Homemade Chocolate Granola with Gluten-Free Option

Several years ago, I received a special request for a dairy-free chocolate granola recipe from a company that had to discontinue their chocolate granola. It was rich, flavorful, and wholesome, and had a very loyal following. But their product line was paired down when they were bought out by a conglomerate. They anticipated many disappointed customers, and wanted to be ready with a recipe to satisfy them. I tested numerous batches of dairy-free chocolate granola for them to come up with this perfect recipe. It’s chocoholic approved and has been loved by thousands of people over the past decade!

Dairy-Free Chocolate Granola with Variations

Granola is one of those foods that I rarely buy. It’s so easy to make at home, tastes far fresher when homemade, and is also much cheaper than store bought. Not to mention, you control the ingredients and are able to prevent cross contamination since it’s made in your own kitchen! This dairy-free chocolate granola is also very easy to customize. I’ve got several alternative tips in the details below.

Choosing Your Cereal

I like to pick a crispy or crunchy cereal that’s low in sugar. But here is a quick list of options that will work great:

• Bran Flakes (lightly crushed if flakes are large)
• Wheat Flakes (lightly crushed if flakes are large)
• Corn Flakes (lightly crushed if flakes are large)
• Crispy Rice Cereal (gluten-free option)
• Cocoa Crispy Cereal (gluten-free option)
• Quick Oats (sub quick oats for the crispy cereal for a gentler crunch)
• Nuts or Seeds (sub sliced or chopped almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, or a combination for the crispy cereal)
• More Rolled Oats (omit crispy cereal and use 4 cups oats total)

Natural vs Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder

I often use natural cocoa powder (sometimes labelled as unsweetened cocoa powder) in this dairy-free chocolate granola, because it’s the type I usually have on hand. But Dutch processed cocoa powder (which is actually unsweetened, too) lends a deeper sweetness and a darker brown hue. Either one will work just fine.

More Ingredient FAQs

• Oil: Can I use less oil? This is the minimum amount of oil I would use. In fact, you can add a little more for more crunch. I do not recommend omitting the fat. Substituting applesauce or similar will leave you with unpleasantly chewy granola.
• Oil: What type of oil should I use? You can use your favorite baking oil. I like coconut oil or extra-light olive oil in this recipe. But regular olive oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, non-GMO canola oil, and others will work great.
• Chocolate: What dairy-free chocolate do you recommend? I use Enjoy Life chocolate in most of my baking. I like the taste, and trust the allergy-friendly ingredients and processes. For my dairy-free chocolate granola, I most often use their dark chocolate morsels or semi-sweet chunks. But sometimes I just chop up whatever dark chocolate I have on hand! I’ve even used raspberry chocolate and orange chocolate in this recipe.

Special Diet Notes: Chocolate Granola

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, optionally vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian. Just be sure to choose cereal, sweetener, and chocolate that suit your dietary needs.

Alisa Fleming

Dairy-Free Chocolate Granola

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This dairy-free chocolate granola is a copycat recipe of a beloved product from years past. It's nutritious, but a treat that is delicious with unsweetened milk alternative or by the handful or a pick-me-up.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Calories: 226

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups dairy-free crispy cereal see Cereal Options in the post above
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup maple syrup honey, or agave nectar
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar can sub coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup chopped dairy-free dark chocolate chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips

Method

 

1. Preheat your oven to 250ºF and lightly grease two 9×13-inch glass baking dishes or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I prefer the glass dishes in this recipe.)
2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, cereal, cocoa powder, and salt until the cereals are coated with the cocoa powder.
3. Whisk together the sweeteners and oil in a small saucepan. Place it over medium-low heat and whisk until the sugars are mostly dissolved. OR, heat the wet ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 15 second intervals, until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved (just 30 to 45 seconds total).
4. Stir the vanilla into the liquid ingredients.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat.
6. Spread the granola out in a single layer in your prepared pan(s).
7. Bake the granola for 50 to 90 minutes, checking in to stir every 15 to 20 minutes. (The total time can vary quite by climate. In dry high altitude, this granola crisps up in less than an hour, but on the coast, it can easily take 90 minutes.) If using metal pans, check in more often as the granola tends to brown much more quickly. The granola will still be a little soft when done, but it firms up as it cools.
8. Once the chocolate granola is completely cool, stir in the chocolate chunks.
9. Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, or in the freezer for longer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 cupCalories: 226kcalCarbohydrates: 39.6gProtein: 4.9gFat: 7.6gSaturated Fat: 2.2gSodium: 101mgFiber: 5gSugar: 15.8g

Notes

Chocolate Intensity: 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) cocoa powder makes a dark chocolate granola while 3 tablespoons is more semi-sweet. For lower sugar, feel free to use a very dark chocolate and/or reduce the sweetener a little, to taste.

Loose vs Cluster Granola: For loose granola, wait until the granola is completely cool before stirring in the chocolate chunks. But for granola snacking clusters, stir the chocolate in while the granola is still warm. Once cool, you can break it into clusters.

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More Recipe Tips: Dairy-Free Chocolate Granola

Serving Suggestions

• Breakfast: Serve it with unsweetened dairy-free milk alternative to balance the sweet chocolate flavors.
• Parfait: Enjoy a snack parfait of dairy-free yogurt layered with this  homemade chocolate granola. I like to use an unsweetened yogurt to keep the sugars moderate.
• Ice Cream Topping: For a next level dessert, liberally sprinkle two scoops of vanilla dairy-free ice cream with this granola.
• Hiking: This dairy-free chocolate granola provides both quick energy and lasting sustenance on hikes. But I only take it when the weather isn’t too warm, because the chocolate can get melty.

Make Ahead & Storage Tips

• Tips: It will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a few weeks. But for optimal freshness, I always store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
• Defrost: Granola has a nice crunch straight from the refrigerator, but it can get very hard when frozen. Let it warm at room temperature until the clusters soften, at least 15 minutes.

Troubleshooting

• Not Sweet Enough: If you used natural cocoa powder and/or opted to use a full 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup), it might be too dark of a chocolate for you. Switch to a Dutch-processed cocoa powder or add more dry or liquid sweetener, to taste.
• Too Sweet: If you need to reduce the sweetness, only lower the dry sweetener. You need the stickiness from the liquid sweetener. You can also use a darker chocolate and / or more cocoa powder.
• Too Soft: It will crisp up as it cools, so be patient! But you can also bake the granola longer if it isn’t too dark. If you want a crispier granola, you can increase the oil to 3 or 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup).
• Burnt or Too Crunchy: It either baked too long or your oven is running hot. Check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Keep in mind that the granola will bake more quickly in dry and high altitude climates.

You’ll also Love my Basic Homemade Dairy-Free Granola