Peanut Butter Quinoa Chia Granola

This tasty peanut butter granola is the perfect mix of sweet and healthy. Peanut butter and chocolate-covered raisins are balanced out by a nutritious mix of oats, quinoa, and chia seeds.

One time, I drank decaf coffee for an entire week and had no idea. I didn't realize anything was off until I sleepily stumbled upon the bag of decaffeinated coffee, stared at it for about 10 seconds, and realized it said "decaf" on it. Huh.

I'm not really sure what that says about me. Either it's totally awesome that I can basically quit caffeine for a week with no negative side effects or it's incredibly sad that my morning coffee doesn't really seem to be having any positive effect on me. At least a nice hot cup of coffee makes me happy?

Weekday breakfasts don't generally make me very happy since I typically eat the same thing at my desk every single morning: a Greek yogurt and grapes. I honestly just try to get some fuel into my body while I'm still waking up and this does the job. But occasionally I'll bring something a little more exciting and it makes my day about 12 billion times happier and more exciting.

This granola is one of those things. I made it sound all healthy-ish in the recipe title: Peanut Butter Quinoa Chia Granola. But I left out the word "chocolate," which is deceptive because there's chocolate in there, too. Raisinets to be exact.

But you're allowed a little a.m. chocolate when you're getting all these grains and seeds in: oats, quinoa, and chia. Plus, you can simply sprinkle this granola on your yogurt if you still need that dairy fix.

PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA WITH QUINOA AND CHIA SEEDS RECIPE

If you haven't tried it before, you should know that granola is incredibly easy to make. Also? When you buy it at the store, it's crazy expensive. But at home, you can make a whole lot of it for a whole lot less money. Especially if you're like me and you purchase 6 pounds of chia seeds at a time. But seriously, these bulk chia seeds (affiliate link) are one of my favorite Amazon purchases and I re-purchase them about twice a year. The price ranges anywhere from $20-$25, which is always a great deal.

The other ingredients in this peanut butter granola are also quite affordable, including old fashioned oats, quinoa, peanut butter chocolate-covered raisins, coconut oil, and maple syrup.

You'll start by mixing the dry ingredients together.

Then combine peanut butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat until it's a nice and smooth.

Toss the dry mixture with the wet mixture.

And spread on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325 degrees until mixture turns golden.

Major bonus points for the fact that your kitchen will smell like peanut butter and maple syrup for a few hours.

Honestly, the toughest part about making this recipe is waiting for the granola to cool so you can add in the chocolate-covered raisins before you eat all of them out of the container. Maybe just keep it shut until the granola is cooled.

But really, you do need to let the granola cool before you dig into it anyway so that you'll get all the nice granola clumps and clusters. Plus, the chocolate will get all melty if you add it in too soon.

And aren't those clusters pretty? I am a big fan. There's seriously something awesome about every bite of this.

I admit that I'm not a huge oatmeal fan and I'd much rather eat granola coated in peanut butter than oatmeal topped with peanut butter. Crunchy wins over mushy any day.

I especially love that roasted peanut butter flavor, combined with the chocolate. I know I'm all "put this peanut butter granola on your yogurt for breakfast" or "eat handfuls of this for a snack," but I mean, maybe try putting it on ice cream instead? I honestly can't decide whether to categorize this as a snack, breakfast, or dessert. If you're a cereal-for-dinner type person, it could most definitely suffice as dinner, too.

Basically, you can't go wrong and you should probably always have a couple mason jars of this in your house.

Seriously, just don't spend crazy amounts of money on granola anymore. There's no need for it when you can have homemade, totally fresh and versatile peanut butter granola in your home at all times. This makes me SO happy.

But yes, I enjoyed it alongside a cup of coffee WITH caffeine, thank you very much.

Do you buy granola or make your own?

If you're looking for more easy granola recipes you can make at home, check out my homemade Fruity Granola and my Quinoa Granola with Dark Chocolate Pomegranates. I can't wait to try this Lemon Blueberry Granola from The Backcountry Kitchen!

📖 Recipe