cook oats or Traditional? I have played around with both and tend to love the traditional in long cooking granola. Didn’t know if the shorter oven time would effect the oats.
@Janae D, I usually use regular oats, but either work.
Lynn, What are ways you serve this wonderful recipe? Do you just eat it as is or use it as a topping on other things? We’ve never tried granola so I’d appreciate the insight & ideas.
I love your blog & am so thankful to be able to follow you on FB.
Thanks!
@Katie Graham, We eat this with just milk like you would cold cereal. We also eat it with yogurt. My kids love it when I do a granola sundae like this. https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/04/granola-sundaes.html A lot of times I just eat it dry as a snack which is good.
Yum—gonna make this SOON for our family! Have been intimidated about getting into the whole arena of granola-making, but this seems like an ideal place to start!
BTW…I’m a huge fan of Crystal and her work, too, and appreciate so much that you were careful to cite her and her “property.” 🙂
@Mrs. R., I hope you enjoy it.
Read this post this morning and made it will my little girl. Her and my grandson who is 3, absolutely loved it! She had 2 bowls of it! Very tasty…I know I will be making this again. Thanks!
@Lori, I am so glad that you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
I’ve never attempted granola, but this sounds so easy that I think I’ll do it!
I’m also interested in trying to make this into bars for a fast, quick, on-the-go snack (maybe with a few chocolate chips thrown in). Anyone have any tips for doing that?
@Kari, Here are a couple of the granola bars I make. We like all of them.
https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/09/no-bake-granola-bars.html
These two use oats not granola but are easy and good.
https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/03/homemade-granola-bars.html
and less healthy ones https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2008/04/easy-granola-bars.html
sounds good! can u make this into granola bars?! i’ve never made either but have always wanted to. thanks
@kym, Here are a couple of the granola bars I make. We like all of them.
https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/09/no-bake-granola-bars.html
These two use oats not granola but are easy and good.
https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/03/homemade-granola-bars.html
and less healthy ones https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2008/04/easy-granola-bars.html
I’ve never made granola, but this looks so easy I think I will give it a try!
I’m also interested in making granola bars for a quick on-the-go snack (maybe with a few chocolate chips thrown in). Any ideas for adjusting it to work for bars too?
I want those BOWLS! They are soooooo CUTE!!!!
Lynn, I love your site, and I decided to make this granola today. My 15 year old got home and said, “The house smells so yummy!” The granola is delicious! Thanks for sharing Crystal’s recipe.
Would that much oil still be needed if using natural peanut butter (which has more oil than say a type like JIF)?
I have big peanut butter fans in my house. This might be a big hit.
@Jessica, I have never made it with natural peanut butter, but I am guessing you could cut the oil back some since it is more oily. I would not cut it all out though.
Can you tell my what the consistancy of the granola is supossed to be like? I have never made this before and am not sure if it turned out right. Thanks!
@Lindsey, Homemade granola is going to have a different texture than a box of store bought granola. This is not as crunchy or sweet. I hope that answers your question. I hope you still enjoyed it.
is there a way to make this with Splenda instead of the Sugar? We try really hard to steer clear of actual Sugar. Thanks it sounds really good!
@Tracy, I have never cooked with splenda, but I am guessing you can use it. I would just replace it similar to what you do in other recipes. It may effect the texture some, but I am guessing it would still work. I would love to hear if it does.
I just made this this morning. I have two boys with peanut allergies so I made one patch with peanut butter and a half batch with sun butter. Both turned out well! Thanks for sharing 🙂
My kids love this I just made it last night. I added a little cinnamon and sliced almonds and raisens. Also I used Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter and coconut oil for the oil. YUMMY!
You have reminded me of how easy it is to make your own granola. This will be my project for the weekend.
I thought a quick and easy granola was the perfect thing this morning as we love granola and I’ve not taken the time for our longer cooking recipe.
I have to say we were disappointed. This is so sweet my daughter didn’t even want to eat it. I could only stand to eat it because we were out of milk so I used plain yogurt. It doesn’t seem very granola-ey either. It’s more like candy–I make a pb/oats/honey candy that is almost this sweet. It didn’t dry much with just 20 minutes in the oven so was barely toasted. The brown sugar didn’t melt so it you cool feel the brown sugar all over; seemed weird in granola.
