Overripe Bananas? Make Granola!
I have my go-to recipes for overripe bananas, and I’m sure you do as well. Banana bread is an obvious choice, smoothies are an easy option, and banana splits aren’t a half bad fallback. But what about a healthy, homemade morning cereal?
I make hundreds of pounds of granola each week for my company Marge Granola. Because we’re in the kitchen so much producing our standard line of three flavors, we have little time to experiment with new flavor combinations (although I hope this will change soon) or recipe research. So when I stumble across a granola recipe that’s doing something interesting and innovative, I take note. And this recipe from the blog Green Kitchen Stories recently gave me pause.
At first glance, this is a pretty standard granola recipe: mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, bake it and call it a day. But the addition of the ripe banana and the way you incorporate it into the oats with your hands until the mixture is uniform and clumpy ensures you’ll have beautifully clustery granola with a flavor that’s mildly reminiscent of banana.
I love using coconut oil in baked goods and granola — and next time I’ll add big unsweetened coconut flakes to this recipe, too. It’s a keeper.
Do you have a favorite granola recipe?
Get the Recipe → Banana Granola from Green Kitchen Stories
(Images: Green Kitchen Stories)