This crunchy, cluster-filled dark chocolate hazelnut granola is made with maple syrup and olive oil, absolutely loaded with chocolate and hazelnuts, and the best way to satisfy a chocolate craving at breakfast!
**AUGUST 2019 UPDATE**
This recipe was originally posted in March of 2016, and has been on repeat in my kitchen ever since; it was desperately in need of new photos, so I’m re-posting it today. If you’re a fan of the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, this granola is seriously going to become your new favorite! I’ve left the original blog post in tact below, for the sake of nostalgia. Feel free to scroll straight to the bottom to get the recipe, if you’ve already read this old blog post!
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with granola; we almost always have a batch or two of my basic maple & olive oil granola in the pantry, and I’ve been known to whip up giant batches of it for brunch with friends and family, as holiday gifts, or as a sweet snack for the new moms in my life.
Despite my undying love for granola, sometimes the basic granola just doesn’t cut it. Yes, it’s crunchy and mapley sweet. Yes, it’s loaded with giant clusters and nuts and endlessly customizable, but… it’s not chocolate. And sometimes you just need some chocolate in your life.
So, today, because I love you all almost as much as I love chocolate, I’m sharing my current granola obsession with you: DARK CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT GRANOLA.
Of course, it’s actually double chocolate. Because chocolate one way isn’t nearly as exciting as chocolate two ways. Trust.
To make this dreamy chocolate granola, we’re essentially riffing off my classic, but with cocoa powder and hazelnuts added into the mix. Then, because we’re not messing around, we’re going to sprinkle the fresh-out-of-the-oven granola with finely chopped chocolate, so it gets all melty and drippy and glorious, and eventually hardens into chocolate-coated granola clusters of joy.
I’m not even remotely exaggerating when I say this granola is life changing. I could (and do) eat it for breakfast with yogurt or milk, as a snack by the handful, crumbled up on ice cream for dessert, and everywhere inbetween. It’s sweet but not overpoweringly so, deeply chocolatey, full of toasty, crunchy hazelnuts, and seriously the chunkiest granola on the block.
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your dark chocolate hazelnut granola and share it with me on Instagram so I can see!
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Granola
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup hazelnuts roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Place all ingredients EXCEPT chocolate in a large bowl and stir well to combine.
- Spread the mixture out in a thin, even layer on the sheet pan.
- Bake 22-25 minutes, or until hazelnuts are golden and granola is toasty (it’s hard to tell if you’re overcooking this granola because of the cocoa powder, so I recommend not baking any longer than 25 minutes, just to be sure!).
- Remove granola from oven and sprinkle with dark chocolate. The heat from the pan will melt the chocolate. Let sit at room temperature until cool, then break into clusters and transfer to an airtight container for up to 1 week.