Dark Chocolate Granola Recipe (Easy & Crunchy!)
on Apr 11, 2021, Updated Jan 15, 2025
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Every time I make this crunchy, healthy, and so-so-easy-to-make dark chocolate granola (quite often!), I wonder why I ever even think about buying it. Made with coconut oil, honey, nuts, cocoa, dark chocolate chips, and dried fruit, it’s on the healthier side, but it tastes like dessert!
You can give your intensely chocolaty granola an irresistible tropical twist, like I do, or make it your own with endless customizations.
What you’ll love about it
It’s hard to know whether to call this dark chocolate granola breakfast or dessert, but one thing we can definitely call it is super easy to make and delicious!
Not only is it a treat (but not really) for breakfast, it also makes an easy snack (just grab a handful), or tasty topping for yogurt or ice cream.
Here’s what else you’ll love:
- Easy to prepare in just 10 minutes. The oven does the rest in just 30 to 40 minutes. Faster than running to the store!
- Crunchier than an average ‘healthy’ granola. Thanks to a ‘secret’ ingredient – a whisked egg white. Shh, don’t tell!
- Fairly wholesome. With just a few tablespoons of coconut oil and a third of a cup of honey in every batch, this is a lower sugar granola. We sneak in plenty of dark chocolate chips, but there’s not much to feel guilty about here.
- Make it your own. It’s so easy to swap out the ingredients for the ones you prefer and have. Our son is allergic to tree nuts, so we throw in peanuts and seeds instead. Want to add even more goodness? Add a few chia, hemp, pumpkin or sesame seeds as well.
- Can make a perfect gift. Just package in an airtight container, add a label and give as a yummy food gift.
About the ingredients
- Coconut oil: This adds a subtle coconut flavour, but feel free to use another kind of oil instead. I often substitute with olive oil, since we always have that, but rice bran oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil or any other oil will work too.
- Honey: Any honey you like since you’ll be melting it together with the oil. Can you replace with maple syrup? Yes, absolutely!
- Cocoa powder: I recommend unsweetened. Dutch process cocoa powder often has a deeper, darker flavor than natural, although both will work. Cacao is fine, too, if you prefer.
- Cinnamon: I love to add a little hint of cinnamon. Substitute for ground ginger if you like – or add ginger as well.
- Salt: A little salt helps to bring out the other flavors. Don’t skip it.
- Rolled oats: Make sure you use rolled oats or old fashioned oats and not quick cooking oats or steel cut oats. This is important to get the texture of the granola right.
- 1 whisked egg white: This is the ‘secret ingredient’ to make your yummy chocolate chip granola super crunchy and delicious.
- Fruit, nuts and seeds: I’ve made some suggestions in the recipe (coconut, banana chips, peanuts, etc…) but have a wander around your local supermarket or bulk buy store and see what they have. I like ‘tropical’ style dried fruit such as banana chips, dried mango and coconut, but any kind of nuts, seeds and dried fruits will all work well.
- Dark chocolate chips: I like bittersweet dark chocolate chips with 70% cocoa, but use what you have and like. Half get ‘melted’ into the just-baked granola, the rest get stirred through when it’s cooled. Yum!
How to make dark chocolate granola
It couldn’t be simpler to make this delicious crunchy chocolate granola!
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 300F/150C and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Step 2: Melt the coconut and honey together in a large pan. Stir in the cocoa powder, cinnamon & salt.
Step 3: Pour this mixture over the oats in a large bowl and mix really well so that all the oats get coated.
Step 4: Whisk the egg white until it’s light and frothy (a minute or two by hand, or less time with an electric hand-held whisk), then stir this into the mixture too.
Step 5: Spread the mixture out evenly over the baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, turning once half way through cooking.
Step 6: Leave the mixture to cool for about ten minutes before stirring through about half of the chocolate chips.
Step 7: When the mixture has fully cooled, stir in the fruit and nuts, as well as the remaining chocolate chips.
