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.
I love this granola, Helen. Chocolate AND fruits, that’s the key. Usually you have to choose and in the end I buy both in order to mix them. So this recipe screams my name. 🙂
And I do love travelling. I even like log flights (except for getting out of the plain after 12h and feeling horrible and ugly…). But I think it’s the same reason for me, I associate flying with great long holiday, preferrably in the sun and a few days doing nothing. 🙂 Have a great trip, Helen. 🙂
Yes, that is an awful feeling when you get off the plane after so many hours wearing the same clothes, having slept really badly and with your hair all plastered to your head from the seat head rest! 😉 So glad you like the granola and thanks so much for the good wishes. It’s great to get here safely … and we’re already starting to get over our jet lag … yippee!
I love home made granola! It’s so good 😀 And don’t worry I am having totally vague moments lately. Last night I couldn’t make a single decision!
I know the feeling, Lorraine. I’m always really indecisive, but especially so when I’m tired. Better luck with your decision-making tonight!
I love traveling and going to new places, but I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the whole airport and airplane part. I wish I could just skip that entire part and just magically be transported to where I am going! However, I do really enjoy people watching in the airport! I can’t imagine the feeling of leaving my laptop behind, how scary! The last time I flew, our first flight was delayed which made us have to run through the airport to catch our next flight and my backpack was slightly open and one of my oranges fell out. The guy behind me yelled and asked if that was my orange and I just turned and screamed, No! and kept running! Thankfully we made our plane with only seconds so spare! This granola looks amazing! I love the tropical twist and think that it would taste so good with greek yogurt! I think I found a new breakfast idea 🙂 I hope you really enjoy Australia, it sounds amazing!
Haha … I love your airport ‘orange’ story, Isadora! I think I would have done exactly the same! I once had to race through Dubai airport like that at something like 4am and we still missed our plane! When things get stressful like that, I totally agree that it would be fantastic to get magically transported to your destination a la Harry Potter! So glad you like the granola – I’m really excited to have ‘discovered’ homemade granola-making! 🙂
Hi Helen – I’m chuffed to hear you’ll be back in sunny, wintery WA – yes, the equivalent of a UK summer 🙂 I hope we get to catch up with you & Mr Scrummy down here in the beautiful Margaret River wine region during your stay!
This isn’t my d’oh moment but I delivered that sinking feeling … we went to Melbourne with friends and the night before our journey home Mrs X said she had checked herself in online for the return flight but hadn’t been able to do the same for Mr X and had tried several times. She showed me the itinerary and I had the dreaded job of telling her that she had inadvertently booked her hubby’s return for the following month — after a few frantic phone calls and much expense they managed to get him back on the same fligth with the rest of us which was kind of crucial as he was starting a new job the following day!
I LOVE the sound of this granola – chocolate on chocolate for breakky – a winner in my eyes! Will definitely give it a go.
Receiving your posts & recipes is always a treat 🙂
Cheers
Heather 🙂
Heather! I was so happy to read this message – it’s almost like a ‘welcome home’ message (well, perhaps third home after the UK and Greece!) I love your story about Mrs. X. I guess that’s her ‘doh’ moment!
So glad that you are still enjoying the blog and like the granola. I’m just about to make another version without chocolate as Mr. Scrummy isn’t so keen on being so ‘naughty’ at breakfast time!
Hopefully we will make it down your way while we’re here and of course if we do we’ll be in touch for sure! 🙂
Fantastic Helen, we’d love to see you both 🙂
Well, some lovely feedback for you. I made this granola Saturday night, with a few interested comments from DB as the chocolate aroma drifted through the house while the oats were baking. I used chopped dried cranberries, apricots, macadamia & pecans, along with a bit of shredded coconut for my ‘tropical’ add-ins. Oh, and I went dark choc bits too 😉 I went to bed super excited to wake up in the morning to try it.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed!!! Both DB & I thought we’d died and gone to breakfast heaven.
It’s a winner and a definite keeper!
Thanks again – LOVED IT!! 🙂
Ooh, there’s nothing I like more than reading about a ‘happy customer’, Heather! I’m so happy that you tried this granola. Mr. Scrummy liked it but wasn’t super keen on the chocolate for breakfast thing, so I’m going to make some more tonight with a variety of fruit and nuts and some maple syrup. I must say I love the idea of using cranberries and macadamias and pecans (my favourite nuts). I’ll have to try that the next time (and maybe still sneak in a little chocolate because I think that makes it)
It made me smile to think of you both ooh-ing and ah-ing over your breakfast! 🙂
Mixing the best of both worlds here I see (chocolate and tropical fruit trail mix) ;)!
