My Favorite Gluten-Free Chocolate Granola Recipe

This recipe is by far one of my favorites. The reason I love it so much is because first of all, it is SO easy to make and secondly, it is so good! When I eat it, it makes me feel like I'm cheating - like I'm having a candy bar - but I'm not! I got this amazingly tasty recipe from my 'can't live without' Naturopath, Jen Newell. She is always sharing amazing recipes with me (I'm so lucky!). Well.. here it is!

 Gluten-Free Chocolate Granola

Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the over to 250°C

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl

Then spread the mixture out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake in the over for 35 - 40 minutes or until the granola is dry and crunchy

Let it cool and then store in a sealed container

Tip 1: I use the Only Oats brand of gluten-free oats. I featured this product in a previous blog post. I buy it at BulkBarn - that is where I have found it to be the cheapest and they always seem to have it in stock. You can most likely find it at any health food store. 

Tip 2: I find the unsweetened, shredded coconut at Whole Foods in the bulk aisle. I really find that buying the unsweetened variety makes a big difference in this recipe. If you were to use a sweetened coconut, the granola would be way too sweet and the coconut would just overpower the chocolate. I would stick with an unsweetened brand.

Tip 3: I don't buy chopped almonds - I just take whole almonds, throw them in my Magic Bullet and give them a good grinding. If you would like to have larger chunks of almonds in your granola, don't grind them then and just break them into smaller pieces. 

Tip 4: The type of honey you use can really make a big difference in how sweet the granola turns out. This is just something that you have to try out for yourself to see which kind you like best. I've settled on using the President's Choice (Canadian brand) regular honey. When it comes to honey, just make sure that you're using an organic, natural honey that has no additional sugar added. **I recently started replacing the honey with organic maple syrup and I love it!

Tip 5: When it comes to baking time, this all depends on whether you want your granola to be soft and gooey or hard and crunchy. If you want it softer, don't leave it in as long. The longer you leave it in, the harder it will get.

I usually find myself making at least one batch of this granola each week. I use it as cereal (just add milk.. well, almond milk for me!), I pack it as a snack when I'm on the road, and it really helps whenever I'm having a chocolate craving or just need something sweet. I guarantee that if you have kids, they will love this! 

You can always feel free to add any other ingredients that you want! Maybe some other kind of nuts, raisins or dried fruit. You really can't mess this up.. it's always good!

Enjoy!

Check out more recipe's from Jen and more information about her services at www.newellnd.ca