Helen’s Top Tips
- For super crunchy granola, lightly press the mixture down on the baking tray before baking. Only stir once, half way through. Then leave to cool before stirring it. You can always break up some bigger chunks if you like when it’s completely cool.
- Add the ingredients in the correct order for best results. Some ingredients, such as coconut, will burn if added before baking. Check the recipe carefully to see which ingredients are added before and which after.
How to serve it
- I love to grab handfuls of this granola when I need a quick snack. It’s also delicious sprinkled over a bowl of oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast. If yogurt and granola calls your name, you’ll love this 5-minute Greek yogurt parfait!
- If you can’t get dessert out of your mind, sprinkle on top of ice cream (or healthy 5-minute chocolate banana nice cream!) or English pancakes.
- This granola also makes a really classy food gift! Just pile it into a mason jar and attach a gift tag to it. The granola will keep well for a week or two or it can be put in the freezer for a couple of months.
Variations
The great thing about this granola with dark chocolate chips is that you can swap mix-ins out for others. Just make sure you keep the weight of the dry ingredients about the same as stated in the recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Add a quarter cup of nut butter (peanut, almond, whatever you like) to the coconut oil and honey mixture.
- Add dried papaya, raisins, pineapple, dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins, or any other dried fruit. Or add some chopped pieces of these delicious candied oranges!
- Add a teaspoon of ground ginger and/or a little chopped candied ginger, or perhaps a pinch of ground cardamom or all-spice!
- Throw in extra seeds such as hemp, chia, flax and sesame if you like.
Recipe FAQs
In an airtight container at room temperature, it will keep for a week or two. If you want to keep it for longer, you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
No, this isn’t a good idea. The texture may not be the same. You want nice big chunky oats! Use rolled oats or old-fashioned oats. Not steel cut oats, either.
A few more healthy snack recipes
Or see all easy healthy recipes.
Dark Chocolate Granola Recipe (Easy and Crunchy!)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup cocoa powder, or cacao (dutch process cocoa powder is darker than natural)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, Add a little more if you like
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3¾ cup rolled oats, not quick-cook & use gluten-free oats to make the granola gluten-free
- 1 large egg white
- 5 ounces dried fruit, coconut flakes, banana chips, chopped dried mango, unsalted peanuts etc.
- 5 ounces nuts, (I like mixed unsalted nuts, but substitute some with seeds if you like)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips, Add a sneaky few more if you like!
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) (fan oven – if using a conventional oven increase temperature to 325°F/165°C) and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
- Melt the coconut oil and honey together in a big saucepan on a low heat. Add the cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt and stir well.3 tablespoons coconut oil, ⅓ cup honey, ½ cup cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
- Let the mixture cool slightly, then pour it over the oats in a large bowl and mix really well so that all of the oats are coated.3¾ cup rolled oats
- Whisk the egg white in a small bowl with a handheld whisk until it’s light and frothy, then pour it into the mixture and stir in well.1 large egg white
- Spread the mixture out evenly over the baking tray and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, turning regularly (or a little less regularly if you prefer a chunkier granola).
- Leave the mixture to cool for about ten minutes before stirring through about half of the chocolate chips. When the mixture has fully cooled, stir in the dried fruit and nuts, plus the remaining chocolate chips.5 ounces dried fruit, ½ cup dark chocolate chips, 5 ounces nuts
- Serve in a bowl with milk or on top of some Greek yogurt, with a little extra honey drizzled over the top (if you like!). Store in an air-tight container.
This is my go-to granola! I make it almost weekly so it is always on hand. Sometimes I melt a little almond butter and cocoa powder in with the oil to make it richer. So yummy!
Hello Sonja! Aww, this makes me so happy, and I love your idea of adding almond butter and cocoa powder. I’m so glad you’re enjoying it so much and thanks for the feedback 🙂
Third time making this. Love it!
So happy to hear this, Jackie! Thanks for letting me know – it means a lot!
Excellent. Really loved this!
