This easy Dark Chocolate Granola with Almond Butter makes the biggest granola clusters– perfect for grabbing and munching. This granola recipe with almond butter is vegan, dairy free, eggless, and gluten-free!
Why You’ll Love this Chocolate Granola with Almond Butter
Has anyone else made homemade granola before, but it didn’t stick together and form clusters? I definitely have. A lot of vegan granola recipes don’t hold together well at all, which is unfortunate because the clusters are the best part in my opinion!
The BEST Chocolate Granola Clusters: this recipe uses almond butter and brown rice syrup to create granola that holds together beautifully.
Refined Sugar Free with an Oil-Free Option: What’s great about these granola clusters is they’re pretty healthy and can be made oil-free if you’d like.
Crunchy with Just the Right Amount of Sweet: They’re crunchy and grab-able with just the right amount of sweetness.
Why This Recipe Works
What’s great about this chocolate granola vs other recipes is that it actually holds together! The main ingredients in non-vegan granola that help form clusters are honey and some type of fat like butter.
Instead of honey, this almond butter granola recipe calls for brown rice syrup. Brown rice syrup is much stickier than maple syrup or agave syrup. I don’t recommend only using maple syrup, as the granola pieces may fall apart easily.
Another key ingredient that helps this granola hold together is almond butter. You can use any brand, but I really like Justin’s Almond Butter. It’s made with only 2 ingredients and tastes absolutely delicious.
The Ingredients
This dark chocolate granola uses less than 10 simple ingredients with a few optional add-ins. It’s possible that all the ingredients are already in your pantry too! The ingredients are:
- Old Fashioned Oats: make sure to use organic gluten-free oats if gluten free
- Creamy Almond Butter
- Cocoa Powder
- Brown Rice Syrup & Pure Maple Syrup
- Slivered Raw Almonds
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Coconut Oil
- Dark Chocolate Chips
Substitutions
Coconut Oil: If you’d like to omit the added oil from this recipe, I recommend subbing in the same amount of almond butter. So in this case, add in another 1 tablespoon of almond butter. You can also substitute another oil for the coconut oil like extra virgin olive oil or canola oil.
Brown Rice Syrup: I don’t recommend omitting this ingredient. If you don’t have this, you could try substituting in corn syrup (although it is less ‘healthy’). I don’t recommend substituting the same amount of maple syrup, as it is not as sticky.
Almond Butter: You could definitely substitute other nut butters here instead of almond butter. Peanut butter or cashew butter would still make clusters, although the flavor of the granola will change.
Oats: you can swap in rolled oats or quick oats.
Add-Ins
This recipe is totally customizable, so feel free to add in some of your favorite ingredients or flavors. Below are a few ideas for extra healthy fats and protein:
Chia Seeds
Unsweetened Coconut
Hemp Hearts
Organic Ground Flax
Helpful Equipment
- Parchment Paper
- Large Baking Sheet or Cooking Sheet
- Glass Jars: for storage
Step By Step Instructions
STEP 1: Melt the almond butter and mix it with the other wet ingredients in a large bowl. Then, combine all the dry ingredients with the almond butter mixture except the chocolate chips. Stir together until all the oats are covered in almond butter and syrups.
STEP 2: Transfer the granola mixture to a greased baking pan or a cooking sheet. You can also line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 3: Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
STEP 4: Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet at room temperature, and then mix in the chocolate chips. Top with some flaky sea salt to taste.
Serving
Super easy, vegan, and gluten-free with an oil-free option, this homemade dark chocolate granola is the perfect snack! This chunky granola can be snacked on by itself, eaten with non-dairy milk, or added on top of some almond yogurt.
I love topping mine with some fresh berries like blueberries or sliced strawberries.
This is a quick and easy homemade granola recipe that will for sure rival your favorite store-bought granola.
Storage
Let the granola cool completely. Then, transfer it to an airtight container or jar.
It can be stored in an airtight container for about a month.
Pro Tips
Melt the Almond Butter If It’s Not Already Runny: this helps the granola stick together. I melt my almond butter by popping it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time on high.
Add Chocolate Chips or Dried Fruit After Baking: this prevents the chocolate from melting and the fruit from burning.
Make Sure the Granola Is In a Single Layer: this helps it cook evenly and become crunchy.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes:
Did you make this homemade almond butter granola recipe?
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Dark Chocolate Granola with Almond Butter
This easy Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Granola makes the biggest granola clusters- perfect for grabbing and munching. This granola recipe with almond butter is vegan, dairy free, eggless, and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups rolled old fashioned oats, use gluten free oats if GF
- ¾ cup creamy almond butter
- 1 tbsp melted vegan butter or coconut oil, optional (sub 1 tbsp more almond butter if not using)
- 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional but recommended
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips dairy free, optional
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir together until all the oats are evenly covered in the almond butter and the syrups.
- Transfer the mixture to a parchment lined or greased baking sheet.
- The granola will naturally form clusters, but if you'd like even larger pieces roll about 1 tbsp of the mixture at a time together to form balls.
- Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Let cool completely.
- Once cooled, stir in the chocolate chips if using.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 7g
Nutritional information is an estimate.
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