This delicious crunchy chocolate cherry granola is a wonderful smoothie topper, breakfast side or afternoon snack. It is full of healthy fats, protein and flavour. Granola is so versatile and this recipe is no different.

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I’m always on the hunt for delicious granola recipes. I have a smoothie every single morning and I love to top it with granola for extra crunch and nutrients.

Store-bought granola is expensive, so making your own granola is much more cost-effective and you are in control of the ingredients. Store-bought granola can also contain high sugar content, refined ingredients even if it belongs in the health food aisle.

This crunchy chocolate cherry granola is full of good fat from nuts and coconut, antioxidants from cherries, fibre from oats and naturally sweetened with maple syrup.

Granola is wonderful to make from home because more often than not, you will have a lot of your granola staples already in the pantry. I only needed to buy the cherries for this recipe, as I had everything at home already.

What I will cover in this post

Why you will love this crunchy chocolate cherry granola
Recipe notes
Tools you need
Ingredients you need
Method

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Why you will love this crunchy chocolate cherry granola

I love trying out different granola recipes, as a lot of the base ingredients are the same: nuts, oats, desiccated coconut. With the base ingredients, you can vary it by adding different dried fruits, natural sweeteners like honey, agave or date syrup. You can change up the nuts you use or use coconut flakes rather than desiccated coconut. The possibilities are endless.

If you have seen any of my other recipes, 9/10 times it involves chocolate. I love anything chocolate flavoured because of its rich flavour and its magnesium and potassium benefits.

Potassium foods are excellent in balancing out sodium in your body. So if you like to eat salty foods, try incorporating lots of potassium into your diet, like cacao powder, bananas, leafy greens and avocado.

Anyway, back to the recipe. This granola provides that delicious crunch from the chopped almonds. This is why I love making granola with whole almonds and chopping them up, rather than buying flaked almonds. They just don’t provide that same crunch that I just love in a granola.

The cherries in this granola balance out the richness from the chocolate and provide that delicious sour, tangy taste. You can use dried cherries or the real thing. I actually used real cherries for this recipe, but if you are worried about them going bad, dried cherries are a good option.

The flavours from the coconut and maple syrup provide a little sweetness. If you are using maple syrup, make sure to use pure maple syrup, as maple flavoured syrup is full of sugar.

The oats provide a great base from this recipe and make it more filling, which is especially good if you are eating this as a snack between meals. Oats are a wonderful source of fibre and whole grains.

These are some reasons that you will love this recipe.

Let’s get to the recipe.

Tools you need

Large bowl
Small bowl
Measuring cup
Wooden spoon
Baking paper
Baking tray

Recipe notes

Grains, nuts and seeds contain phytic acid. Phytic acid inhibits absorption of its nutrients and nutrients of other food you are eating. For best absorption, you can always soak the nuts in this recipe. The day or night before you intend to make this recipe, place the nuts in a bowl, cover it with warm, filtered water and a pinch of salt and leave to soak for 8-12 hours. The nuts will be baked in the oven for this recipe, so no need to worry about them getting wet.
I used actual cherries for this recipe, but if you think they will go bad or you think you will take longer than a week to get through this recipe, use dried cherries. It should not change the taste, but make it extra crunchy.
I forgot to add desiccated coconut in this recipe, so if you have some on hand, add about half a cup of desiccated coconut to this recipe if you wish. It will add a bit more texture and flavour to the granola.
I love to use cacao powder, but cocoa powder will work just fine in this recipe too.
I love using maple syrup as it provides enough sweetness that I desire. However, you can also use other natural sweeteners such as honey or agave syrup (the same amount should work fine).
I left the granola in the oven for 40 minutes, but if you like it extra crunchy, leave it in there for 7-10 minutes longer.

Ingredients you need

Rolled oats
Whole almonds (soaked if possible. Nuts and seeds contain phytic acid, which inhibits their absorption and absorption of other nutrients).
Cacao/cocoa powder
Cherries (dried or cherry fruit)
Coconut oil
Maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius.
In a large bowl, mix in all dry ingredients together.
In a separate small bowl, add the coconut oil and maple syrup together and microwave on high for 30-45 seconds until combined.
Pour coconut oil and maple syrup mixture to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
On a baking tray covered with baking paper, spread out granola until covered.
Place tray in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until browned and slightly burnt.
Serve as a smoothie topper, on the side with yoghurt and fruit or as an afternoon snack on its own.