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CPA: Certified Pastry Aficionado

Chocolate Cinnamon Granola

breakfast· snacks
January 21, 2019

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Chocolate Cinnamon Granola – Classic cinnamon granola is given a chocolatey makeover with the addition of cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips. You’ll be shocked at how great the cinnamon and chocolate pairs together!

Granola is one of my favorite things to make at home. I never knew how easy it was to make or else I would have been making this all along! After making a pumpkin version for the first time last year, I fell in love with homemade granola and now I love thinking up new granola recipes.

My latest version is this Chocolate Cinnamon Granola and it’s honestly the best granola I’ve ever had – homemade or otherwise. I love the combination of cinnamon, chocolate, and sea salt. Those flavors, plus the crunch from the toasted oats, chopped pecans, and sliced almonds make for an irresistible snack that I just cannot get enough of!

Chocolate Cinnamon Granola spread across brown paper Closeup of the Chocolate Cinnamon Granola Bowl of Chocolate Cinnamon Granola in bunches

My homemade granola recipes almost always have nuts, mostly because I have extra nuts leftover from previous recipes. This is the perfect way to use them all up! I used pecans and sliced almonds for this recipe but you can use whatever nuts you have lying around.

To make granola there’s only a few major steps:

  1. Mix dry ingredients (oats and nuts)
  2. Mix wet ingredients (honey, vanilla, oil, cinnamon, cocoa powder, etc)
  3. Mix wet and dry ingredients together
  4. Bake until toasted

See how easy it is?!

After making granola a few times, here are the things that I learned to make sure the granola comes out INCREDIBLE:

  1. Do not under-cook the granola! Raw oats and nuts are not yummy, no matter home much honey they are coated in.
  2. To make sure the granola cooks evenly, make sure to toss it halfway through baking.
  3. I like my granola in clusters. To make sure you get clusters of granola, you need to pack down the granola and compact it. Loose granola does not a cluster make.
  4. This granola recipe has chocolate chips in it. During the baking process, those chips will melt and probably loose their shape and crunch. So I save about 2 tablespoons of the chips and set them aside to add at the end so I have a few chips with crunch left in them.

And that’s all there is to it, folks! I hope you get to try this granola soon. But don’t expect it to last long – every time I make this, it’s gone in a couple days!

Bunches of Chocolate Cinnamon Granola in a bowl

Print Recipe

Chocolate Cinnamon Granola

Classic cinnamon granola is given a chocolatey makeover with the addition of cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips. You'll be shocked at how great the cinnamon and chocolate pairs together!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time40 mins
Servings: 14 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups old fashioned oats not instant!
  • 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • sea salt for finishing (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Add chocolate chips, nuts and oats to a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, add the cocoa powder, oil, salt, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and whisk together. Pour mixture into bowl with oats and nuts. Stir together until well-mixed.
  • Pour granola onto large baking sheet and spread evenly into one layer and pat down to compact the mixture. Bake 12 minutes and remove. Stir mixture, pat down to compact it again, and return to oven for another 12-15 minutes, until the mixture is golden brown.
  • Remove from oven to cool. Add a little sea salt to finish off the granola. Once cool, break apart the granola into chunks.

Pin for later:

Chocolate Cinnamon Granola photo collage

More chocolate recipes you’ll love:

Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins

Cinnamon Chocolate Muffins topped with cinnamon sugar

Nutella Crunch Cupcakes

Nutella Crunch Cupcakes with the paper peeled off

Triple Chocolate Soft-Baked Cookies

Stack of Triple Chocolate Soft-Baked Cookies

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20 Comments

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Comments

  1. Jacque Hastert says

    January 27, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    This sounds like a great snack to have on hand, however, I would eat them as a whole meal.

    Reply
  2. Marisa Franca says

    January 26, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    When I saw chocolate in combination with cinnamon I knew that this was one recipe I was going to love. Homemade granola is always superior to the store bought kind. I think the store granola is flavorless and flat. The granola spiked with the chocolate and cinnamon would most certainly perk up the tastebuds. This recipe is a keeper.

    Reply
  3. ANNE LAWTON says

    January 25, 2019 at 5:21 pm

    This granola looks so good! I love how it’s clumped together.

    Reply
  4. Analida Braeger says

    January 24, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    Chocolate and cinnamon indeed make a fantastic pairing. Spicy and rich. I like how its been applied to granola. I can enjoy it with a bowl of Greek yogurt. Yum!

    Reply
  5. Farwin says

    January 24, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    This combo sounds amazing. I love granola and definitely giving this a try.

    Reply
  6. Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says

    January 24, 2019 at 8:11 am

    This combo sounds amazing for granola! Definitely giving this a try!

    Reply
  7. Nicole says

    January 23, 2019 at 9:09 pm

    My son would go crazy over this. I love your recipe! Lovely photos.

    Reply
  8. Veena Azmanov says

    January 23, 2019 at 5:21 pm

    You had me at chocolate and them you said granola. This is like my mid-day snack. I love snacking on granola during the day so this would be absolute heaven.

    Reply
  9. Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says

    January 23, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    I love having granola available all the time. I especially like it in my yogurt. This is amazing! Love the cinnamon and cocoa flavor!

    Reply
  10. Anna says

    January 23, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Loving the sound and the look of your granola! I always make my own, and don’t even remember when last time I bought granola from the shop 🙂 Love the chocolate- cinnamon combo too!

    Reply
  11. Krista Price says

    January 23, 2019 at 10:57 am

    I have two giant containers of oats collecting dust in my pantry that I’ve been meaning to find a use for. Granola never even crossed my mind. DUH! *FACE PALM!* I’m totally making this over the weekend! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  12. Cookilicious says

    January 22, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Thanks for sharing tips as well to make this! Will save it.

    Reply
  13. Tisha says

    January 22, 2019 at 2:41 am

    I could eat this by the handful!!! I bet its great in yogurt!

    Reply
  14. Jori says

    January 22, 2019 at 12:37 am

    Oooh yum! Never made granola before, but I love adding cinnamon to my hot chocolate so this sounds heavenly. Will have to give it a try.

    Reply
  15. Taylor Kiser says

    January 21, 2019 at 8:52 pm

    Such a delicious flavor combination! I could snack on this every day!

    Reply
  16. Amanda says

    January 21, 2019 at 8:44 pm

    I love pairing chocolate and cinnamon together! This looks like a delicious snack. Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
  17. Gena says

    January 21, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    I am so glad I found your post! I usually make maple syrup or honey granola, and was really tired of it. Making this one next time 🙂

    Reply
  18. Amber says

    January 21, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    I love making my own granola too and this one looks amazing for when I have a chocolate craving!

    Reply
  19. Amanda says

    January 21, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    I really need to try making my own granola! You make it look so easy

    Reply
  20. Steph says

    January 21, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    Oh my goodness! This looks so yummy. I’ve never made granola at home!

    Reply

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