Packed with dark chocolate coffee flavor, this mocha hazelnut granola is soon to become a breakfast staple. It’s crunchy, chocolaty, and super easy to make!
Granola is starting to become my favorite breakfast food.
I mean, I can practically whip it up in 5 minutes. Then it bakes for 45 minutes, whilst filling my house with the wonderful smells that granola produces, and then I have breakfast for 3-4 days. And I love those mornings where I can grab a double shot espresso out the fridge, pour milk over a bowl of granola, sit down at the table, and take in the morning.
I also like to start out my day with chocolate. Because chocolate = life, as we’ve already established.
It was killing me to not mix in chocolate chips to the final product, but I didn’t want to overload it on the chocolate (it kills me to say that). Besides, it’s already mocha flavored.
*sigh*
I rarely ever bake with hazelnuts, but that’s just because we never have hazelnuts in the house. Since two people in my family have tree nut allergies, I (have to) keep my nutty granola to myself. Which is totally fine by me. I don’t like sharing things that involve chocolate and easy breakfasts.
#sorrynotsorry
I get a lot of questions about why I make my granola’s the way I do. So I figured I’d answer them here to clear a few things up!
Why the heck do you use maple syrup instead of sugar or honey?
I fully support anyone who wants to (or needs to) remove animal products from their diet. So, for the sake of making these recipes safe for vegans, I don’t use honey as the primary sweetener in this recipe. I HAVE made every granola recipe with honey, so if you would rather sweeten your granola with honey, go right ahead! : )
Using a liquid sweetener also helps with the consistency of the granola, which is why I opt for maple syrup.
Can I bake the granola on foil?
No. Don’t do it.
I have never had good results when using foil to bake granola. The granola tends to hang on to the foil and ou might end up with a few flakes of foil in your granola if it sticks.
So, unless you want to get up and stir your granola every 5 minutes to ensure it doesn’t stick to the foil, just stick to parchment paper or a silpat.
Why do you use coconut oil instead of butter or vegetable oil?
This is sort of personal preference for me. True—if you use butter your granola might have more flavor, but your granola might not get as crunchy as you’d like. Coconut oil might be a little more expensive than butter or vegetable oil, but the pros far outweigh the cons in terms of health benefits and how your granola will turn out.
If you want granola that looks like what you see here, just follow the recipe as outlined.
If you like coffee and delicious tasting granola, you are going to looove this mocha hazelnut granola. It’s SO easy to make and is perfectly crunchy and sweet. Now this is a breakfast you’ll look forward to in the morning!
Here’s the recipe:
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- ¾ cup chopped hazelnuts
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee (or espresso powder)
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds, optional
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, instant coffee, and sea salt and stir. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Make sure you even combine everything.
- Spread the granola onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with chia seeds if desired. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Once you take the granola out of the oven, allow it to cool completely. Store granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
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This looks really good! I like the idea of adding espresso powder to the granola. Would you recommend using other oils besides coconut for your recipe? I am not a fan of coconut oil. Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t tried this recipe with any other oil than coconut oil, but I think it would still work with butter or vegetable oil. If you try it, let me know!
I made this today! It was so fantastic! Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks Donovan! I’m so glad you liked it!
Yum! I’ve never tried chocolate flavored granola but it sounds fabulous. I make granola all the time I like to put lots of nuts and seeds in it; anything to add a little more fiber. I learned how to make granola using maple syrup so that’s what I usually use. I have seen recipes that use brown sugar but they mix it with the oil so it sticks and mixes better (I think).
This looks great.. I’m not a fan of hazelnut.. do you have any suggestions for substitutes? This looks like a great idea for snacks.
Yum! This looks delicious! Pinning for later