I think your taste buds must change over time because four years ago I thought nuts were disgusting and really wasn’t a fan of dark chocolate. At all.
I am still iffy on super dark chocolate (nothing over 80% thankyouverymuch), but I adore salty cashews and crave almond and peanut butter almost daily. But that’s neither here nor there. <— pointless tangent much?
For the people who (still) don’t like nuts, this recipe is for you. It’s also for my fellow chocoholics.
How cute are these mini chocolate chips?
Chocolate Chunk Quinoa Granola
*gluten free *nut free *vegan (if eggs substituted) *FODMAPS friendly
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole rolled oats
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 egg whites (to make vegan use 2 tbsp chia seeds with 1/8 cup water)
- 1/8 cup vegan butter, melted (Earth Balance)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (set aside ‘til the granola has cooked and cooled)
Directions:
Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine (leaving out the chocolate chips).
Spread onto a sprayed baking sheet and bake for 75 minutes at 225 degrees.
This batch came out as one big plank, all stuck together (and thus needed to be broken into smaller pieces). I think it must have been the two egg whites I used. I’ve been experimenting with different ratios of eggs, flax and chia seeds in recipes and this one turned out way more clustery.
It still broke apart easily into wonderful crispy deliciousness.
I had to let it chill before I added the chocolate chips.
When the granola is warm (not hot) the chocolate chips can melt a bit making the clusters studded with sweet cocoa goodness.
If your sweet tooth is really on overdrive, you could increase the amount of chocolate for a more coated granola.
What I especially love about this recipe is that in lieu of nuts, it’s sunflower seeds that give it a hearty, nutty crunch. Plus they make the granola safe for anyone with nut allergies.
Truthfully, this granola is less breakfast-y, and more dessert-y. But it’s healthy enough that you can probably get away with eating it for any meal.
Warning: If you make it and bring it to work, others will probably want to try it. [I’m saying this based on experience] Depending on the level of hippie-dom in your office, you can maybe avoid sharing by saying it has raw quinoa in it.
But once you let others try it, you can kiss your personal granola stash goodbye.
As my dad can attest, it’s a great late night snack, satisfying your sweet tooth without undoing your whole day of healthy eating.
Enjoy 🙂
Ill have to try this
Hahaha hide it from your coworkers!!! I sure would!
haha! before you know it, your co-workers will be craving for your yummy goodies. They’ll call you when you’re not even at work asking you to bring some in.
I’ll have to try this too. I never thought about using uncooked quinoa…makes me curious as to how the texture would be….
Your granola inventions are amazing! This one especially looks delicious, cause like you, anything with chocolate or nut butter is simply heaven. Happy Friday the 13th! 🙂
I’m convinced you are a culinary genius, Elise. This granola sounds so awesome and so totally unique. I love the addition of quinoa, something I never would have thought to put in my granola. I also like how well they hold up together. It seems like every time I make granola it’s all crumbly and there are never any big chunks. That’s what makes it granola, right. Do you think it’s the egg whites that holds it together so well? If so, I will be putting whites in all my granola recipes from now on.
i do think its the egg whites. ive been experimenting with chia seeds and different amounts of egg whites and so far this one was the most cluster-y (mega chunks) and i used 2 egg whites for it.
What if you don’t like nuts OR seeds?!?! Waaahhh! I need lessons from you on how to like nuts, lol. I *kind* of like pumpkin seeds…or at least I can tolerate them sometimes. The granola *looks* amazing–maybe I will try it with pumpkin seeds and hope that I like it 😉 Or maybe sub them with another cup of oats? Hmmmm….
I don’t think I should make this because I’m fairly sure I would proceed to eat the entire batch in one sitting…
I’ve always loved chocolate. Nowadays I prefer dark chocolate, but I agree, I stay within the 60-70 percent range.
Once my no-chocolate challenge is over, I will definitely be trying this. Until then I’ll resume overdosing on peanut butter. it seems to be working 😉
shut up. this looks soo soo good.
this looks awesome. i love dessert in the form breakfast!
i made this over the weekend and it came out fantastic! thanks for the recipe! even my husband liked it and he barely touched the last batch of granola i made
hooray! glad you loved it, but im sorry you have to share with your hubby now, haha.