Peanut butter and jelly granola… really, what’s not to love?
The fun thing about this little recipe is that it’s sweetened by your favorite jelly or preserves, so it doesn’t need any added sweeteners.
Which is a blessing if you’ve noticed how many granola recipes out there require huge amounts of very pricey maple syrup or multiple expensive sweeteners. Not this pb&j granola, it’s super simple AND makes for deliciously biiiig crispy crunchy clusters.
Plus, this means you’re really only a handful of ingredients away from enjoying your own fresh from the oven granola.
See those lovely clusters? We make those happen in a couple different ways:
First, I actually prefer to use quick cooking oats in this recipe. They bring a crispier, less chewy, texture and their thinner rolled, smaller cut pieces of oat helps form nice clumps without any extra ingredients.
Secondly, I spread the granola out in a single layer on a baking sheet and leave it alone as long as possible so that it bakes as one large piece of granola bark.
Creamy peanut butter forms the backbone of this peanut butter and jelly granola, literally holding the granola mixture together before it bakes and lending that lovely savory-sweet flavor contrast throughout.
For a little crunchy contrast, I like to add roasted peanuts and a smidge of cinnamon makes the batch smell heavenly!
For optimal crunchiness, you absolutely must allow the granola to cool completely on the baking sheet once you take it out of the oven. I like to leave it somewhere cool-ish on a trivet for a good hour.
Once it’s fully cooled, it will go from oven-soft to nicely crunchy. Then you can break up your peanut butter and jelly granola into clusters as large or fine as you like!
You can add whatever dried fruits you like once the granola is broken into clusters. I like to keep with the berry theme and use dried cranberries or dried cherries if I have them. Freeze dried strawberries would also be a fun addition.
Check out my full notes below the recipe, but I have tested both old fashioned and quick cooking oats, with slightly differing results.
PrintGluten Free Big Cluster Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola
You’re just a handful of ingredients away from this Peanut Butter & Jelly Granola, flavored & sweetened with your favorite preserves or jelly, no extra added sugar needed!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 33 oz / 935 g / 8 1/4 cups 1x
- Category: breakfast, snack
- Method: oven baked
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup / 180 g creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup / 180 g raspberry or strawberry preserves, see notes
- 3 cups / 290 g gluten free quick cooking oats, see notes
- 1 cup / 150 g roasted peanuts
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups / 225 g dried cranberries, dried cherries or a mixture of each
Instructions
MIX: Preheat the oven to 300 F / 150 C. Measure the peanut butter and preserves into a microwave safe mixing bowl. Warm gently in 30 second increments until the peanut butter softens enough to be stirred through the preserves and combined. Add the quick cooking oats, roasted peanuts and ground cinnamon to the bowl; stir with a flat spatula. It will look a little too dry at first, but the mixture will come together as you cut the peanut butter through the oats. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined and the peanuts spread throughout.
PRESS: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper so that it overlaps slightly. Scrape the granola mixture into the center of the lined sheet. Press down on the granola mixture so that it spreads from the center out towards the edges of the sheet in a single layer that’s the same approximate thickness as the peanut pieces. Loosely press the edges together so that no pieces break off – we’re aiming for one large piece of granola bark here.
BAKE: Place the granola into the oven on the center rack and back until the edges are just starting to get a little toasty golden, about 20 – 25 minutes. Use a fish slice or large flat spatula to flip the granola over in about 4 or 5 large pieces, so that the outer edges are flipped into the center and the now golden brown underside of the granola is facing upwards. Return to the oven for another 5 – 10 minutes. You will know when the granola is done when it is dry to the touch with a bit of spring. It will still look soft, but will firm up as it cools. The finished granola will be lightly golden with a few darker spots around the edges, if at all.
COOL: Remove the granola from the oven and place the sheet on a trivet to cool until the granola is no longer warm to the touch. It will continue to crisp up as it cools, so leave it in those nice large pieces until then! Once the granola is fully cool and crisp, break it up into clusters as large or crumbled as you like.
Notes
- You can increase the preserves for a stronger fruity flavor, up to an additional 1/4 cup / 60 ml BUT the granola will turn out more chewy and dense than crispy-crunchy. It will also soften more quickly when you store the leftovers, even in an airtight container.
- I have tested this recipe with both old fashioned (whole) oats and quick cooking (more finely cut) oats. Both work and the cook time did not differ. The old fashioned oats make for a chewier finished texture and are more prone to break up and crumble. Using quick cook oats makes for clusters that hold together better & turn out crunchier overall.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