This granola looks absolutely delicious! You doh moment with your laptop would have had me so frazzled. I obsess when I loose something. I would use these computer labs to do research and once left my memory stick in the computer I was using. I didn’t realize it until later in the evening. I went back the next day and of course it was gone. Then I think of all the material that was on that stick…boo hoo. Still bugs me.
Losing information is just the worst, isn’t it? I’m surprised that no-one handed your stick in, though. I definitely would! It was certainly a horrible moment when I realised I’d not picked up my laptop. Fortunately I had a separate drive with all my important stuff on, but still, I felt so stupid more than anything!
So glad you like the granola – I was pretty pleased for my first granola attempt!
Helen this granola looks delicious! I’m such a huge granola fan. The only problem is every time I make it I can’t stop eating it! I don’t think adding chocolate would help me with this problem 🙂
Wow, Helen, just reading about your travels makes me feel disoriented but also jealous!
Meanwhile, this granola sounds terrific.
Yes, I’m still feeling pretty disoriented over here in Australia, not to mention a bit chilly after coming from a vaguely warm English summer to the cold Aussie nights (plenty of sunshine by day, though – yippee!) So glad you like the granola – I was really patting myself on the back after this one!
HI Helen, I am going to live vicariously through you all that internationally travel, I so envy you. Wow! Australia. So sorry you forgot your laptop how upsetting. But your granola looks and sounds wonderful even after the little mishap. Happy traveling to you!!!
Thanks, Cheri! Don’t worry, the laptop incident was a while ago now so I’m well and truly over it! 😉 Thanks so much for the good wishes!
Oh my goodness Helen!! I don’t even know what I would do if my laptop and I got separated like that!!! It must have been the worst feeling ever!!! So glad you ended up getting in back! And that granola incident… that’s happened to me quite a few times as I try to set up for photography. Milk spilling… something falling onto the plate and totally ruining the composition. #foodbloggerproblems hahaha. This granola sound superb though! So glad you were able to share it with us!
Yes, let’s just say that wasn’t the most relaxing flight I’d ever been on! As for the spillage, yup, #foodbloggerproblems indeed!! So glad you enjoyed the granola!
Gorgeous granola! I don’t mind traveling by plane internationally, but now that I have a baby I’m a bit more daunted by the whole experience! Can’t wait to see your adventures in Australia!
Ooh, I can’t imagine travelling with a baby all that way! So happy you like the granola and yes, hopefully there will be some great adventures to share from over here. Unfortunately we’re working and living rather than doing the fun travelling thing, but I’m sure there’ll be a few fun times as well!
So exciting that you’re on your way to Australia! Hope you get in and settled and enjoy this new adventure! This granola looks yummy : )
Thanks so much, Natalie! Loved yours!
I have far too many Doh! stories, and one is like your laptop. I was sitting on the shuttle bus to go from the airport to the parking lot, got off the bus, and realized as the bus drove away I’d left my IPad on it. I yelled for the bus to stop but it didn’t hear me! I looked at the bus number, asked the next shuttle driver to radio the bus and arrange for me to pick up the IPad. It worked, and thank goodness I got it back. I’m glad you had a reunion with yours as well. 🙂
This granola sounds insanely delicious, and I would of course add chocolate chips, because I love chocolate for breakfast, or any time of day! Pinning!
Thanks so much for the pin, Marcie, and for sharing your ‘doh!’ moment. It makes my heart sink just thinking about leaving something on a bus. Now you’ve just reminded me of another awful story. I lent a travel bag that belonged to someone else to another friend. Very bad idea, as she then proceeded to leave this bag on the bus. It turned out that the bag had belonged to the owner’s twin sister who had passed away, so she was very upset about it. Oh my goodness, how could I ever make up for that? 🙁
Oh dear … anyway, so glad you like the granola. I was so impressed with myself that I think I might make another batch today, maybe without chocolate this time for hubby. 😉
Homemade granola is such an improvement over store bought (and much healthier as well!) I agree! And with a little swishing about and some time in your oven, it really is a cinch. I have made chocolate granola before a long plane trip as well and loved it but used the antioxidant rich cacao in mine with great success but love your addition here of the tropical fruits. So pretty too!
