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You are here: Home / Breakfast / Healthy Chocolate Granola (Oil-free)

Healthy Chocolate Granola (Oil-free)

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This Healthy Chocolate Granola is super healthy, nutritious, oil-free, gluten-free and made with wholesome ingredients and a boost of cinnamon for extra flavor! No need to ever buy store-bought granola again!

chocolate granola in bowl with fresh strawberries

I have a fondness for making lots of homemade healthy granola recipes, like this one! All my granola recipes are oil-free, easy to make and contain no oil. Learning How to Cook and Bake Without Oil is a major improvement in one’s health.

My most popular granola ever is this 5 Ingredient Cinnamon Granola. I love to eat them with a bowl of fresh homemade almond milk!

I often alternate between eating either granola, for breakfast or snack, and these Almond Pulp Chocolate Chip Granola Bars!

2 of my favorite flavors are chocolate and cinnamon, so combining the 2 in a delicious oil-free granola recipe, was a must.

bowl of chocolate granola with glass of milk and extra bowl of strawberries

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

(Only 8 main ingredients. Full measurements on recipe card below.)

  • Old-fashioned rolled oats: Use certified gluten-free if necessary. I use Bob’s Red Mill.
  • Unsweetened natural cocoa powder
  • Cinnamon
  • Sunlower kernels: or any other nuts or seeds of choice, as needed for allergies.
  • Sliced almonds: or seeds of choice.
  • Pure maple syrup: Or you can use agave.
  • Roasted almond butter: I use my homemade almond butter, but you can use sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) for nut-free, if needed.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Salt

each individual recipe for chocolate granola in singular bowls

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHOCOLATE GRANOLA

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl. I love my large wooden bowl.

oats in large wooden bowl with cocoa powder mixed in

Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients in a small bowl, pour over the dry and stir to combine.

wet granola in wooden bowl

Step 3: Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes on low rack, stir around the granola and bake on the middle rack for 10 more minutes.

baked healthy chocolate granola with large spoon on tray

Step 4: Cool 15 minutes at least and it will crisp up as cooling. Serve as a breakfast, snack or dessert.

GRANOLA SUBSTITUTIONS

  • Sweetener: Sub the syrup for agave if needed. It will work beautifully.
  • Nut-free: Sub the almond butter for sunbutter if allergic. Do the same with the almonds.
  • Spices: Feel free to sub the cinnamon with my homemade pumpkin pie spice for a fun new flavor!

closeup of bowl of chocolate granola with spoon and strawberries

MORE OIL FREE VEGAN GRANOLA RECIPES

  • Healthy Oil-free Granola that is super buttery!
  • Vegan Peanut Butter Granola Bars
  • Apple Pie Granola
  • Peanut Butter Granola
  • Buckwheat Granola
  • Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
  • Cinnamon Granola Bars
  • Nut-free Granola Bars
bowl of healthy chocolate granola with spoon and fresh strawberries on tray of granola

Healthy Chocolate Granola (Oil-free)

Brandi Doming
This Healthy Chocolate Granola is super healthy, nutritious, oil-free, gluten-free and made with wholesome ingredients and a boost of cinnamon for extra flavor! No need to ever buy store-bought granola again!
5 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 23 mins
Total Time 33 mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American, Gluten-free, Vegan
Yields 5 cups

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

  • 3 cups (300g) old-fashioned oats
  • 5 tablespoons (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/3 cup (50g) sliced almonds
  • 1/3 cup (40g) sunflower kernels or chopped pecan pieces
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup (see NOTES below)
  • 4 tablespoons (64g) roasted creamy almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) water (OMIT if doing 3/4 cup syrup)
  • 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
  • I use this scale.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat an oven to 325°F and Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, combine the oats, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt and stir well. Stir in the seeds and nuts.
  • In a small bowl, combine the syrup, almond butter (water if using) and vanilla). Whisk well. Pour over the dry and stir until evenly coated. This will take a couple of minutes.
  • Spread the granola out evenly onto the lined pan and press down with the back of the spoon to make the granola stick. It should be about 1/2 inch high for nice size chunks.
  • Bake on the LOW rack for 15 minutes. Remove and stir the granola around well, then return back to the oven on the MIDDLE rack and bake another 10 minutes.
  • The granola will be soft upon removal but will harden as it cools over the next 15 minutes or so.
  • Store in a ziplock bag or sealed container.
  • Tip:  As a sweeter/dessert option you can throw in some chocolate chips. Do this as soon as you remove the granola from the oven by just dropping them over the cooked granola. It will slightly melt into the granola.

