Easy Homemade Granola With Chocolate Chips – Nutty and Fruity

This delicious granola with chocolate chips is great for quick meal prep breakfasts with a little milk or yogurt. You can store it on the counter for easy breakfasts – it’s even a great easy snack idea! If you’re looking for more yummy and wholesome morning meals, try our lemon almond flour muffins, almond flour sheet pan pancakes, South African rusks, or yogurt with chia seeds. And if you prefer a quick smoothie for breakfast, you can’t go wrong with any of these delicious smoothies…

Like many, one of my most consistent and demanding food cravings is for chocolate. I could eat it alone, with any dessert or fruit imaginable, and I’ve even been known to eat it with cheese (don’t ask). One of my favorite ways to eat chocolate is in the form of granola with chocolate chips.

The store versions just don’t do it for me, except for one cereal with chocolate and toffee from South Africa I remember sometimes eating at a friend’s house as a kid. (It must have been pretty good to make such an impact, but sadly I can’t remember the name of it). 

And so, I have to make some kind of chocolatey cereal myself. Which is actually not a bad thing, because the ingredient list for my granola with chocolate chips is so whole, clean and healthy. 

We love breakfast around here! If you’re looking for more breakfast ideas, try lemon almond flour muffins, chia seed greek yogurt, or maybe some pancakes! We have almond flour sheet pan pancakes or vegan sheet pan pancakes made with whole wheat flour.

If you prefer to keep things crunchy, you’ll love these South African rusks.

Granola Ingredients

Granola is a beautiful blank canvas on which endless different ingredients can be painted. Much like a pizza though, you don’t want to overdo the toppings and turn something pure and simple into a messy pile of flavors that overtake each other and end up not really tasting like anything. 

Get The Basics:

We know we need oats. We know we need chocolate chips. And we probably need some kind of sweetener. Although chocolate chips are sweet, to make good granola requires something sticky to let the oats shine. Following my mother’s footsteps, I use coconut or avocado oil for the pan and maple syrup for the oats.

Pick Your Protein:

Next step is to pick your protein. My favorite nut in the world is the hazelnut, which is tied so deeply to my childhood memories of hazelnut chocolate cake that I’m not even sure whether hazelnuts really do taste like chocolate, but to me they do. Who knows. (Do they taste like chocolate to you?)

So for me the first thing is hazelnuts. If I don’t have hazelnuts, my second choice is almonds. Third cashews. Fourth is just about anything else… pecans, walnuts, macadamias, brazil nuts, whatever I have on hand that will make the granola filling. 

Sometimes your add-ons can provide fat and/or protein too. Some extra satisfying options include coconut flakes, hemp seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and flaxseeds. 

Add Some Extra Fun Stuff:

Growing up in South Africa we called granola “muesli,” and we ate our muesli with raisins. I still find granola to be an excellent way to get dried fruit into our diet at home (especially for constipated little kiddos). Some yummy fruits to choose from are raisins, cranberries, dates, figs, apricots and/or prunes. 

Considering granola with chocolate chips, the chocolate chips need to be the main event co-starring with oats. I use equal parts chocolate chips and dates, and that seems to get the oats just flavored enough. You’ll be able to taste chocolate in each bite, but it doesn’t overpower the dates or hazelnuts.

How To Make Granola Healthy & Whole

Granola is one of the healthiest forms of “cereal” already, but there are a few ways you can make it extra healthy.

The least healthy part of granola is usually the amount of sugar. I’ve made this recipe over and over using less and less syrup every time to get it to that sweet spot (pun intended?) where healthy and delicious are balanced.

I also use maple syrup as it’s a more “whole” option than refined sugar.

As always, buy organic when you can. Everything from oats to fried fruit is better off without harmful pesticides. 

Not all small farmers can afford the organic label even when they are doing organic practices, so research small brands and talk to farmers at the markets. 

Remember: This is just a guide for informational advice, not to make you feel bad about your ingredients. Groceries are wildly expensive these days, so pick what you can afford and do the best you can. No guilt, no shame.

How To Make Granola With Chocolate Chips

Making granola is actually pretty simple.

Mix oats with syrup, spread on an oiled baking sheet, and after baking for 10 minutes, add on your nuts and bake again. When your nuts are toasty (10 minutes), add dried fruit or other toppings you enjoy.

For this particular granola, add the chocolate chips once your oats have cooled otherwise they will melt.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy this granola with milk, yogurt or ice-cream of your choice. My favorites include:

• Homemade almond or cashew milk made with an Almond Cow (As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying commissions at no additional cost to you)
• Organic unsweetened almond milk
• Unsweetened yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk vanilla ice-cream 

(Check out my review of the Almond Cow and how to make milk with it!)

And there you have it! I was once intimidated at the thought of making my own granola, but once you’ve tried homemade—and seen how easy and delicious it is—you’ll never go back to the grocery store shelves. 

Ps. If there are any South Africans who have a clue what cereal I can’t remember the name of, PLEASE TELL ME. Thanks =)

Smoothies Are The Perfect Breakfast… At Home Or On The Go!

Love chocolate chips? Try this creamy and dreamy mint chocolate chip smoothie… like ice cream for breakfast! It tastes like dessert, but it’s packed with nutrients from spinach, banana and yogurt.

View Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie

Granola With Chocolate Chips

Homemade chocolate chip granola makes a delicious breakfast or sweet treat to enjoy anytime. This recipe can be easily adapted, and served with milk, yogurt  or ice-cream of your choice. 

Print Pin Rate

Course Breakfast & Sweets

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Rest Time: 7 minutes minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• drizzle spray oil I use avocado
• 6 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped dates or any dried fruit

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Use spray oil (I use avocado oil) to generously spray baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, mix oats with maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.
• Pour oat mix on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes when the oats are beginning to brown. 
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it somewhere safe. Sprinkle the nut mix on top, then bake for another 10 minutes. 
• Remove granola from oven. Sprinkle on dried fruit while still warm. 
• Once the granola has cooled and is ready to be stored, mix in chocolate chips. 
• Store in a container at room temperature for several weeks.