So happy you enjoyed it, Julie! Thank you for the feedback!
My doh stories have to do with losing camera batteries: either leaving them in a hotel during one of our road trips, or (the real doozy) managing to spill the extras out of my camera case on a bus when we were visiting Hai Phong in northern Vietnam. These were batteries specific to my camera which work much better than AAs. And this was while we were on a 4-month trip during which I was taking lots of photos. Definitely not as bad as losing a computer, but still quite distressing.
The base of this granola sounds wonderful. What’s not to like about chocolate for breakfast? And I also appreciate that I can customize the fruit part. My husband really likes the granola I usually make, and so do I, but this one sounds like something I’ll have to try.
Hope you have enjoyed Perth. It’s a nice place.
Hello, Susan! So happy that you passed by to say hello! I would definitely be quite distressed if I lost my camera battery. I bet Vietnam was amazing, though – it’s definitely on my bucket list of places to visit soon.
Thank you for saying such lovely things about my granola. I made some without chocolate in the next time because my husband prefers it that way but it just wasn’t the same. Sorry, but the chocolate is going back in from now on!
Perth is good, thanks. It’s so lovely and sunny during the day most of the time, but just a little bit cold at night at the moment. One of my favourite things to do here is to go jogging around the river. Gorgeous! 🙂
What a hysterical post!!! Although I’m sorry about your laptop and the granola!!! This granola deserves an award for deliciousness and beauty!!! I have to make it soon! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much, Mimi! Talk about being in a silly mood. I promise the next post won’t be so silly. 😉
So glad you like the granola. This has become my new favourite breakfast for sure.
LOL, Helen! You crack me up! At least you survived all your trials and tribulations, and now you are in Australia. 🙂 Your granola looks so delicious and amazing too, I love chocolate with fruit! Great tips per usual!
Thanks so much, Meggan. I take that as a huge compliment coming from a food blogging tips queen such as yourself! I made some more granola yesterday without the chocolate but I have to admit that it just wasn’t as appealing. The problem is, the hubby doesn’t like it with the chocolate. Dear oh dear … it’s a tough life! 🙂
This granola looks fantastic! I make granola often, but I usually don’t add dried fruit. I am not sure why, it is such a good idea! I love your flavor combo! The chocolate and apricot sounds fantastic!
I think the best granola combo is chocolate + any type of fruit + any type of nuts (note that the chocolate comes first!) What do you usually put in yours, Annie? Looking for some more ideas!
Your granola looks amazing!!! I’m so glad it includes coconut…yum! My “doh’ moment is the worst of all…I tossed some jewelry when I was cleaning my bathroom, including a diamond ring. 🙁
Oh my goodness, Liz, that ‘doh!’ moment definitely beats losing a laptop. You must have been devastated. So glad you like the granola. I just bought more ingredients to make a different kind of granola. I think I’m getting into the granola groove for sure!
Ugh, sorry about the spillage! That has happened to be, I literally spilt milk, everywhere during a shoot. Regardless this granola looks amazing and glad you had enough to still enjoy it properly. Hope you had a safe flight!
Thanks, Jessica! We did have a very safe flight and are ‘just about’ over our jet lag. To be honest, I’m really surprised that I haven’t had more spillages! I’m always trying to carry far too many things backwards and forwards! 🙂
I am not a fan of flying either and losing my laptop would stress me out too!
Spilling this delicious granola would also totally bum me out because it looks amazing. Why have I never thought to make chocolate granola?
So glad you like it, Pam. As I said, the rest of my family weren’t too wild about the chocolate in this granola, but what I like about homemade granola is that it’s so easy to customize. Have a go at it and see what you think!
First, ugh turbulence – I hate it! Makes me so nervous! And second, oh my gosh on the laptop – I would have started crying : ) haha
And then I would console myself with this granola – it looks excellent! I love making granola at home. And I do tons of silly things – the other day I boiled water in my kettle and then instead of pouring it in the cup I poured it all down the drain. Why? No idea – haha I was so mad I had to boil more!
