Truth be told, I’ve never been a cereal fan. Cereal is usually overly sweet and/or overly bland. An hour after eating a bowl, you’re also ravenously hungry again.
What I do love about cereal: the ease and convenience. Pull out a bowl and spoon. Dump cereal into bowl. Pour milk. Eat. This is a breakfast my 6 year old can make and eat independently.
That’s why I love making homemade granola. Granola is a breakfast option that solves all my morning dilemmas. Fast and convenient. Tastes good and is good for you, too. Also, chocolate. Need I say more?
I like to serve this granola with plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey. Or doused with almond milk. Either way, you can’t go wrong. You’ll still get a bowl full of crunchy, intensely chocolate-y, delicious, good-for-you fuel to start the day.
All of the ingredients can be found at the local grocery store, except for the buckwheat. Whole Foods or the bulk bin section of larger grocery stores are sure to carry buckwheat. Of course, you could also make this without buckwheat. Just add another cup of oats. But try to find the buckwheats for next time. They add such a great crunch.
Method
I’ve tried to make a straight-forward recipe that’s easy to follow. The method is actually pretty basic and can be used for pretty much any granola recipe.
Dump dry ingredients into a large bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat coconut oil until (mostly) melted. Add maple syrup, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.
Spread onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 for 22-30 minutes, until it smells nutty. The color should not change much.
Cool completely. For looser granola, stir from time to time until completely cool to create a loose texture. For bigger clumps, leave as is. When the granola is mostly cool, break up into chunks. The granola will harden as it cools.
Mix in the dried cranberries and/or cherries. Transfer to an airtight storage container.
Serve with natural yogurt and a drizzle of honey or almond milk. Enjoy!
A grown-up granola with dark chocolate, oats, buckwheat, coconut, and cranberries that you can feel good about eating and serving.
- 2 cups rolled oats (not the instant kind)
- 1 cup buckwheat
- 1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup pecans roughly chopped (almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts work too)
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
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Place dry ingredients into large bowl (oats, buckwheat, coconut, nuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds, cinnamon, salt).
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In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil until (mostly) melted. Add maple syrup, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
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Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Spread on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 F for 25-30 minutes, until it smells nutty. The color should not change too much.
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Cool completely. For looser granola, stir from time to time until completely cool to create a loose texture. For bigger clumps, leave as is. When the granola is mostly cool, break up into chunks.
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When completely cool, mix in dried cranberries and/or cherries. Transfer to an airtight storage container.
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Serve with natural yogurt and a drizzle or honey or almond milk.
This recipe is gluten-free. Oats are naturally gluten free but are often cross-contaminated with trace amounts of gluten. Look for gluten-free oats if you want a “pure” gluten-free granola.
This recipe is also dairy-free, if you serve with almond milk or dairy-free yogurt.
Yum! Such a good idea to add the cranberries. Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy making and eating the granola!
Thank you! I will 🙂
It looks absolutely delicious! Your pictures look lovely! Thanks for sharing this great recipe and happy new year 🙂
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Thank you! I hope you enjoy the granola! Happy New Year!!