Chocolate granola with crunchy hazelnuts, a great tasting make ahead breakfast. Homemade granola is simple to make and easily adapted to suit your own tastes.
Our chocolate and hazelnut granola is a deliciously crunchy breakfast cereal that once made, can be enjoyed as part of a healthy quick breakfast on the go. A breakfast that is packed full of goodness that will keep you fuller for longer.
This is one of those recipes that changes depending on what we have in our store cupboards at the time. Adapt this recipe to suit you and your families tastes. Fancy adding some dried fruits for extra chew – go ahead.
Our chocolate and hazelnut granola is also a lot healthier than many store bought cereals. When you make your own homemade granola you have total control over what you put into it.
I often find store bought cereals and granolas simply too sweet for my palette. Although this recipe contains chocolate, the flavour comes from adding bitter cocoa powder – no highly sweetened milk chocolate chips in this mix.
Furthermore, we use maple syrup to naturally sweeten the mix. No processed white sugar or extra salt necessary.
How to make your own granola – recipe steps:
- Place the porridge oats and seeds in a large bowl.
- Place the hazelnuts in a bag and give them a gentle bash with a rolling pin to break the nuts up a bit.
- Add the nuts to the oat and seed mix.
- In a small saucepan gently melt the coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder and salt together until fully liquid. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the warm liquid over the oat and nut mixture.
- Stir everything together until well combined.
- Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place in a preheated oven at 140CFan/160C for 15 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven, stir the granola to ensure it cooks evenly and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
- Allow the tray to cool and store the granola in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.
Recipe ingredients & substitutions:
This granola recipe is for guidance only, it gives you the ratios of oats to nuts and seeds but it is a recipe that can be easily adapted to suit your own palette.
- Porridge oats form the basis of this granola, you can also use a mix of porridge oats and jumbo oats.
- Hazelnuts add a toasted crunch but add the nuts of your choice. Pecans, almonds and walnuts would all work well too, as would some flaked coconut.
- Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are added to the dry mix, you could also add in flax seeds, poppy seeds or chia seeds.
- Maple syrup adds sweetness to this easy chocolate granola, but you can substitute with honey or golden syrup if that’s what you have in your stores. [Note: if using honey this recipe is no longer suitable for a vegan diet.]
- Spices can be added along with the cocoa powder if you fancy adding some ground cinnamon or nutmeg to your granola.
- Dried fruits add another lovely flavour and a chew to this granola, apricot, raisins, cranberries or goji berries could all be added. If you decide to add dried fruit, add once the granola has been baked. This will keep the fruit juicy and not too chewy.
Serving suggestions:
- A portion of our crunchy homemade granola, with ice cold milk poured over the top, is the perfect quick breakfast to start to a day.
- Spoon some Greek yogurt into a bowl and sprinkle over a tablespoon or two of chocolate granola and top with fresh fruit.
- Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of our crunchy chocolate and hazelnut granola over the top of your bowl of porridge.
- Baking some chocolate muffins, add a pinch or two of our granola to the top for added crunch.
- Not just for breakfast, spoon some over vanilla ice-cream for a delicious dessert.
Useful hint and tips:
- Bake for longer if you want extra crunchy granola.
- The sugar can be reduced by cutting back a little on the maple syrup .
- This recipe is suitable for vegans.
- If making granola for a gluten free diet, ensure that you use gluten free oats.
- If you suffer from a nut allergy leave the nuts out entirely and add dried fruits and seeds instead.
- Stored in an airtight container, this granola will keep for up to 4 weeks.
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Additional recipe suggestions:
For some other great breakfast ideas with a sweeter twist:
- Cinnamon Granola with Almond & Apricot
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Dutch Poffertjes
- Scotch Pancakes
- Apricot & Almond Flapjacks
Hosting your own brunch then take the stress out of it and head to our Ultimate Guide to Brunch. Here you’ll find all our brunch recipes together with some great advice, hint and tips to get you started.
Chocolate Granola with Hazelnuts
Ingredients
- 150 g porridge oats (or use a mix of jumbo oats)
- 20 g pumpkin seeds
- 20 g sunflower seeds
- 100 g hazelnuts (chopped)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (heaped)
- 100 g maple syrup
- 75 g coconut oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 140°CFan/160°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment or silicone baking mat.
- Place the porridge oats, chopped nuts and seeds in a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan pan gently melt the coconut oil, maple syrup, cocoa powder and salt. Warm gently until fully liquid. Remove from the heat.
- Add the sugar and oil mix to the oat mixture and stir until well combined.
- Spread the mixture on a lined baking sheet and pop into the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, stir to ensure the granola bakes evenly and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool and store in airtight container. This granola will keep in a cool dark place for up to 4 weeks.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Monika Dabrowski
I also posted a chocolate granola recipe recently, but it’s much simpler than yours – I really like your idea of including seeds and nuts into the granola.
Lesley
Thank you Monika, I reckon this recipe would also make a rather tasty granola bar. Lesley
Corina Blum
I hardly ever make my own granola but whenever I do it feels like such a treat – It’s so good to be able to flavour it exactly how you want it!
Lesley
I couldn’t agree more Corina. Michelle always makes her own granola, that way it’s exactly how she likes it. To be honest I’d eat this straight from the jar.