Homemade chocolate granola will become your favorite crunchy breakfast treat or afternoon chocolate snack. This rich, chocolate granola recipe is as easy to make as it is to eat, pairing beautifully with your morning yogurt or even as an ice cream topping.
What You’ll Love About Chocolate Granola
You may have noticed I have a thing for chocolate recipes. I firmly believe chocolate shouldn’t be regulated to dessert. (Though our chocolate coffee cake and chocolate chunk cookie recipes are what dreams are made of!)
This granola recipe takes chocolate and infuses it into a yummy pantry staple. Not to mention it tastes great! It’s made from oats, nuts, coconut, cocoa powder, maple syrup and sea salt.
You can eat as a snack, by itself or as a perfect topping on your morning yogurt parfait. The options are endless!
We’re partial to using it in this yogurt parfait recipe.
Homemade chocolate granola is also fairly simple to make and requires only about 10 to 15 minutes of effort.
Some other things you’ll love about homemade chocolate granola:
- It’s deliciously crunchy.
- It’s protein and fiber rich.
- You can easily customize it!
- It has a great nutty flavor.
- It’s chocolate flavor is perfectly sweet!
Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Granola
Nuts: I use Brazil nuts, pecans and hazelnuts, and then crush them using a rolling pin. However, feel free to use your favorite nuts and slice, sliver or roughly chop them.
Cocoa powder: I like to use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, but if you’re looking for a darker color you may want to give Dutch processed cocoa a try. You can even use raw cacao if desired.
Coconut flakes: I love pairing coconut with chocolate, but you could also add raisins, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, dried cranberries, chopped dried figs or really any dried fruit for added flavor.
Sea salt: I love the combo of flakey sea salt with chocolate. You can leave it out if you don’t like a salty-sweet combination, but I recommend still using a pinch of table salt to balance the flavor.
Oats: I prefer to use whole, rolled oats. If you want this recipe to be gluten-free, make sure your oats are certified GF.
Brown sugar: This adds flavor and helps the granola clump. However, you can substitute it for more maple syrup if you prefer.
Coconut oil: This may add a tiny bit of coconut flavor to your granola. If you’re looking for an alternative a light olive oil would also work.
Maple syrup: This adds sweetness while keeping this granola recipe on the healthier side. However, you can swap this out for honey or golden syrup.
Semi-sweet chocolate: I like to use a mixture of hand chopped chocolate and classic chocolate chips, just make sure the total of both adds up to 1/2 cup. Roughly chop your chocolate bar into small pieces. High-quality chocolate bars are usually found right next to the chocolate chips at your local grocery store.
What You’ll Need
Large mixing bowl
Large baking pan
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Wooden spoon
Small saucepan
Airtight container
Homemade Chocolate Granola FAQs
Can you use different nuts in this recipe?
Absolutely. You can use any combination of nuts just stick to the measurement of 1 1/2 cups in total.
I have a nut allergy. Can I make this without nuts?
If you have a nut allergy or simply want to make this chocolate granola recipe nut free, you can omit the nuts and increase the oats by 1 1/2 cups.
How long does chocolate granola last?
If your store your chocolate granola in an airtight container at room temperature, it should keep for 4 weeks.
I like my granola crunchy. Any tips?
The larger the baking sheet the crunchier this granola will turn out. But make sure to bake your chocolate granola on a low heat, as nuts can burn easily, especially if they are small. Check your granola midway through baking when you’re moving the outside of the granola in to avoid over baking.
How should I serve chocolate granola?
There are a ton of options! Serve homemade chocolate granola with cold almond milk or greek yogurt mixed with a little bit of vanilla extract. It’s also nice to add fresh fruit, like my favorite, blackberries & blueberries. You can turn it into a fruit parfait. You can even use it as a healthy ice cream topping or you can enjoy it just as it is!
For a quick snack, roll bananas in peanut butter or any nut butter and then top them with the chocolate granola.
My favorite way to serve chocolate granola is as part of a breakfast charcuterie board, with yogurt, fruit and more!
How can I make this chocolate granola recipe healthier?
This recipe is already pretty healthy. It’s filled with protein and fiber. However, you can omit the sugar completely for an even healthier version. If you do, just realize, it will taste slightly bitter due to the cocoa powder.
Can I make this into vegan chocolate granola?
Yes, it’s easy to make this recipe vegan. Since some brown sugar is not vegan, just make sure you use coconut sugar or organic cane sugar. Then be sure to chose vegan semi-sweet chocolate.
Can I freeze homemade granola?
No. This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Granola
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Add the nuts to a clean kitchen towel, wrap them up then bash them with a rolling pin until they are broken up into smaller pieces.
Step 3
Add the nuts, coconut flakes, salt, oats, cocoa powder and sugar to a large bowl and mix well until all the dry ingredients are coated with the cocoa powder.
Step 4
Put the coconut oil and maple syrup into a small saucepan set over a low heat and melt.
Step 5
Pour the melted coconut oil mixture into the oats mixture and mix very well until all the ingredients are coated with the oil mixture.
Step 6
Transfer to the baking sheet and use a spoon to spread into an even layer.
Step 7
Bake in the center of the oven for 30-40 minutes. Halfway through the baking time move the granola on the outside edge of the pan into the center and spread back into an even layer.
Step 8
Once baked the granola will look darker in color and feel dry when you touch it.
Step 9
Set aside to cool completely .
Step 10
Once cool, scatter over the chopped chocolate and chocolate chips, then mix to combine.
Step 11
Transfer the granola to an airtight jar and store at room temperature where it will keep for 4 weeks.
Step 12
Serve with cold milk or greek/natural yogurt. It’s also nice to add fresh fruit to serve but feel free to enjoy this chocolate granola just as it is!
If you try my homemade chocolate granola recipe for breakfast or a snack, please come back to share using my 5-star rating in the comments below!
Then, if you love chocolate make sure you try out the recipes below.
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More Chocolate Recipes
Chocolate Cranberry Sourdough Bread
The Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Mini Brownie Bites with Buttercream Frosting
Easy Homemade Chocolate Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Brazil nuts
- ½ cup Pecans
- ½ cup Hazelnuts
- ½ cup Coconut flakes
- ½ tsp Sea salt
- 3 cups Oats
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- ¼ cup Brown sugar
- ¾ cup Coconut oil
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup
- ½ cup Semi-sweet chocolate chopped or chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the nuts to a clean kitchen towel, wrap them up then bash them with a rolling pin until they are broken up into smaller pieces.
- Add the nuts, coconut flakes, salt, oats, cocoa powder and sugar to a large bowl and mix well until all the ingredients are coated with the cocoa powder.
- Put the coconut oil and maple syrup into a small saucepan set over a low heat and melt.
- Pour the melted coconut oil mixture into the oats mixture and mix very well until all the ingredients are coated with the oil mixture.
- Transfer to the baking sheet and use a spoon to spread into an even layer.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 30-40 minutes. Halfway through the baking time move the granola on the outside edge of the pan into the center and spread back into an even layer.
- Once baked the granola will look darker in color and feel dry when you touch it.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Once cool, scatter over the chopped chocolate and/or chocolate chips, then mix to combine.
- Transfer the granola to an airtight jar and store at room temperature where it will keep for 4 weeks.
- Serve with cold milk or greek/natural yogurt. It’s also nice to add fresh fruit to serve but feel free to enjoy this chocolate granola just as it is!
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