This Granola Butter recipe is an easy homemade nut-free spread for bread or add to smoothies and desserts. It’s also gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and packed with fibers and healthy fats from seeds.
Try this granola butter if you are after a delicious spread alternative to nut butter.
It’s particularly useful for kids going to allergy-friendly schools where nuts are not allowed. This lovely nut-free spread tastes like our favorite breakfast granola and has the texture of natural peanut butter.
It’s also very easy to make with some nuts if you do prefer the flavors of almonds, pecans, or peanuts. But here I am sharing a seed variation that is school-friendly.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Granola butter is made from the same ingredients as a classic homemade granola without the dried fruits, then blended into a thick and creamy spread.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – The main ingredient of granola is oats, which we use in this granola butter recipe to give the flavors and creamy texture to this spread. Feel free to use quick oats or steel-cut oats if preferred.
- Cinnamon – for a Fall taste
- Sesame Seeds – or nuts like almonds, pecans, peanuts, or walnuts for a nutty flavor.
- Sunflower Seeds, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds for a boost of proteins.
- Avocado Oil – or melted coconut oil. I prefer avocado oil because it has a high smoke point and won’t smoke in the oven.
- Maple Syrup or any liquid sweetener you love, including agave syrup, coconut nectar, or a sugar-free option.
- Shredded Coconut
- Ginger – for more taste.
How To Make Granola Butter
- In a large bowl, add all the liquid ingredients: avocado oil, vanilla extract, and maple syrup, and stir to combine. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together: rolled oats, cinnamon, ginger, salt, shredded coconut, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds.
- Stir to combine evenly, then pour the liquid ingredients on top and stir again to coat all the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
- Spread the granola mixture in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the mixture at 350°F (180°C) on the center rack of the oven for about 15 minutes or until just fragrant. Watch closely after 12 minutes; you don’t want to burn the oat.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely at room temperature before blending. You need a high-speed blender to turn seeds, nuts, or oats into a butter texture similar to peanut butter. You can’t make this recipe in a food processor. The speed of the blade is not fast enough to turn the ingredients into a creamy spread. Add all the cooled ingredients into the jug of a high-speed blender and blend on medium speed.
- Use the tamper attachment to push the dry mixture onto the blade and help the mixture turn into thick butter. You will have to stop the blender a few times, scrape down the sides of the jug with a silicone tool and repeat until it turns into a creamy texture. If the mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of extra oil to help the mixture blend. The more oil you add, the thinner the texture will be. If you like your spread to harden, use coconut oil and place the jar of homemade granola butter under 73°F (23°C) – in the fridge, for example. The cold solidifies the granola butter, so it will be solid the next day.
Serving
This granola butter can be used on toast or in any recipe calling for peanut butter, almond butter, or any nut butter, like in my peanut butter cookies.
You can also drizzle granola butter on top of
- Overnight Oats
- Smoothies
- Bowl of oatmeal
- Ice Cream
- Plant-based Greek yogurt bowl or in a yogurt bark.
- Apple nachos with a pinch of extra spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spices.
- Fresh fruit like bananas, pears or mango.
Flavoring
You can use this recipe to create a range of granola butter flavors.
- Chocolate Granola Butter – Add three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dry ingredients. Then, in the liquid ingredients, increase the oil by 3 tablespoons and add an extra two tablespoons of maple syrup.
- Nutty Granola – Swap the seeds for a mix of almonds and cashews.
- Raisins Granola – At the end, when the spread has been blended into a creamy smooth texture, stir in 1/3 cup of dried raisins.
Allergy Swaps
If you have some dietary restrictions, here are some ingredient swap ideas to make this recipe.
- Coconut-Free – Swap the shredded coconut for more seeds or any nuts you love.
- Gluten-Free – Use certified gluten-free oats.
- Oil Ideas – You must use a type of oil to rest the granola, or it will be super dry and never blend into a creamy texture. You can use avocado oil, olive oil, or melted coconut oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most common questions about this granola butter recipe.
Granola butter is an alternative to peanut butter or almond butter.
It has the same creamy texture, but it’s mainly made of roasted oats, sometimes nuts or seeds, or any ingredients you usually see in a granola recipe.
It tastes like an oatmeal cookie but in spread form.
Granola butter has the same texture as peanut butter but contains fewer fats, sometimes no nuts, and only seeds.
It’s also higher in fiber and carbohydrates than peanut butter.
Granola butter is a great spread on toast for breakfast or to serve as a drizzle on top of plant-based yogurt, overnight oats, or a bowl of oatmeal.
Store granola butter in a sterilized glass jar. An airtight glass mason jar is the best to keep it fresh for weeks. I keep my jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
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Granola Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- ½ cup Sunflower Seeds
- ⅓ cup Sesame Seeds
- ⅓ cup Shredded Coconut
- 3 tablespoons Avocado Oil - or melted coconut oil, or light olive oil
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Fresh Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
Optional – to thin out
- 3-5 tablespoons Avocado Oil - or melted coconut oil, or light olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180C°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the liquid ingredients: oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- In another bowl, stir all the dry ingredients: rolled oats, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry and stir again until all the ingredients are coated.
- Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in a single layer.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until just golden brown, roasted and fragrant.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheet at room temperature.
- Transfer the mixture into a high-speed blender, blend on medium speed, speed 6-7 of a Vitamix, and use the tamper tool to push the food next to the blade.
- It can take 2-3 minutes for the mixture to turn into creamy butter. You will have to stop the blender, scrape down the sides with a silicone spatula and repeat, eventually adding the optional oil to make it less dry and turn faster into a creamy paste.
- If too dry, add the extra oil one tablespoon at a time to help the mixture blend. Stop when you enjoy the texture. The more oil you oil, the more liquid it will be.
Storage
- Store the granola butter in a glass mason jar for up to 3 weeks in the fridge or one week in the pantry.
Yummy! Even better than the Biscoff spread