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Salted Dark Chocolate Granola is a deliciously crunchy ice cream topping, a rich addition to your morning yogurt, or just a good chocolate snack for your afternoon pick-me-up.
I really love granola but until recently I only thought of it as breakfast food.
I might occasionally pull out my Chunky Tropical Granola recipe for a snack, but more often we eat something like this Chai Spiced Sweet Potato Granola.
This Salted Dark Chocolate Granola, however, has completely changed my mind!
Like so many of my recipes lately, I got the idea for chocolate granola from my toddler. Like most toddlers, he goes from one food phase to another.
His latest food phase is wanting sweets for every meal. His preferred menu would look something like: Popsicles for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, pudding for dinner.
I don’t let him eat desserts all day long, of course, but I have found that a little compromise goes a long way. So, to get him to eat his oatmeal for breakfast, I sprinkle in a few dark chocolate chips.
It’s still a mostly healthy breakfast and he’ll actually eat the whole bowl. I’m calling it a parenting win.
One morning recently, as I was serving up his oatmeal with chocolate, I had a little lightbulb moment. Chocolate chips with granola!
It morphed into this Salted Dark Chocolate Granola as I developed the recipe. To give this granola its rich, deep chocolate flavor, I added both cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips.
It’s still a hearty granola with sliced almonds, sweetened lightly with maple syrup and brown sugar. The sea salt flakes add the perfect final touch, making this granola my favorite combination of sweet and salty.
I have eaten this for breakfast. It’s especially good with strawberries! After all, it is still granola and even with all the chocolate, it’s not terribly unhealthy.
My favorite way to eat it though is as an ice cream topping. It’s partly the crunch, partly the rich chocolate flavor, partly those tasty sea salt flakes. Combined, this granola becomes the most delicious treat.
In my book, Salted Dark Chocolate Granola is the ultimate ice cream companion. Try it!
For more tasty granola recipes try Coconut Pecan Granola and Gluten Free Granola Parfaits.
Salted Dark Chocolate Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups old fashioned rolled oats not quick oats
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut oil melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes or a chunky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine nuts, oats, coconut, and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, combine the syrup, sugar, vanilla, oil, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Pour liquid mixture over oats and stir well, making sure oat mixture is evenly coated.
- Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula, press the granola into the pan. Make sure the granola is pressed tightly and evenly onto the baking sheet. Check the corners to make sure the layer of granola is not too thin.
- Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 40 minutes, or until it is golden. This can be tricky to see with all the cocoa powder coating, so check carefully or pull out a small spoonful to check. Rotate the pan halfway through baking time, but do not stir.
- When done, remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Return to oven for 2 to 5 minutes to soften the chocolate chips, but don’t completely melt them. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flakes of sea salt, which should stick to the warm chocolate.
- Let it cool on a wire rack, undisturbed, for a couple of hours. Store in an airtight container.
Looks delicious! Do you know how long this keeps for? Thank you :)
Hello! It should keep for about a week in an airtight container. Happy baking!
-Jamie
thank you for this recipe…im addicted…so is all my family.
I’m so glad you and your family like it, Saj!
My husband loves cereal. Need to give this a try!
Let me know how he likes it, Katherine!
Jamie, This recipe looks so great! i definitely enjoy granola and yogurt as one of my favorite snacks but I never thought about chocolate granola. The pictures look amazing and i can’t wait to try to make this. I’m definitely going to try it with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. What is your all time favorite flavor of granola? Thank you for sharing this delicious looking recipe, I know lots of friends and family that would love to try it!
Hi, Jalah! I love this Salted Dark Chocolate Granola, but I also love Coconut Pecan Granola and Apple Cinnamon Granola. Let me know how you like the chocolate granola!
made this wonderful granola yesterday using honey instead of maple syrup, it is so good–thank you for the recipe. I am curious though as to why you don’t stir occasionally while baking and one more time before adding the chocolate chips? I did not stir, but next time I make it I think I probably would to get a more even baking throughout, unless someone has some insight…
Hi, Lynnell! I’m so glad you enjoyed the granola. Feel free to stir if you like. The honey sounds like a great addition!
I don’t stir my granola while baking because I like chunky granola. When you stir it just breaks up the chunks more. It’s just a matter of preference though. Enjoy!
This granola is calling my name! And I LOVE the idea of using it as a topping for ice cream!
Thank you, Kelly! xxoo
What a great combo! And chocolate for breakfast with a dark roast coffee would be amazing!
Thank you, Becky!
Can I sub coconut oil for butter? There is no maple syrup in Brazil. What can I sub it? Thanks.
Hi, Fernando! For the maple syrup, you could probably substitute honey or molasses. Did you want to substitute butter for coconut oil? You could probably use butter or olive oil. Let me know how you like it!
I love love love granola. Especially when it is covered in CHOCOLATE! Someone get me a scoop of ice cream I want to dig in.
I’d say you had me at chocolate but honestly you had me with just salt! Omg, this granola looks amazing!