It all started with my favorite granola - Bakery on Main's Bunches of Crunches. I had it for the first time after a race I ran in CT last year. Bakery on Main is a local CT company and there are usually samples of their products at the CT races. We picked up a few samples of their granola and I was just blown away by the flavor. It was also the first time I had seen chia seeds used in a granola recipe.
For a while I was buying bags of the coconut version on Amazon (although the dark chocolate sea salt was my favorite). At $4.50 - $5 for an 11 oz bag, it wasn't cheap, but I made the bag last as long as I could and considered it one of my few indulgences. However, lately it has been $8 for a bag and that's an expense I can't really justify. I decided instead I would try to make my own!
I read through a lot of recipes for chocolate coconut chia granola, and found that they all started with coconut oil. After that, there was a huge variation in the amount (and type of) of cocoa powder/chocolate, oats, sweetener, and chia.
My first version was okay - it smelled fantastic, but the chocolate flavor was pretty weak, and the coconut oil dominated too much. The chia seeds didn't stick to the granola itself, which was annoying.
In my second version I added an egg white (like Deb does from Smitten Kitchen) as well as adding additional cocoa powder, and that helped, but I still had chia seed fallout.
In my third version I think I got it right! I needed a second egg white to hold those chia seeds to the oats, and I added even more cocoa powder to really boost the chocolate flavor. This is a very lightly sweet granola - I eat mine with greek yogurt that has neen sweetened slightly with some protein powder, as well as ripe sweet berries. If you prefer a sweeter granola feel free to add more maple syrup or sugar. This recipe can also be doubled if you want more servings! I made it in small batches when I was recipe testing so I wouldn't waste too many ingredients if it didn't turn out well.
Recipe: Dark Chocolate, Coconut and Chia Granola
Yield: ~3 cups (12 1/4-cup servings)
Prep time: 10 minutes, Bake time: 30-34 minutes, Total time: 40-45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tbsp coconut oil (28 grams)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (21 grams)
2 tbsp brown sugar (add more if you want a sweeter granola)
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey (add more if you want a sweeter granola)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp chia seeds (25 grams)
2 egg whites (~65 grams)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup crispy rice cereal (rice krispies)
1/4 cup chopped almonds (28 grams)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (I use sweetened)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F and line a small baking sheet with foil, then lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large heat-safe bowl, microwave the coconut oil in 5-10 second bursts until it is melted but not hot. Stir in cocoa powder, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and chia seeds until it forms a thick paste. Add the egg whites and mix well until smooth.
Pour in the oats, rice cereal, almonds and coconut, and stir well until everything is evenly coated.
Dump onto the foil-lined sheet and press down so it is all in one even layer. If your baking sheet is large, try to keep it all on one side of the pan - if it is spread out too much, some might burn.
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 325 F, stirring every 10 minutes, until dried out and crispy.
If you like big clusters, then try to flip over portions at a time rather than stirring - it will keep the clusters intact.
If you prefer a loose granola, then stir well each time.
Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
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| Pre-Baking |
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| Post-Baking - nice big clumps |
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| Greek yogurt with 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1 tsp chia seeds, topped with chopped strawberries, fresh figs, and 1 serving of granola |
Notes:
1. Like I mentioned above, if you would prefer a sweeter granola, feel free to add additional brown sugar or maple syrup/honey. It will change the nutritional information below.
2. I like using a cocoa powder that is a blend of unsweetened and Dutch processed, like Hershey's special dark or Saco. However, it will turn out great with whatever kind of cocoa powder you have on hand.
3. While I have not tried this recipe with liquid egg whites (in a carton), I don't see why it wouldn't work. Your mixture might be slightly more wet, since liquid egg whites tend to be loose and less "gel"-like than fresh egg whites.
4. I use sweetened shredded coconut, but feel free to use unsweetened if that is what you prefer, or flaked coconut to add additional texture.
5. I use almonds because they are pretty healthy when it comes to nuts (and inexpensive), but feel free to add your favorite! Pecans, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts would all work really well.
6. I use coconut oil because I wanted to boost the coconut flavor, and I have a giant jar of coconut oil that I had never used before. Feel free to use melted butter or oil instead.
Nutritional Information (based on 12 servings, sweetened coconut, and the listed amounts of sweetener):
116 calories
6 grams fat
15.5 grams carbohydrates
3 grams fiber
3.8 grams sugar
3.4 grams protein
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