Super Easy Chocolate Granola

Breakfast just got more exciting with this easy chocolate granola recipe! It’s made with simple wholesome ingredients, is delightfully crunchy and absolutely delicious! And what’s not to love about starting your day off with chocolate?  

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I have a couple of requirements for our weekday breakfast foods.  They have to be quick and easy to serve and they need to be filling enough to keep my kids full until lunchtime.  If they are also easy to make ahead? That’s extra awesome!

So it’s probably no surprise that granola is one of my go-to choices.

And while we enjoy regular plain granola, this chocolate granola has quickly become a favorite!  It’s just so, so good.

It kind of reminds me of a more nutritious version of Post’s Cocoa Pebbles cereal, one of my childhood favorites.

And one of my friends said that it reminds her of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dipped in milk.

Either way, the point is, it’s just one of those recipes that is more-ish.

Watch Video: Learn How to Make This Recipe

 

Ingredients for Chocolate Granola

• Oatmeal. I love the texture that using a mixture of both rolled and quick oats gives granola, so that is how I wrote this recipe. However, you can easily just use all rolled oats (also known as old-fashioned oats) or all quick oats.
• Coconut Flakes. Since this granola is already plenty sweet enough, I use unsweetened coconut.  But if you don’t like coconut or simply don’t have any on hand, you can easily just skip it and increase the amount of your oatmeal by 1/2 cup instead.
• Chocolate Chips. Dark chocolate chips are so good in this granola and it’s what I prefer to use. But really, any type of chocolate chip will work.
• Brown Sugar. The flavor of dark brown sugar would be a bit too overpowering in this recipe, so I’d stick with light for this.
• Salt. Regular table salt works just fine, but I love the nutritious benefits of Himalayan Pink Salt! Plus it’s so pretty too!
• Oil. Coconut oil adds a lovely flavor to this and I feel like it also makes it slightly crunchier. However, canola or vegetable oil work great as well.
• Water. The liquid is part of what helps make granola get nice and crunchy. Using part water instead of all oil allows you to cut costs and makes it more wholesome too!
• Vanilla. This just helps round out the flavor and makes it extra delicious.

How to Make this Chocolate Granola Recipe

STEP ONE: Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well.  If your brown sugar has any lumps in it, make sure that you crumble them and combine thoroughly.

STEP TWO: Add the water, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well.

I’ve found that adding the vanilla to either the water or oil before adding it to the granola mixture makes it easier to get the vanilla completely through the mixture.

STEP THREE: Dump the granola onto two sheet pans and bake at 275º for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes.  Resist the urge to bake this at a higher temperature. The low heat is what helps melt the chocolate chips slowly and also keeps the chocolate from burning.

The chocolate chips will obviously begin to melt, so as you stir, you’ll be able to slowly coat the granola with the melted chocolate.  This is what makes the final product so delicious!

The granola is done when it feels dry and no longer looks wet.

STEP FOUR: Ovens vary a bit, so if you feel like your granola needs to be baked a bit longer, turn the oven to 300º and bake for an additional 15 min.

STEP FIVE: Allow the granola to cool completely before transferring to containers. As it cools, it will continue to dry out and become more crunchy.

This is not a chunky granola, but if you avoid stirring it once it is out of the oven, it will be slightly chunkier.

FAQ & Expert Tips

• Can I add in other ingredients? If you want to add chia seeds, flax seeds, wheat germ or other similar ingredients, go for it! Just reduce the amount of oatmeal by the amount of whatever ingredient you add. For instance, if you add ¼ cup of chia seeds, then reduce the oatmeal by ¼ cup.
• What if I don’t have sheet pans? Use whatever baking dishes or pans you want. Just make sure to only have a fairly thin layer of granola in each pan as this is what helps it bake and dry out nicely.
• How should I store granola? Granola should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for at least a month, likely much longer. We always eat ours fast enough that I’ve never really had the chance to find out!
• Can you freeze granola? Yes! In fact, this granola freezes super well. So if you’re afraid it will take you a while to get it all eaten, simply pop it into the freezer.

More Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love

• Easy Basic Homemade Granola
• Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
• 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie
• Frozen Fruit Salad Slush