Actually, I did consider using cacao instead and probably will next time – I just didn’t have any when I made this. Thanks for the compliment on the photos. I tend to go for the prettiest foods just so that they will look better in the photos!
Hi Helen! I love the travel buzz too! I like international travel -it’s so exciting!!! That’s an AMAZING DOH moment! Why does it always happen when we travel?? hehe. I’ve had 2 -with my passport. Once, I was in grade 10 and on a layover in London heading to Italy and I left my passport on the counter of a coffee shop in the airport. Luckily I ran back half an hour later and it was still there!!! The second time I was in Monaco with my BF and we were popping into the hotel foyer to get the bags and I left my purse with EVERYTHING passports, visa, etc. in it and the driver took off. I thought he was going to steal all of our stuff but it turns out, he was just going around the block to find a parking spot. HEART ATTACK. Longest 5 minutes of my life.
It’s so exciting that you’re writing from 35,000 feet! Also, with a G&T, that sounds like THE life. The granola looks amazing! I’ve never made chocolate granola before and I really have no idea why. Sweet chocolate crunchiness with some yogurt sounds heavenly. And if any of this is “grass” granola, I totally can’t tell!
Haha … don’t worry, I carefully ‘screened’ the granola in my photos for any ‘greenery’! I would definitely have had a heart attack too if I’d seen a bus driver leaving with my purse. Losing something important is the worst feeling in the world, isn’t it?
So glad you ‘approve’ of the chocolate in the granola. Maybe next time I’ll replace the cocoa with healthier raw cacao to balance out the chocolate ‘naughtiness’!
Helen, I’m not particularly a fan of flying either. And I don’t like to fly long distance, but I fly a lot because I have family in South America, so from Canada to Brazil is about 10 hours fly… so long!
Your tropical idea looks delicious and summery 😉
Hi, Olivia! From England to Perth Australia the flight was 7 hours from England to Dubai and then another 10 hours from Dubai to Perth. The first part was OK but I found the last few hours just excruciating! My knees were aching so much in the end from sitting in the same spot for so long. Oh well – I think I’d better get used to it because I married an Aussie! Are you going back to Brazil for the soccer world cup?
Glad you like the granola!
No, unfortunately I am not going for the World cup. But I am going in December for Christmas 😉
Even better! 🙂
Like this? https://manilovefilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/5c1.jpg haha!
Anyway, this sounds like the perfect summer breakfast. I’ve pinned it and hope to try it sometime!
Hahaha! I wish I’d thought of posting that picture with my post, Aimee! Hilarious! So glad you like it and thanks for the pin! 🙂
Oh no! That’s too bad about your lap top…but definitely sounds like something I would do! Hopefully this granola made you feel a little bit better. I absolutely love that it’s both tropical AND chocolate! I’ve never made chocolate granola before, but this seems like the perfect recipe to try out!
Well, like I said the chocolate definitely divided opinion in our house! I’m all for it, though!
So glad you liked it!
Hi Helen!
You have nothing to fear with your “doh” moments. Now my husband and I have never lost a child, however, we have left our dogs at the park before. And we’ll be sitting in the car thinking…..where’s the dogs…..?? Oh dear, driving back in a hurry.
What I love best about your tropical granola is that it’s oh-so-portable. This is the snack that I put in my own nifty plastic container before heading to the park or pool with the kiddos. Your green one is adorable though.
And yes, a little chocolate for breakfast please!!!
Hahaha … your story about leaving your dogs at the park is hilarious! Definitely a ‘doh!’ moment! The funniest part is that both you and your husband forgot!
That’s a great idea to treat homemade granola like a portable snack. I constantly struggle to find healthy snacks at the supermarket that I actually want to eat. I’ll definitely try that!
Glad you approve of the chocolate … I put all my chocolate in there with a bit of trepidation and don’t think I’ll be able to get away with it the next time. I told my husband that I was just putting it in there this time for the blog but that I would make him some more without chocolate next time. Oh well, you can’t win them all. 😉
Je suis contente que le voyage c’est bien passé pour toi! c’est tellement excitant arrivé dans un nouveau pays…plein des belles choses à découvrir! Nottingham peut attend !
Ton granola maison est époustouflant ! 🙂
Merci beaucoup, Eva! Nous sommes encore tres fatigue mais au moins on est arrive sain et sauf! Tu as raison – Nottingham peut attendre!