Healthy Chocolate Granola (9 ingredients)

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This Healthy Chocolate Granola is naturally sweetened and full of nutritious ingredients. It’s nutty, crunchy, also pretty customizable and simple to make. Plus, you only need 9 ingredients to start!

Healthy Chocolate Granola

One of the things I’ll never get bored is making granola (and eating it). And as you probably, I love everything made from cacao, so here is the chocolate granola.

I’ve shared quite a few chocolate granola recipes, but this one is prominently different. It’s naturally sweetened with dates, which is usually maple syrup, which I’m totally still in love with. But I like to switch it up from time to time for more changes and fun.

Also, this granola is packed with fiber, minerals, and healthy fats from whole food sources: nuts, seeds, and chocolate. Yes, chocolate, you heard me right. So let’s dig in.

INGREDIENTS FOR HEALTHY CHOCOLATE GRANOLA

• Dates: are naturally sweet so we will use them to sweeten our chocolate granola. They’re also packed with fiber and lots of minerals.
• Cacao powder: is here to make this granola carry the chocolate undertone. You can also use cocoa powder if you don’t have cacao powder at hand, but make sure to use the one you like the most.
• Nut Butter: gives this granola the nutty flavor. It also serves as a healthy fat to give our body energy. You can use any nut butter you like. I personally love to use peanut butter or almond butter for this granola. (Read here to know how to make perfect nut butter)
• Seeds: are super great stuff to add to our meal. They are a good source of fiber, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients. You can use pumpkin seeds (aka Pepita), sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, or a mixture of many of any them, which is what I often do.
• Rolled Oats: are pretty well-known nowadays for their fiber and other nutrients. Make sure to use rolled oats not instant oats to create the ideal texture.
• Dark Chocolate: is here to make our (or only my) mind and body happy. Dark chocolate is made from cacao, which is full of antioxidants and minerals. I’ll recommend using 70-80% dark chocolate because it contains a higher ratio of nutrients and tastes much like the real deal. But if you’re not a big fan of that, just use the one you like. Again, make it work for you.

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR HEALTHY CHOCOLATE GRANOLA

• Maca powder: is an easy way to get a bunch of nutrients like minerals, fiber, protein, and essential amino acids. If you have them at hand, just add a little bit because a little goes a long way.
• Ceylon Ground Cinnamon: is one of the things that taste like nothing else for me. It carries a mild, sweet undertone that brings up my appetite. And you just a hint of it as well. Also, there’re studies show that cinnamon can help control blood sugar, which is kind of a plus.
• Coconut Flakes: add more texture, color, and fun to this chocolate granola. Coconut flakes also contain dietary fiber. Humm, we got a lot of fiber in this chocolate granola, which is not a thing I’ll complain about.😎

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE GRANOLA

1. Blend the dates with cacao powder (along with cinnamon and maca powder if you’re going to use), peanut butter, and water.
2. Mix the seeds, nuts, and rolled oats in a big bowl.
3. Add the date paste to the dry mixture and mix them together, ideally with hands.
4. Bake at 150 c for 25-30 minutes. Add coconut flakes around the first 20 minutes. Give it a stir.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips. Let it cool and EAT!

This is really nutty chocolate granola that goes well with oat milk and almond milk. It’s not very sweet so you and add more sweetener after if you feel like sweeter granola in your bowl.

This chocolate granola is also a great make-ahead breakfast. You can make a bunch of it and store it in air-tight jars for 3-4 weeks on the counter. Add them to a bowl of plant milk or on top of your ice cream. The easiest way to enjoy is eating it as-is.

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Other delicious breakfast recipes you might also enjoy:

• Steel-cut Oats 4 ways
• Vegan Blueberry Oat Bars
• Vegan Peanut Butter Waffles.

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I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you make this recipe, don’t forget to tag @Barrelleaf + #barrelleaf on Instagram. I always love to see them and to know how it goes.