Crunchy Double Chocolate Quinoa Granola Recipe (GF)
A delicious double chocolate, crunchy quinoa granola. This protein-packed, delicious granola is made with healthy fats and whole-food ingredients. It’s vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free.
Servings: 6 -10 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raw cashews hazelnut halves also work really well with chocolate
- 1/3 cup popped quinoa
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup creamy sunflower butter Trader Joe's also has a great one with no added sugar/oil
- 3 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3-1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips I like this brand of coconut sugar sweetened chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 320F while you prepare the granola.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sunflower butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth. Add cacao powder and salt and whisk again.
- Add rolled oats, cashews and popped quinoa then mix with a spatula until everything is evenly coated.
- Transfer mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet or nonstick baking mat and spread out evenly. The more spread out, the more evenly the granola will cook.
- Bake for 10 minutes, flip or toss granola and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until granola is golden brown. Mine was perfectly cooked at about 25 minutes!
- Once you remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle in vegan chocolate chips. Let melt slightly and toss to form clusters, or let chips remain whole. Let granola cool completely before storing.
- Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Secrets to Success
- Making this granola is really simple and it can all be prepared in one bowl and then baked in the oven. For best results, I would highly recommend using a nonstick baking mat (I like to use a reusable silicon mat to reduce waste), or parchment paper. Since we're not using added oil, doing this will make sure the granola doesn't stick to the baking pan and it'll be WAY easier to clean up later!
- My best tip for ultimate chocolate deliciousness is to hold off on adding the chocolate chips until the granola is out of the oven. It seems odd but trust me--the heat of the granola even as it cools will be enough to melt the chocolate chunks just a tad. I find that this way, they cling onto a cluster of granola which means even bites of chocolate instead of all of the chips falling to the bottom of the jar. I know you know what I mean.
- Since the granola is dark in color, it can be more difficult to tell when it's burning. As a rule of thumb, err on the side of caution and underbaking, because you can always pop the granola back into the oven, but you can't un-burn it! Keep in mind that granola continues to bake once the oven is off, and even as it's cooling on the tray. Sometimes, when I feel my granola is about 95% baked to perfection, I'll turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven or just let it continue to cook as it cools.
- Feel free to add additional ingredients like dried fruit (cherries!), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or coconut flakes, if desired. You can really make this your own.
Storage Tips
- For proper storage and perfect crunch, make sure you let the granola cool completely. I know, I know! Waiting for things to cool is honestly the most difficult cooking step sometimes, but if you don't let it cool, you'll end up with soggy, steamy, soft granola. Store this at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or longer!