Homemade Chocolate Granola

This granola is kid-friendly, but adults love it too. This is great for traveling, for snacks, and even better with milk in the mornings. I always triple or quadruple the mix so that I can bake it whenever I want. I’ve stored the mix in the refrigerator for weeks without it going bad. But if you want to store it longer, portion it in freezer bags, keep it in the freezer, and bake it when your next granola craving hits. Make sure you don’t overcook this. It comes out soft from the oven, but once it cools it will get crispy and harden. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup dried fruit mixed in 1-2 TB flour to prevent sticking (I’ve used raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc. All have turned out delicious)
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
¼ c sliced almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup honey (if not using chocolate chips, you can decrease to ¼ cup honey)
¼ cup coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225 F.
Place parchment paper on a large sheet pan and set aside. (If you use foil, it will stick, so use a nonstick spray if you go this route.)
Warm up the honey and coconut oil together, either on the stove or in the microwave. You want a liquid consistency so that it will mix easier.
Combine the oats, dried fruit, chocolate chips, almonds, coconut flakes, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Add the honey and coconut oil to the dried ingredients. Mix well.
Place in a single layer on the sheet pan. Make sure not to overcrowd. If you find you have a lot of granola left over, prepare another sheet pan and place remaining granola on it.
Bake the granola for 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes with a wooden spoon.
Let the granola cool on a rack. Once cool, break it up with a spoon and enjoy immediately or store in a glass jar.

Granola ideas:

Besides eating it on its own as a nutritious and delicious snack, here are my favorite ways of eating it.

Cereal:

Instead of the sugary stuff, I’ll put ½ a cup of granola with some cold milk. I’ll let it soak in there for a few minutes to soften the granola.

Oatmeal topping:

I love to eat oatmeal, so to keep things interesting, I’ll top my oatmeal with granola and fruit, usually sliced bananas or berries.

Yogurt topping:

I love plain Greek yogurt topped with granola. This provides just enough sweetness and crunch for the snack. This is my favorite way to get my protein needs for the days I work out.

Acai Bowls:

Here’s another breakfast favorite. Include this granola along with the other acai bowl toppings. It will provide the crunch to complement the fruit and hemp seeds, chia seeds, etc.