Chocolate Granola: a Healthy Way to Start Your Day

Homemade granola is ridiculously simple to make and this Chocolate Granola is a deliciously healthy way for any chocolate lover to start the day.

With quality granola running over $5 a box these days, it is much more economical to make your own.

Other benefits of homemade granola is it tastes better and you can customize it to your own tastes.

This recipe takes my basic granola recipe to new levels of deliciousness. My crew can devour a batch of this in just a day or two. Luckily it is so easy to make!

Different Ways to Enjoy Granola

You can enjoy it with milk as a breakfast cereal, toss it on yogurt or ice cream, bake it on top of some muffins for a nice crunch or even munch on it plain.

Variations for Chocolate Granola

The first time I made this I used dried cranberries, which was delicious. But, as we all know many things are equally delicious when paired with chocolate:

• Double Chocolate - use chocolate chips.
• Chocolate Coconut - add unsweetened flaked coconut (the cereal should be sweet enough that you don't need to use sweetened).
• Chocolate Cherry - use dried cherries if you can find them (I haven't seen them at Costco in ages).
• Chocolate Peanut Butter- use peanut butter chips.

I usually use almonds or pecans in mine, but you have choices here too. Leave them out for tree nut allergies. Add chopped peanuts (especially if you are using the PB chips), walnuts, flax or chia seeds, even pistachios.

Chocolate Granola

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Ingredients

 

• ⅓ cup mild tasting vegetable or coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup cocoa powder or chocolate protein powder
• 3 cups plain oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned)
• 2 cups pecans or almonds (rough chopped if desired)
• 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries (or peanut butter chips or flake coconut)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 300° F.
• In a saucepan, heat coconut oil and honey until warm. Stir in cocoa powder.
• In a large bowl, combine oats and nuts. Stir in honey mixture until evenly coated.
• Spread mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
• To make "clusters", immediately press down firmly on the mixture with a wet paper towel. Let cool. Break into smaller pieces.
• Mix in cranberries, cherries, peanut butter chips or coconut. Store in an airtight container for about 1 week.