The best granola is homemade! DIY with this simple Chocolate Granola recipe, that’s perfect for snack time, breakfast or a healthy treat. Sweet, chocolate-y oat and nut clusters that you’ll fall in love with.
Do you like having chocolate in your snacks?
I love it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my salty, cheesy, tangy snacks too. But a sweet chocolate snack is one of my favorites.
I realized recently that I’ve shared my Chocolate Coconut Granola recipe, but I haven’t shared my plain Chocolate Granola recipe yet!
And while my Vanilla Granola is a popular recipe on Pinterest right now, and is super tasty, ya’ll… THIS is the BEST granola recipe! Maybe ever!
Filled with oats, nuts and cocoa powder, this granola does have a little more sugar than it’s vanilla counterpart. It also has a light chocolate drizzle. I wanted decadence, without going overboard. I think this Chocolate Granola is the perfect balance of a sweet treat or snack that still has some healthy ingredients in it too!
Making your own granola is easy, healthier, often cheaper, and you know exactly what ingredients are going into your body. I’d call that a win-win.
This granola is perfect for breakfast, a handful for a snack, or on top of yogurt (I like making my yogurt chocolate flavored, and topping it with chocolate granola, for a double chocolate dessert!).
Only problem is, you can’t eat just one piece! 😉
Let’s talk Granola details.
First, to make this recipe is gluten-free be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. If you don’t need it to be, then go ahead and use regular rolled oats.
If you need to make this recipe dairy-free and or/vegan, be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips. That’s it!
I like how flexible granola can be, so let’s talk about a few options this one has in particular.
You can use whatever nuts you prefer. I recommend walnuts, almond and pecans first for their texture. I’ve also used pistachios, pumpkin seeds, and cashews. Pretty much any nut will work, just think of the texture and flavor combined with chocolate.
*Be aware, if you use nuts that are unsalted, I would recommend adding ½ teaspoon salt to the granola. If you use nuts that are already lightly salted, then only ¼ teaspoon of salt is necessary. If you aren’t sure what to do, start with ¼ teaspoon of salt.
If you need this recipe to be nut-free, you can use ONLY oats (no nuts!), so 4 cups of oats total. I just prefer the flavor, texture and healthy addition of nuts in my granola.
For the oil component of the granola, you can use coconut oil, olive oil, butter, etc. I like all three, just depending on what I have most of at the time!
Oh, and that chocolate drizzle?
There’s a few ways you can do that too! First, you can (like I recommend) melt the chocolate and simply drizzle it on top of your granola.
Second, you can spread that chocolate drizzle across the top of your COOLED granola so you have a more even chocolate coverage. If you try and spread it across the top of granola before it cools, it can easily turn into a hot mess!
Last option: You can just sprinkle chocolate chips in with your granola, after it’s cooled. No melting, no extra work. If you like extra chunks of chocolate, then this option is for you!
To sum it all up: If you like crunchy granola (especially large clusters – check out that picture!) and chocolate, then what are you waiting for?! Make this granola!
And once you do, take pictures and tag me in them on Instagram, or leave me a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you all!
And if you want more fun granola flavor ideas, check out my Chai-spiced Granola, Orange Turmeric Granola and Maple Nut Granola.
- 2 cups rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
- 2 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt*
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or butter, olive oil)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup white sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free if necessary)
- 1/4 tsp coconut oil (or butter, olive oil)
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To begin, preheat your oven to 300 and line a large pan with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your oat, nuts, cocoa powder and salt and stir together.
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In a microwaveable bowl, add your coconut oil and microwave till melted (about 1 minute). Add your maple syrup and sugar, stir them together, and microwave again till the mixture is hot (about another minute). Add your vanilla and stir it in.
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Pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients, and stir till your oats and nuts are covered entirely. Pour your granola onto your pan and spread into one thin, even layer. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. As your granola cools it will get crunchy.
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In another microwave safe bowl, add your chocolate chips and oil. Microwave in small increments, stirring in between, till your chocolate is entirely melted. Drizzle the chocolate across the top of your granola.
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Let your granola and chocolate sit till the granola hardens and the chocolate is dry, then break into pieces, and devour!
*If your nuts are raw use 1/2 teaspoon salt. If your nuts are already lightly salted, use only 1/4 teaspoon salt.
*Stored in an airtight container this granola will last about a few months.
Do you happen to have the nutrition info for this recipe? Looking for calories, protein, sugar, etc Thanks!!
Hi Donna. For 1/4 cup of granola, it’s about 211 calories. That’s the only information that I figure for my recipes. You could find a nutrition app or site online where you can plug in the ingredients if you’d like more info.
Hi! How much grams is each serving???
I want rice Krispies in mine. Think I could sub instead of the nuts?
Hi there. I have never tried making granola with rice krispies, so I’m not sure, sorry! It may be worth making a small batch and giving it a try.
Aside from cocoa powder can i use dark chocolate bars?
Hi there. Yes, instead of using chocolate chips in the chocolate drizzle you can use chocolate bars.
We have been making this for a few months; had to laugh when I read it will last for a few months stored in an airtight container- As if it would last that long in our house!! This time I am going to add some freeze dried strawberry powder in addition to the freeze dried strawberries we add. Thanks for a great recipe
i followed the recipe exactly just added some flaxseed. But I couldnt get clusters. it is yummy but didnt clump up at all.
Hi Samera. How much flaxseed did you add? That could have messed with the dry/wet ratio. If there isn’t enough wet the granola won’t clump, so if you added another dry ingredient it wouldn’t been best to add a little more of another wet ingredient (like sugar).
I added pumpkin seeds, some flax, and coconut flakes. I replaced the white sugar for brown sugar, and replaced some maple syrup with honey, and added 1\2 tsp of cinnamon. I added the chocolate chips with the vanilla to blend with the dry ingredients. Great!!
So great to hear!!
omg i just did it and it smells HEAVENLY
Awesome! I hope you love it!