This Gluten Free Maple Pecan Granola is the perfect combination of oats, toasted oat cereal, pecans, coconut, and banana chips. All tossed in a maple cinnamon coating.
My kids are CEREAL EATERS. They probably get it from me. I would take cold cereal with sliced bananas any day over pancakes, French toast, omelets, smoothies, muffins, you name it.
In fact, the days that Braelyn does ask for something different, after going through the effort of making her whatever breakfast request she has made, I will then sit down with my tried and true bowl of cereal. I do the same after making Ben his “Post-Workout Saturday Omelet”.
I would just rather have CEREAL.
Another weird fact about our family is that we are pretty much obsessed with MIXING cereals. I cannot tell you the last time I had just one type of cereal in my bowl. It’s just not natural. Variety people!
Emry has a habit of requesting “Two cereals Mom! I want two cereals!” every single morning. Except two really means like three or four; basically whatever cereals are within viewing distance.
Braelyn likes a mixture of cereals as well. In fact we kind of had a meltdown the other day when we ran out of her crispy rice cereal and were left with just her gluten free Cherrios-like cereal. We use the Nature’s Path brand Whole O’s. It isn’t that she doesn’t like the oat cereal, it’s just that there was nothing left to mix it with.
“It’s just NOT FAIR!“
Oh, the drama.
I could just go and buy another box of cereal, but I am holding strong to my whole “Cleaning Out My Pantry” mantra before we move to Hawaii. You should see my pantry. It’s almost bare!
So instead of buying a new box of cereal at the store, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and not only make Braelyn her very own granola to mix in her cereal, but I was able to clean out some more pantry ingredients as well. BONUS!
Braelyn has been eyeing a non gluten-free bag of granola sitting in our pantry for the last few weeks. I sprinkle a little in my cereal for some subtle sweetness each morning. She was MAD at me for buying something that she couldn’t eat.
So when I decided to make her some special granola, I knew just what flavor to make: Gluten Free Maple Pecan Granola.
You guys, this granola is CRUNCHY and I love it!
I’m not a big sticky and chewy granola fan. I want there to be texture to my granola, that eventually softens as it sits in my milk waiting to be eaten. I want to be able to sprinkle it on top of my yogurt for a little crunch in every bite.
THIS IS IT!
This crispy crunchy granola has a soothing maple cinnamon flavor with delicious pieces of pecans scattered throughout. And to make this granola even tastier, I added some coarsely crushed banana chips and a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes.
This granola is not only gluten free, but it is a whole lot HEALTHIER than many store-bought options.
First of all, I used coconut oil instead of butter or canola oil in the coating.
Secondly, this recipe has NO refined sugar. That’s right. Just 100% pure maple syrup for that extra sweetness. Can’t get better than that, right?!
Now I don’t actually know if my adding cornstarch really did anything for the recipe, but when I was looking at the ingredients list for the maple pecan granola in my pantry, it mentioned cornstarch. I figured maybe it helped with the crispiness of the coating. Or heck, maybe it does the opposite and adds a bit of chew. Who knows! All I know is that I added some cornstarch and the consistency of the coating was perfect.
Crunchy all the way! With a tad bit of chew to those big clusters of granola that get stuck together while baking. I admit, those pieces are my favorite. I search for them and confiscate them in every bag of granola I buy.
Except I won’t be BUYING granola ever again. No way! Not after this recipe. Too easy…too YUMMY!
What is your favorite flavor of granola?
- 3 cups gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
- 1½ cups gluten free circular oat cereal (I used Nature's Path Whole O's)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup coarsely chopped banana chips
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoons maple extract
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking pan with a 1" lip with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl combine gluten free oats, gluten free oat cereal, chopped pecans, coconut flakes, and banana chips. Toss to combine.
- In a small saucepan whisk together maple syrup, maple extract, cornstarch, salt, ground cinnamon, and coconut oil. Stir over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour over cereal mixture. Stir with a spatula to cover all ingredients with maple coating. Spread evenly over the pan.
- Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, stirring granola after ever 15 minutes. Allow granola to cool completely and store in an airtight container.
- Serve with milk, over yogurt, with peanut butter and bananas, as a snack by itself, etc.
I’m with you 100% on never buying granola again — I started making my own over a year or so ago, and have never looked back. I make at LEAST one batch of granola a week, and this one will definitely have to make it into the rotation. LOVE the added banana chips and coconut flakes. So smart!
Thanks Leah! I didn’t realize it was so dang easy. And even tastes better. AND makes your house smell amazing!