My dark Chocolate Granola recipe is a delicious granola with dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Perfect for a healthy breakfast or snack, especially for chocolate lovers and anyone who loves a chocolaty cereal!
Preheat oven to 350°F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Coarsely chop (leaving some large chunks) the almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds in your food processor, blender or using a knife. If you're using a food processor or blender, pulse to coarsely chop them.
Add the chopped nuts to a mixing mixing bowl and using a spatula, mix together with the shredded coconut, almond butter, coconut oil, cacao powder, vanilla and maple syrup until everything is combined.
Spread the mixture in an even layer on the pan leaving some small spaces in between so it bakes evenly.
Bake in a preheated oven, covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes or until dry and crispy.
Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool and break into pieces with a spoon, leaving large chunks if you like. Then after completely cooled, mix in some dark chocolate chips, cacao nibs, or both.
Notes
Storage: In your pantry, store it in a large mason jar or airtight container and it should stay crunchy and fresh for roughly 4 to 6 months. You can also keep it refrigerated or frozen in an airtight container or ziplock bag, and it will keep well for at least 1 year.Baking: There are two ways to bake this chocolate granola, fast bake or slow bake. Here's how to bake with each and you can choose the method that works best for you:
Fast bake: Bake in a preheated oven to 350°F covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes.
Slow bake: Bake in a preheated oven to 200°F uncovered for 4 hours or until dry and crispy. Because of the lower temperature, this method may preserve more of the nutrients in the ingredients.
Tips:
Almond butter: Make sure to mix the contents in the jar very well before measuring the amount needed so that you don't end up adding more oil in the recipe.
Like yours sweeter? Add more sweetener, as much as you like. I usually add just 3 to 6 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey so it's not too sweet to eat for breakfast, but if I want to have it as a snack add about 6 to 10 tablespoons instead. Maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, dates sugar, or any keto sweetener, all work great in this recipe.
Drizzle with melted chocolate after it comes out of the oven, then refrigerate it and break it into large, chunky clusters. Yum!
Other add-ons: Sprinkle with flaky sea salt after baked. Also mix in chia seeds, dried dates or cranberries.
Nutrition facts: Recipe makes a total of 5 cups (15 servings). The nutrition facts were calculated per serving (serving size = ⅓ cup). The dark chocolate chips were not included in the calculation.