I have an obsession with breakfast food. Cereals and crunchy granola, in particular. I eat a bowl of either one every morning, and another bowl of either one (sometimes I mix ‘em up in the same bowl) for a late night snack.
I also love eggs, bacon, crepes, pancakes, French toast… oh sorry, this post is not about any of these.
Back to my Chocolate Granola. I love it.
I mix it up with a bunch of dried fruits, I sometimes add in chocolate chips, and there are times when I use it to dress up my ice cream. Yep. I’ll take granola any way that I can.
The chocolate granola that I make came about because of my husband. He doesn’t care for breakfast, but he cares a lot for chocolate. This was the best way that I could get him to eat his needed amount of fiber for the day. I’m such a good wifey.
Chocolate Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup walnuts , chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon wheat germ
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried fruits (optional)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, cocoa powder, walnuts, almonds, wheat germ, ground cinnamon, salt and dried fruit.
- In a small saucepan, pour in the water, oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Pour the honey mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together until all ingredients are coated.
- Spread onto the baking sheet and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns evenly.
- For a crunchier granola, bake it for a few minutes longer; the browner the granola, the crunchier it will be.
- Place on a wire rack to cool.
- While the granola is still a bit warm, break up some of the larger clumps.
- Once the granola has cooled, store in an airtight container.
- Serve with milk, yogurt or even ice cream and some fruit.
- Keeps in an airtight container for weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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One more thing you should know about granola; it keeps you “regular”. I’m not even going to try to find a fancier way to convey that message. It is what it is. 
Add just one other thing; Store-bought granola can be high in fat and calories. (And in price!) Create your own so that you can control the amount of fat, calories and sugar.
how much is one serving? im concerned about the calories. you said that one serving was 90 calories but how much is one serving?
Hi! One serving of store-bought granola is about 1/4 cup, but I’ve updated this recipe, and after consulting with other recipe calculators on the net, I am going to go ahead and up it to 1/3 cup serving and bring that up to almost double the calories. Important thing about granola is that, it’s high in fiber and iron, while nuts and seeds add heart-healthy unsaturated fats and a bit of protein. I hope that helps.
I get dried fruit & nut mix at Costco would that work in granola?
Oh, I just love granola (as if it wasn’t obvious from my blog name!). This looks wonderful.
Ah, what we do for the men in our lives? I love homemade granola. I have never tried a chocolate version. I cannot believe it is just 2 Tbsp of cocoa.
Oh girl… Love granola, and I never even thought to add chocolate to it!! Man, and I just made a giant batch with weekend without!!! 🙁
I absolutely love granola! I especially love it over fruit. And adding chocolate? Genius! I bet that this would go wonderfully with strawberries 🙂
This really looks yummy! Will be trying this for my husband who loves granola.