I still might try it again, leaving out at least half the sugar, and I usually use applesauce instead of half the oil but forgot and would try that. Also, I’d use two cookie sheets so that it’s not 1″+ thick and has more opportunity to dry/toast. And maybe honey instead of the sugar, but it might take longer to cook then.
Oh, and I used the microwave to heat the pb and oil. I did 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Probably could have done 1.5 mins as it was very hot at the end.
p.s. You can post recipes all you want. Recipes can’t be copyrighted or owned by anyone. The directions can be, if they are unique or unusual. I do appreciate that you link to the original person. But you don’t legally have to get permission to post them.
@AnnMarie, I am sorry you were disappointed in the recipe. Homemade granola does have a different texture than store bought granola. As for the sweetness you could easily reduce that amount. I also do not usually make things like this in the microwave. If the oil and peanut butter were not hot enough then the sugar would not melt in and dissolve as well.
@Lynn, Hmmm, I didn’t expect the brown sugar to melt, but my pb+oil were so hot I almost burned myself when I tested it with a finger (I didn’t think it would get that hot at 2 minutes). But the sugar didn’t melt–didn’t realize it was supposed to either. Have never made granola with brown sugar so had no idea what to expect at that step. Perhaps it would be better textured if the sugar had melted. (I don’t buy store-bought granola–we always make our own.)
We tried it tonight and it is soo good! I didn’t add quite so much sugar (all I had was white so I used that) and I think I would be okay with even half the sugar- I am trying to avoid gestational diabetes. We used natural peanut butter and all the oil. The texture of the sugar/oil/pb mixture looked sooo pretty! I had my four-year old help and he really enjoyed it- I just had to do the stirring on the stove part. We added dried fruit and nuts and a little bit of coconut too.
Thanks for sharing!!!
@Amy F:), I am so glad that you liked it!
Just made this recipe today and it rocks! When eaten with milk,like traditional cereal, the taste reminded me of a grown-up version of Cap’n Crunch…full of peanut buttery goodness! Thanks for sharing!
@Amy, I am so glad that you enjoyed it! A grown up version of Cap’n Crunch is a good way to describe it.
I’ve made two batches of this so far. My family loves it!!! The second batch I made I altered just a bit. I added two more tablespoons of oil and 1/4 cup of ground flax seed. No one could tell the difference but I like making just a little bit more healthy.
@Lynn, I am so glad that you enjoy it. The flax is a great addition.
This granola is fantastic! Simple and delicious. Used super chunky natural peanut butter, reduced the oil to 2 Tbsp and brown sugar to 1 cup, and added 1/2 cup applesauce. Even my version isn’t particularly light on calories, fats, or sugars, but it’s full of healthy fiber, protein, and complex carbs. And the fats are mostly unsaturated. Great in a bowl with milk or as a yogurt or ice cream topper. Thanks for posting!
I love the idea of adding applesauce to this! What a great way to make it a little healthier.
This didn’t work good for me. It came out dry and the sugar mixture didn’t seem to coat the oatmeal. I used my kitchenAid mixer to make sure it was coated good. I used coconut oil and added 1/4 cup wheat germ. I’m going to continue to cook it past the 20 minutes and see if this helps. It wasn’t brown after 20 minutes either.
If you are adding wheat germ, you might want to cut back some on the oats, that may be why it was a little dry. I have never tried this recipe with coconut oil so I am not sure how that may change it. And if you have never made homemade granola before it is a little different than store bought granola. The taste and texture is not quite the same, but we love it.
Peanut butter delight! The kids and I enjoy this granola in milk or with yogurt. Yummy!
I made this recipe and loved it…I did make it with coconut oil and it came out great. I also made a chocolate granola and added the two together….who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate !! It is so good on yogurt and also we use it on top of banana bread and chocolate muffins…..yum, yum !! Thank you for posting this recipe !
I love the idea of mixing them together! That would be so good. Thanks for sharing it.