Notes

Using the 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of syrup makes the granola just mildly sweet (this makes a lot of granola!) so if you prefer yours sweeter, use 3/4 cup and omit the water. I liked it more bitter but my daughter prefers it with the full 3/4 cup.

GRANOLA SUBSTITUTIONS

  • Sweetener: Sub the syrup for agave if needed. It will work beautifully.
  • Nut-free: Sub the almond butter for sunbutter if allergic. Do the same with the almonds.
  • Spices: Feel free to sub the cinnamon with my homemade pumpkin pie spice for a fun new flavor!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup servingCalories: 473kcalCarbohydrates: 76.9gProtein: 13.3gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2.1gSodium: 56mgPotassium: 558mgFiber: 11.4gSugar: 25.5gCalcium: 117mgIron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Tag @thevegan8brandi on Instagram and use tag #thevegan8!
Keyword chocolate cinnamon granola, healthy chocolate granola, healthy granola recipe

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Breakfast, Chocolate, Gluten-free, Granola, Snacks Tagged With: Almonds, Breakfast, chocolate, cinnamon, Gluten-free, Granola, oats

Previous Post: « Homemade Sunflower Seed Butters (2 Flavors!)
Next Post: Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake (Oil-free!) »

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Comments

  1. August McLaughlin

    July 20, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    Yum! Looks not only healthy, but pleasing to the eye and belly. 😉 Thanks for the keeper recipe!

    Reply
    • BrandiD

      July 20, 2012 at 6:54 pm

      Thanks so much August! Very yummy and makes a great, adorable little gift that is personal and you can feel good about giving! Hope you like it! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Lesli

    August 6, 2012 at 8:07 pm

    5 stars
    This granola is amazing! So much better than store bought and so easy to make! Can’t wait to make it again! Two thumbs up!

    Reply
  3. The Healthy Flavor

    August 6, 2012 at 8:21 pm

    Thanks Lesli! I’m so glad you finally tried it! I told you it was easy 🙂

    Reply
  4. Sophie33

    August 15, 2012 at 10:54 am

    I have made your chocolate granola & it rocked my taste buds! ooh yes! 🙂 Yummie!

    Reply
  5. The Healthy Flavor

    August 15, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    That’s awesome to hear Sophie!! I love this stuff because it’s nutritious, delicious and filling too!! Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Amanda Michelle @ Pretty Little Vegan

    October 1, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    Oh gosh, I know what you mean about snacking. I am constantly munching 🙂 this looks so yummy though. Perfect idea for easy holiday gifts!

    Reply
  7. MJ

    April 1, 2014 at 7:29 am

    I am newly looking into the raw/vegan world and mainly because I stumbled upon your recipes and have tried a couple and they are so amazing! Thank you for all that you do. As for my question, what about using pure maple grade B? I didn’t have any pure maple syrup so I bought some today but all the grades/levels confused me! So they have vey distinct flavor profiles? (Or in this granola recipe in particular?) thanks in advance for your help! 🙂 keep doing what you do! 🙂

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      April 1, 2014 at 7:40 am

      Hi MJ! Aww thank you so much! I’m so glad you found my blog and are enjoying the recipes! Feel free to leave me feedback on any that you make, I love hearing from you all, it makes my day. 🙂 About the syrup, regular maple syrup is grade A and is the most widely used syrup and is what I use for pretty much all my recipes. Grade B is darker and thicker and usually more expensive, but the flavor is incredible. But because it is harder to find and thicker, I only use it on occasion. You can always just use regular grade A maple syrup. One thing is never use imitation syrup…those will not give the same results are are basically just corn syrup. Thanks again so much for your feedback! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Steffi

    May 12, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Love this stuff! I combine it with bananas and “yoghurt”.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      May 12, 2016 at 7:03 pm

      So awesome to hear that Steffi, thank you for the feedback!

