Chocolate Chip Granola
Earlier this month when we went to the beach, I stocked our car snack bag with a few bags of granola that Nature Valley had sent my way. Believe it or not, I’m usually anti-chocolate when it comes to breakfast, so I’d never tried a chocolate or chocolate chip granola before. Not long into our trip, we busted open the bag of Oats ‘n Dark Chocolate, and dug in. Suffice it to say, we were totally hooked by the second handful. I loved the mild, plain-ish flavor of the oats combined with the dark chocolate. It was sort of like eating crumbled up oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Which is never, ever a bad thing.
It didn’t take very long before it was decided that I needed to try recreating the granola at home. I made my first batch with chopped dark chocolate, but that turned into a terribly messy event. The chocolate never set after coming out of the oven, which rendered it pretty much impossible to eat with your hands.
On to round number two… I took my favorite crunchy granola recipe, stripped away all of the nuts and dried fruit, and simply added two cups of chocolate chips. This turned out a much better result, seeing as how chocolate chips generally hold their shape when baked, and will remain firm enough when cooled down to be handled. Success!
If you’re down with chocolate in your breakfast, all you need is 10 minutes and some pantry staples to whip this together. If you’re not down with chocolate for breakfast, then you have a fabulous afternoon snack. Thank goodness for road trips or I may have never realized what I was missing in the whole chocolate chip granola department!
One year ago: White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream
Two years ago: Grandma’s Ambrosia Salad and Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Sandwiches
Three years ago: Blueberry Muffins
Four years ago: All-Occasion Sugar Cookies
Six years ago: Herb-Baked Eggs
Chocolate Chip Granola
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (0.02 ml) pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup (73.33 g) light brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (109 ml) vegetable oil
- 5 cups (405 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups (360 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk in the vegetable oil to combine. Add the oats and chocolate chips and fold the mixture together with a rubber spatula until all of the oats and chocolate chips are thoroughly coated.
- Turn the oat mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a thin, even layer. Using a stiff metal spatula, compress the oat mixture until very compact.
- Bake until the top is lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. Remove the granola from the oven and let cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break the cooled granola into pieces as large or as small as you like. The granola can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This is a family favorite in my house! My picky teenager has a lot of food sensitivities and allergies so we always make our own granola. This one is super easy and tasty!
Have been using this recipe for years! A kid favorite!
more than 50% of the recipe is made up by chocolate, sugar and fat, you much be joking.
LOVE this granola!
is this chewy or crunchy
Hello dear,
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe for Chocolate Chip Granola. I love the videos also which are showing after the post. I have to say your website design is mind-blowing and it got my whole attension.
I will try this recipe sure :)
I just made this and it turned out great!! I know ovens vary so really watch the cooking time. Mine started to burn at 25 mins. Wish I would’ve taken it out sooner because it’s a tad overdone. It literally tasted like crushed up chocolate chip cookies. I added flaxseed and chia seeds for a little nutritional boost.
This looks amazing but I am curious to know how strong the maple flavor is. I don’t care for maple-flavored anything so I’m a little worried about trying this recipe.
Hi Lonna, It is not a strong maple flavor at all, just adds some sweetness.
Have you tried protein powder in it? I currently use Nature Valley Protein granola, but I was looking to make my own.
Hi Renea, I have never tried adding protein powder.
Just made your chocolate chip granola recipe this weekend, and WOW!! Is it ever good! We are all loving it over here. And I am looking forward to custom making some individualized granola “blends” too (depending on my mood!) by taking a portion of the chocolate chip granola and then adding in coconut flakes, dried fruit, etc. as desired. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe! Can’t WAIT to make it again.
Delicious! These cookies looks beautiful! A great variation on the traditional chocolate chip or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Thanks for sharing :)
I was inpatient, and our grocery store doesn’t open till noon on Sundays, so I used honey in place of maple syrup. I saw the comment you made about watching it carefully when substituting honey, so I checked it every 5-10 min. It definitely didnt need to bake as long with honey as it does with maple syrup. It turned out great. I used granola recups to make cereal for kids. This was their favorite one so far. Excited to get some maple syrup and try it out exactly like you do. Thanks for the recipe!
I love this recipe, Thank you for sharing!
If you are having difficulties with the chocolate or if you prefer more control over the clumping, when I make my granola, I usually don’t add the chocolate until the granola is completely done in the oven and is cooling. If you want an even coating of chocolate, add when still very hot and keep stirring – the melted chocolate will evenly distribute itself over everything and it will break up the clumps. For chocolate clusters wait until at least half cooled or a little further and only toss or stir occasionally – you want the chocolate to melt a little to form clumps, but don’t stir so much that you break up the clumps. For loose chocolate chips, just add once everything is fully cooled. I like aiming for chocolate clusters personally as I like to use small seeds and bran flakes and it helps prevent some of those smaller bits from falling to the bottom of the batch.
Well, I just want to say that I love this recipe and use it all the time! There is actually a pan baking in the oven right now! I always use olive oil and it is fine. Also, I make all kinds of variations and my favorite so far is with white chocolate chips and multi colored sprinkles! No store bought granola for us!
I tried this recipe and found the chocolate to taste a bit burnt. Everything else seemed to go perfectly, except for a burnt flavor. Any reason why this happened and how to prevent it?
How much does 1 cup of rolled oats weigh? Some blogger say 80 grams, other 90, still other 100 grams. Do you know how much oats do I have to use for this recipe? I’m italian and sometimes it’s difficult to recreate american recipes. I hope you will answer. Hugs from Rome
Hi Patrizia, 1 cup of rolled oats weighs 99 grams. Some may be listing weights for quick oats or steel cut oats, which would have a different weight than traditional rolled oats. Hope that helps!
Just made this earlier today; it’s great! It’s a simple recipe, it’s got just enough sweetener to taste delicious without feeling like you’re overdoing it, and it breaks apart into beautiful clusters. I baked it for just 25 minutes in a convection oven and it came out perfect! I put it away in a bag in my pantry for future days, but I keep coming back and snacking on it. :D
Made this today! Oh my goodness. Can’t. Stop. Eating!!!!
Thanks for the great recipe!