That’s so hilarious that you poured all your boiled water away … lol! That totally sounds like the kind of thing I would do, too. I regularly heat my drinks up in the microwave, forget about them and find them there hours (or even days!) later. So glad you like the granola. I felt like it was a good first attempt at making my own – definitely getting into the granola groove now!
I am glad you managed to get your laptop back – ugh – the moment when I realized mine was lost would have been a terrible moment for me too! GAH! One of my “doh” moments happened when I tasted a cake that apparently I had put salt into instead of sugar!
I’ve yet to make my own granola – this sounds lovely specially as I am a chocolate at every meal kind a gal 🙂
Now there’s an idea – chocolate at every meal! I think you should have a go at your own granola, Shashi, and share what you come up with with us. You always come up with the most creative ideas! Can’t believe you put salt in a cake instead of sugar! Ugh! 🙂
I adore reading about your trips Helen dear! You’re so funny! Also, I really hope you have a terrific time in Perth – I’ve always wanted to travel there!
This granola looks incredibly awesome! I wish it was tomorrow’s breakfast 🙂
So happy that I entertain you, Consuelo! I do try … haha! If you ever get the chance to visit Australia, I’d say go to Sydney and/or Melbourne first, but especially Sydney (sorry Perth).
Glad you like the granola!
I make my own granola every week and I am so going to add some chocolate nibs to the next batch – yours looks divine. I hope you enjoy Perth 🙂
Hi, Tandy. I think I’ll be doing the same from now on! I’m really keen to experiment with some different ingredients. Definitely have a go at adding in the chocolate, though – and the cocoa! 🙂
Wow, your photography is beatiful!! Recipe looks mouthwatering!!
Thanks, Ami! 🙂
Wow this granola looks fabulous! Yummy! I just love the chocolate and tropical fruit twist!
Hello, Jessica! Thanks so much for paying me a visit and so glad you like the granola. I was pretty impressed that homemade granola is so easy and tasty. I think I’m going to be making this rather a lot!
Wow this looks so delicious! WIll definitely be making this on the weekend! Would be perfect for my Sunday gathering! 🙂
I had a good friend tell me yesterday that she would be taking this to a friend’s house for ‘second breakfast’! I love that – second breakfast! So glad you like this granola and … I hope you enjoy it!
I have always wanted to make granola too, Helen. I tried making one once but used vegetable oil and it just did not turn out very good. Also I am not one for cereals in the morning, I go more for bread because…carbs. But the ”chocolate” on the title definitely got my attention!
It worked really well with coconut oil, if you can get your hands on some of that. I was going to use olive oil, though. I think that should work so long as you don’t overdo it and maybe use the ‘mild tasting’ version. Glad I’m not the only one who thinks it’s OK to eat chocolate for breakfast!
Oh Helen, you are too funny :)! I love your granola! that would be a perfect snack to go for my work!
I did have a ‘Doh’ moment at the airport too: we are leaving France with my hubby and son (daughter not born yet) and it is emotional, going back to France, I ask my brother to take my carry on suitcase while we are checking in. All good, all smooth. We have time, let’s go for a coffee. Then goodbyes, then security, then wait… then as we walk on the bridge to board, “where is the suitcase? the one with all the clothing of my son… DOH.. still by the seat close the checking area… Great, it is probably destroyed by now! thank god it was not! we were lucky on that one. Doh + stress = not fun when traveling! See you are not alone 🙂
Haha! So happy that it’s not just me. The worst part of these kinds of moments is the very instant that you realise what you’ve done. Then you try to evaluate in your mind at lightning speed how serious the situation is. I enjoyed your story – a bit similar to my laptop experience, really.
So glad you like the granola! 🙂
If my kids see this they would probably love you more than they do me……
Haha! Actually, after I’d eaten this, the milk was brown, which really reminded me of Coco Pops! Definitely a kids’ kind of breakfast!