Looking for a great meal prep breakfast recipe that’s lower in sugar and allergy friendly? Make this gluten free and vegan Banana Sunflower Seed Granola recipe on Sunday and have it for breakfast and snacks the rest of the week!
With the decadence of the holidays over and the New Year well under way, we’re looking for ways to make our recipes even healthier so we can meet our health and fitness goals. Reducing the amount of sugar in our family recipes is something I try to do regularly, so I keep natural sweetener products like Truvia Natural Sweetener in our pantry
When we were kids, my parents didn’t buy a lot of packaged foods, so we ate mostly homemade food. So instead of morning cereal, Mom would make a big batch of granola with sunflower seeds almost every week. I loved it!
Granola is still one of my favorite foods these days! I created this recipe as a nod to Mom’s granola recipe, but this one is lower in sugar, gluten free, and has an awesome banana crunch to it. This Banana Sunflower Seed Granola makes the perfect make ahead breakfast or snack, prep it on the weekend and have it ready for the rest of the week!
How to make banana sunflower seed granola
This granola is lower in sugar than many traditional granola recipes! If you want to make this recipe even lower in sugar, you can omit the maple syrup completely and add 1-2 more packets of Truvia Natural Sweetener.
I add the baked banana chips after baking to make sure that they don’t get overly crunchy or too hard. The baked banana chips are crispy and not too hard, but if you prefer ones that still aren’t quite as crunchy, you can use freeze dried banana pieces in this recipe instead of baked banana chips.
For a little more cinnamon flavor in this recipe, I also used baked cinnamon banana chips, but you can use regular baked banana chips here if you can’t find the cinnamon ones. We broke up a few of the bigger banana pieces so that the granola was easier to eat, but if you’re using this mostly for snacking, you can leave all the banana pieces whole.
Truvia Natural Sweetener
If you’re working on cooking healthier this year, swapping some (or all) the sugar in your recipes with a natural sweetener like Truvia Natural Sweetener is an easy way to do that! Truvia Natural Sweetener is a stevia-based sweetener that is naturally sweet with zero calories.
Truvia Natural Sweetener is really easy to use in place of sugar in your recipes: 3/4 teaspoon of Truvia Natural Sweetener has the same sweetness as 2 teaspoons of sugar. If you’re looking for ways to swap sugar in your recipes, you can check out the Truvia Natural Sweetener conversion chart for an easy reference guide.
Ready to start reducing the sugar in all of your cooking, not only desserts but also appetizers, lunch, and dinner? You can find Truvia Natural Sweetener in your local Albertsons, Safeway, or grocery store in the baking aisle!
For more recipe inspiration click here!
Banana Sunflower Seed Granola (Gluten Free and Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free rolled oats
- ¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut optional
- 5 packets Truvia Natural Sweetener (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Dash allspice
- 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup baked banana chips (I used baked cinnamon banana chips in this recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, Truvia Natural Sweetener, cinnamon, salt, and allspice.
- In another bowl, melt the coconut oil for about 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave. Then stir in the maple syrup and vanilla.
- Add the coconut oil mixture to the oat mixture and stir well to mix, making sure to incorporate any spices that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl.
- Spread the oats evenly onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Stir the granola on the pan and bake for another 10 minutes. Stirring every 5-10 minutes helps the granola to brown evenly.
- Stir the granola on the pan and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Stir the granola and bake for 5 more minutes one last time IF you want it to be a bit more brown. If it has browned nicely to this point, you don’t have to bake it anymore.
- Add the baked banana chips to the granola and stir around. Cool the granola completely on the pan, stirring periodically to allow even cooling and drying.
- Store in an airtight container for 4 days. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and allergy friendly food blogger of 12 years based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
I love homemade granola and yours looks soooo good. The addition of the banana chips is genius.
Thanks Jereann!
I love homemade granola! I’ve actually never tried truvia – I’d love to see how it works in baking!
Homemade granola is the best! This recipe reminds me of the granola my mom made us as kids, it’s so good
This recipe with the banana’s is everything! It’s making me want to add this to everything- from yogurt, to the top of smoothie bowls, and for cereal. Just the perfect amount of crunch!
I would definitely be awesome sprinkled on top of smoothies and yogurt! It adds such an awesome crunch
My toddler does not like bananas, but I am wondering if she would like this since the texture is different. This would be great to send with her to preschool for a snack!
She might like these bananas since they are crispy, and the ones I used have cinnamon on them, so they are even better!
With all of the various allergies in my household, it isn’t easy to find a granola recipe that works. This one sounds marvelous!
Thanks so much Lindsey!
I love bananas in my granola as well. All the flavors you’ve combined here sound as though they blend beautifully together.
Thanks Kaila! This recipe is very similar to the one my mom used to make, it was my favorite!
I’d love to make this to sprinkle on yogurt, too! I see I’m not the only one thinking that direction!
Great minds think alike! That would be the perfect pairing for this recipe 🙂
This wouldn’t last long in our home! So glad you made it nut-free too…just what we need.
Thanks Nicole! I made a double batch of this again on Sunday, and it’s almost already gone haha
I love all of the flavors that you put in here. Never thought about adding banana. Great idea!
Thanks Kelly, the banana adds such a nice crunch!
this looks scrumptious! I love your baked banana chips… that I definitely need to try!
Thanks Kristina! I bought some baked banana chips for this recipe, but if you have homemade ones they would be great in this too
This looks delicious, I absolutely love the idea of banana chips! I’d probably enjoy this with oatmeal or yogurt in the morning. #client
Thanks Jenna! This would be awesome over yogurt 🙂