Homemade Chocolate Granola Cereal

This easy homemade chocolate granola recipe features old-fashioned rolled oats, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla for a delicious way to start your day.

Made with old-fashioned oats, this is a delicious way to eat your whole grains. The Dutch-processed cocoa powder is full of antioxidants, too. Using honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon for flavor brings out the rich, dark chocolate flavor, and the milk left in the bowl will have you slurping with a smile.

Chocolate Granola Recipe Tips

Stirring affects the texture. The more often you stir, the flakier your granola will be. For larger clusters, stir it less often.

You can make this into granola bars. For simple granola bars, use a well-greased 8×8″ pan and press the granola into it tightly before baking without stirring. Wait 5 minutes after removing it from the oven to slice it into bars and let them cool in the pan completely.

Substituting Ingredients

You can make several ingredient swaps to lower calories and make this homemade granola even healthier.

• Substituting for brown sugar: use an equal amount of coconut sugar for a low-glycemic, gluten-free option. I’ve also used brown sugar Swerve, which has zero calories.
• Substituting for coconut oil: any neutral-flavored oil like vegetable or canola oil will work if that’s what you have on hand. To further reduce calories, replace the oil with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce.
• Substituting for honey: You can substitute an equal amount of maple syrup for honey.
• Substituting for white sugar: Use stevia or replace it with more brown sugar.

Serving Suggestions

If you’re not big on cereal for breakfast, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy Homemade Chocolate Granola. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Granola parfait: Layered homemade chocolate granola with Greek yogurt and berries for a fruit parfait.
• Granola balls: Combine 2 cups of homemade chocolate granola with 4 tablespoons of peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of honey, then roll it into balls for a healthy snack.
• Trail mix: Mix with dried fruit (banana chips, dried apricots, and coconut flakes), nuts (peanuts or pecans), and pumpkin seeds for trail mix.
• Ice cream topper: Sprinkled over ice cream for a bit of crunch.
• Frozen Banana popsicle: Stick a skewer or popsicle stick lengthwise through a banana, drizzle it in chocolate sauce, and roll it in Homemade Chocolate Granola, then freeze for 30 minutes.
• Smoothie filler: Add a handful to your smoothie ingredients before blending to increase the fiber and add a chocolate flavor.
• Popcorn substitute: Eat it by the handful instead of popcorn while watching Netflix.

Homemade Chocolate Granola

A simple homemade granola recipe full of whole grains and rich chocolate flavor for a delicious start to your day.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:5 minutes mins

Cook Time:40 minutes mins

Total Time:45 minutes mins

Equipment

• Baking sheet
• Large bowl
• Small bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Air-tight cereal storage container
• Parchment paper or cooking spray for the pan

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats not instant or steel-cut
• ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed (can substitue equal amount of coconut sugar)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup coconut oil melted (can substitute equal amount of applesauce to reduce the calories and fat content)
• ¼ cup honey or equal amount of maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons white sugar can use stevia to reduce calories
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

US Customary – Metric

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300°F/ 150°C / gas mark 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or generously coat it with cooking spray.
• Mix oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder together in a large bowl.
• In a smaller bowl, stir the honey, sugar, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil together.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir thoroughly to coat the oats.
• Spread the mixture onto the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes at 300°F stirring every 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let it cool to room temperature. Store in a large, air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.
• Serve in a bowl with your favorite type of milk. Add additional toppings like fresh or dried fruit, shredded coconut, or nuts if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 335kcal

Author: Katie Berry