      Reply
  9. Heather

    February 18, 2019 at 5:32 am

    This looks SO good!! Where do you get your dark cocoa? I’m a dark chocolate girl myself, and I would love to find some that’s good quality!

    Reply
  10. Linda Schmidt

    March 11, 2021 at 11:43 pm

    Hi this looks so good. How long does it last in the fridge. I’ve been following you for yeats

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 12, 2021 at 7:26 pm

      Thank you so much for the support Linda! In the fridge, this should last a few weeks, as there isn’t really anything to make it spoil, just keep it sealed.

      Reply
  11. Claudia

    March 14, 2021 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is sooo good! I love it and for the first time I did not burn my granola 😅

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 15, 2021 at 5:37 am

      I’m so happy you had success with this granola, Claudia!

      Reply
  12. Debbie Agee

    March 14, 2021 at 5:37 pm

    5 stars
    This granola is amazing! I love all of Brandi’s recipes, but this has moved to the top!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 15, 2021 at 5:37 am

      Thank you so much Debbie, I’m so happy you loved it!

      Reply
  13. Marybeth Lauuber

    March 14, 2021 at 6:38 pm

    5 stars
    Very good granola, staple pantry items – chocolate and cinnamon, two of my favorite flavors. Will definitely make this again and again!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 15, 2021 at 5:37 am

      Yay, thank you Marybeth!

      Reply
  14. ll peterson

    April 11, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    5 stars
    As I crunch through my second bowl all I can say is perfect, perfect, perfect. Simple, ideal recipe as is and yet adjustable. Can’t imagine any other recipe being any better. Thanks for this!!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      April 11, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      Yay!! So happy you l oved it so much!

      Reply
  15. Robbie

    October 18, 2021 at 12:22 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! I made it with chopped walnuts and chopped almonds and used agave. Also added a little coconut. The chocolate oatmeal base is amazing and can be modified based on what is on hand.

    Reply
  16. Lisa

    January 10, 2022 at 3:06 am

    Can u please tell me what your favorite non dairy yogurt brands are? I love the culina coconut yogurt, but it’s very expensive. Thank you so much, and I love all your recipes.

    Reply
  17. Mark Atkins

    January 21, 2023 at 4:27 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks Brandi so much for this recipe, it’s delicious and has the perfect crunch! Made it last night and of course munched a little during and couldn’t wait until this morning to have with blueberries and bananas. Love this!

    Reply
  18. Katharina

    March 9, 2023 at 5:41 pm

    Hello Brandi, could I make this recipe using Erythritol sweetener instead of maple syrup, and then increase the amount of nut butter or water? Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes! Everything I have tried always turns out so delicious and just right!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 10, 2023 at 8:22 am

      Hi! I’ve never used that stuff, so I don’t know how it would affect the flavor. The syrup adds crunchiness because of the way it bakes up, so removing that will really affect the texture. Water would not work well, it’ll just make it soggy. You need a sticky sweetener here. Maybe a simple syrup of some kind? Glad to hear you enjoy the recipes, thank you!

      Reply

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I'm Brandi, creator of this vegan blog and cookbook author of The Vegan 8 Cookbook. The majority of my recipes focus on 8 ingredients or less, not counting salt, pepper or water. I love to create health-focused recipes, using whole foods to improve fitness and muscle-building, with the occasional comfort meal thrown in there! I'm an expert on oil-free cooking and baking! read more →

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