Chocolate Granola
A five ingredient, naturally sweetened granola that tastes absolutely delicious! This Chocolate Granola gives off Oreo cookie vibes! It reminds me of Cocoa Pebbles, but of course- a healthier version! Like all of my recipes, dates are the key natural sweetener in this granola.
This is one of my new fav recipes, and it was totally a fluke! I was working on a chocolate cake recipe for my birthday (the recipe still needs some testing) and I had a delicious chocolate glaze that was leftover from a test batch. The glaze was going to be used for hot cocoa— and then I had the brilliant idea to add oats and test a granola. That’s when this beauty was born! So instead of chocolate cake, I bring you Chocolate Granola (hopefully a cake recipe coming soon!).
A few notes before you get started:
OATS: I have only tried this recipe with old fashioned rolled oats, but feel free to play with other kinds.
DATES: I find it most helpful to soak the dates in hot water, even if you have a smaller blender. It’s not going to ruin your recipe if you have little date pieces in the granola, just adds a different touch. I prefer to get this part of the granola as smooth as possible, though. If your dates are super soft, you could probably skip this step. I buy the pitted deglet nour dates in bulk from Costco (though medjool dates are by far my favorite!) and I find that they need a little more help softening-up for this recipe.
BAKE TIMES: The time will vary greatly on a number of factors. Convection vs regular oven, how well you break up the clumps, the number of pans used (how well spread out the granola is) and how many cups of oats used. A more moist granola will result in more bake time, as well. Since there are a number of variables that impact time- it’s important to regularly check the granola and give it a good stir. The first 20-30 minutes, the granola needs a little less babysitting. But then after that, you’ll want to be sure to give it a good stir every 5-10 minutes to ensure it doesn’t burn.
ADD-INS: Feel free to use this recipe as a base and add in any additional nuts, seeds, or dried fruit of choice.
Chocolate Granola
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups rolled oats
Instructions
- Soak the dates in hot water for 10-15 minutes to soften. Drain off the water (feel free to use this water in the recipe, just measure out what is needed).
- Preheat the oven to 350F. If an option, use a convection bake setting.
- Add the dates, water, cocoa powder, and vanilla to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- In a bowl, combine the oats with the chocolate -date mixture. Stir until the oats are well coated. Feel free to add a little more oats, as desired. Spread the granola onto lined baking sheets.
- Bake the granola for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven. Break-up the larger clumps of granola and stir well. Place the granola back into the oven and continue to check every 5-10 minutes, stirring often to help keep the granola from burning. The granola may take up to a total of 40 -60 minutes. Cook times may vary.
- Once the granola is crispy, remove from the oven. Allow the granola to cool completely before storing away in silicon bags or glass containers.
- Store in the cupboard for 2 weeks. For longer storage, keep the granola in the freezer.
Notes
Kristina DeMuth
Kristina DeMuth