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This Easy Chocolate Granola has just 8 ingredients! This vegan granola recipe makes the perfect cereal with dairy-free milk, the best crunchy topping for yogurt and ice cream, and a fantastic snack when eaten by the handful. Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post.
Granola is one of life’s simple pleasures. It was one of the first things I started making from scratch when I fell in love with baking, and honestly, I don’t buy it from the store very often because I prefer baking it from scratch in my own oven.
Granola is infinitely customizable. The flavor varieties are endless, and you can always switch in different nuts or seeds without messing up the recipe. A little extra or this or that won’t do damage in a granola recipe the way it will with a cake, so your measuring can be a little more lenient, too.
Oh, and the smell of it baking, wafting through your house? Just that is worth the tiny bit of effort. Someone needs to make it into a candle, especially this particular Easy Chocolate Granola, because it is seriously dreamy—a true delight for the senses.
This Easy Chocolate Granola Recipe will be your new staple.
It’s deliciously simple, the way granola should be. Of course, the granola uses rolled oats as the base. The oats I use, as usual, are from Bob’s Red Mill. I use their gluten-free rolled oats, and they’re the perfect texture for this recipe. They’re not too thin, so they provide a nice toothsome texture, and I can always count on them being certified gluten-free.
I love adding nuts for crunch. I used pecans for this batch, but I also love sliced almonds and cashews. For a nut-free alternative, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds would be delicious.
To help hold together our nuts and oats, we whisk together coconut oil (which helps with crunch—sorry, I forgot to include it in the ingredients photo above!), pure maple syrup to sweeten, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cacao powder. We stir the chocolatey mixture into the dry ingredients and bake until dry and crispy.
While the granola is still warm, sprinkle some chocolate chips on it. To keep things refined sugar-free, I love these coconut sugar-sweetened chocolate bars (just chop them up before using), or for a sugar-free option, these chocolate chips are great. A quick and gentle stir will help coat the granola with a little bit of dark chocolate. I like sprinkling on a little bit of flaky sea salt, too, but that’s totally optional.
Once the chocolate is on there – hands off!
How to get big granola clusters: I recommend letting the chocolate granola cool completely on the baking sheet without disturbing it. This helps big clumps and clusters form, which we all know is the best part of granola.
How to store granola
Once the granola is completely cool, transfer it to an airtight container for storage. I like to store my granola in a large, airtight jar, but any airtight container will work.
The granola will be good at room temperature for about 2 weeks or in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. You can also freeze it for about 4 months.
I love snacking on this Easy Chocolate Granola by the handful or serving it with some dairy-free yogurt and berries for breakfast or lunch. It also makes a great ice cream topping. However you serve it, I doubt it will last long! Enjoy :D
Easy Chocolate Granola
Ingredients
- 4 cups (384g) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
- 1 cup nut of choice, I love almonds, pecans, or cashews
- ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup (168g) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt, to sprinkle on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300ºLine a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and nuts. In a measuring cup, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Pour over the granola mixture and stir until all of the dry ingredients are coated. Spread the granola in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and press down with a spatula or your hands.4 cups (384g) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats, 1 cup nut of choice, ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, ½ cup (168g) pure maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons cacao powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to help the granola bake evenly. When it is browned and feels dry to the touch, remove from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for about 2 minutes until chocolate chips have melted, and gently stir in the chocolate chips to coat the granola. If desired, sprinkle a bit of flaky sea salt on top. Let the granola cool completely.½ cup chocolate chips, Flaky sea salt
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Hi Rachel, I just made your granola and it is the NICEST I’ve ever had. Being celiac it’s hard to find nice granola that doesn’t cost a lot too! So thank you.
I am just wondering if you know how many portions this makes? I’m trying to figure out calories per portion.
Thank you.
Niamh.
Hi Niamh! I measure this as about 12 servings, approximately 1/2 cup per serving. Of course you can adjust serving size for your preferences!
Hi Niamh, so glad you’re enjoying it! I measure this as about 12 servings, approximately 1/2 cup per serving. Of course you can adjust serving size for your preferences!