Healthy Dark Chocolate Granola
Just WOW. This is so delicious! When I first heard the idea of chocolate granola, my mind was blown a bit. Mostly…how has chocolate granola not been a thing until now?? It immediately seemed like a no-brainer.
What makes this dark chocolate granola special? Well first of all, it’s *chocolate* granola, which is quite unique. Despite tasting indulgent, it’s super healthy and packed with all sorts of good ingredients—not just oats, but everything from chia and flaxseed to quinoa and tahini.
This recipe will take less than an hour to make from start to finish, and will keep for a couple weeks. I’d say that this isn’t the type of granola you eat a huge bowl of, but rather clusters you can snack on or throw on top of yogurt and fruit.
How to make chocolate granola (the healthy way!)
Preheat your oven to 300 F convection or 325 F regular. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl stir together all the dry ingredients (oats, quinoa, spices, seeds, etc) EXCEPT the chocolate chips. Then add the liquid ingredients.
Stir until everything is well combined. If it’s too wet, you may need to add a handful more of oats.
Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer and bake at 300 F convection (325 F regular) for 20 minutes, then down to 275 F convection (300 F regular) for between 15-25 minutes.
In the last 5-10 minutes of baking, evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips (if using) over the top of the granola, to get the chocolate melty without scorching it.
Remove from the oven. Let stand at room temp for 1-2 hours so it can cool and the granola clusters can set. Definitely let it cool completely before putting it in a storage container.
Store in a big ziploc or mason jar at room temp for 3-4 weeks.
Some tips & swaps for this dark chocolate granola:
- This is is still super delicious and chocolate-y without the dark chocolate chips, you can easily leave these out and it will be even healthier.
- You can swap in 1/4 cup of roughly chopped pecans in place of the other seeds if desired (I don’t love the texture of nuts as much).
- Can can swap peanut butter or almond butter for tahini if desired.
- You can easily double this for a family.
- The oil amounts in tahini vary drastically by brand, and that can make a big difference in how wet your mixture is, and thereby how long it takes to bake. You can add more oats if the mixture is too wet, or back off the coconut oil, or bake longer. Or just add more of the quinoa and oats until it’s the right texture.
- If you don’t have the big kosher sea salt crystals and are using more fine salt (like Himalayan or table salt), go EASY…more like 1/4 teaspoon.
Other healthy breakfast recipes you’ll love:
- Cinnamon Maple Tahini Quinoa Granola (GF, vegan, almond-free)
- Easy Seed-Cycling Energy Balls (Follicular Phase, Pumpkin & Flax)
- Super Healthy Orange Honey Spice Granola
- Morning Glory Breakfast Bars
- Healthy Apple Muffins with Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
- Peanut Butter Quinoa Granola
Adapted from Blue Bowl Recipes
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Healthy Dark Chocolate Granola
This dark chocolate granola is healthy and SO delicious. Packed with cocoa flavor but made with only a little maple syrup and tons of healthy ingredients (seeds, nuts, oats), it's a perfect treat for topping granola or snacking on.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup of whole rolled (old-fashioned) oats
- 2/3 cup of uncooked white quinoa
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of kosher sea salt crystals (the bigger ones, see notes)
- 1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds
- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of tahini
- 1/2Â teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips, chopped (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325?. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together all the dry ingredients (oats, quinoa, spices, seeds, etc) EXCEPT the chocolate chips.
- Add the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, tahini, and vanilla. Stir until everything is well combined. If it's too wet, you may need to add a handful more of oats.
- Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.
- Bake at 300 F convection (325 F regular) for 20 minutes, then down to 275 F convection (300 F regular) for between 15-25 minutes. In the last 5-10 minutes of baking, evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the granola, to get the chocolate melty without scorching it.
- Remove from the oven. Let stand at room temp for 1-2 hours so it can cool and the granola clusters can set. Definitely let it cool completely before putting it in a storage container.
- Store in a big ziploc or mason jar at room temp for 3-4 weeks.
Notes
- This is is still super delicious and chocolate-y without the dark chocolate chips, you can easily leave these out and it will be even healthier.
- You can swap in 1/4 cup of roughly chopped pecans in place of the other seeds if desired (I don't love the texture of nuts as much).
- Could swap peanut butter or almond butter for tahini if desired
- You can easily double this for a family.
- The oil amounts in tahini vary drastically by brand, and that can make a big difference in how wet your mixture is, and thereby how long it takes to bake. You can add more oats if the mixture is too wet, or back off the coconut oil, or bake longer. Or just add more of the quinoa and oats until it's the right texture.
- If you don't have the big kosher sea salt crystals and are using more fine Himalayan or table salt, go with more like 1/4 teaspoon.
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