Salted Dark Chocolate Granola is a deliciously crunchy ice cream topping, a rich addition to your morning yogurt, or just a good chocolate snack for your afternoon pick-me-up.
I really love granola but until recently I only thought of it as breakfast food.
I might occasionally pull out my Chunky Tropical Granola recipe for a snack, but more often we eat something like this Chai Spiced Sweet Potato Granola.
This Salted Dark Chocolate Granola, however, has completely changed my mind!
Like so many of my recipes lately, I got the idea for chocolate granola from my toddler. Like most toddlers, he goes from one food phase to another.
His latest food phase is wanting sweets for every meal. His preferred menu would look something like: Popsicles for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, pudding for dinner.
I don’t let him eat desserts all day long, of course, but I have found that a little compromise goes a long way. So, to get him to eat his oatmeal for breakfast, I sprinkle in a few dark chocolate chips.
It’s still a mostly healthy breakfast and he’ll actually eat the whole bowl. I’m calling it a parenting win.
One morning recently, as I was serving up his oatmeal with chocolate, I had a little lightbulb moment. Chocolate chips with granola!
It morphed into this Salted Dark Chocolate Granola as I developed the recipe. To give this granola its rich, deep chocolate flavor, I added both cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips.
It’s still a hearty granola with sliced almonds, sweetened lightly with maple syrup and brown sugar. The sea salt flakes add the perfect final touch, making this granola my favorite combination of sweet and salty.
I have eaten this for breakfast. It’s especially good with strawberries! After all, it is still granola and even with all the chocolate, it’s not terribly unhealthy.
My favorite way to eat it though is as an ice cream topping. It’s partly the crunch, partly the rich chocolate flavor, partly those tasty sea salt flakes. Combined, this granola becomes the most delicious treat.
In my book, Salted Dark Chocolate Granola is the ultimate ice cream companion. Try it!
For more tasty granola recipes try Coconut Pecan Granola and Gluten Free Granola Parfaits.

Salted Dark Chocolate Granola
Salted Dark Chocolate Granola is a deliciously crunchy ice cream topping, a rich addition to your morning yogurt, or just a good chocolate snack for your afternoon pick-me-up.
Ingredients
- 5 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, or a chunky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine nuts, oats, coconut, and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, combine the syrup, sugar, vanilla, oil, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Pour liquid mixture over oats and stir well, making sure oat mixture is evenly coated.
- Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula, press the granola into the pan. Make sure the granola is pressed tightly and evenly onto the baking sheet. Check the corners to make sure the layer of granola is not too thin.
- Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 40 minutes, or until it is golden. This can be tricky to see with all the cocoa powder coating, so check carefully or pull out a small spoonful to check. Rotate the pan halfway through baking time, but do not stir.
- When done, remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Return to oven for 2 to 5 minutes to soften the chocolate chips, but don’t completely melt them. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flakes of sea salt, which should stick to the warm chocolate.
- Let it cool on a wire rack, undisturbed, for a couple of hours. Store in an airtight container.
Melissa
Sunday 26th of April 2020
How would I go about making this into bars? More maple syrup or something similar and a little less oats, perhaps?
Jamie
Tuesday 5th of May 2020
Hello! I haven't attempted making this recipe into bars, so I am not sure of the best method. If you happen to give it a try, I'd love to know how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by. -Jamie
Danielle
Saturday 20th of October 2018
Looks delicious! Do you know how long this keeps for? Thank you :)
Jamie
Monday 22nd of October 2018
Hello! It should keep for about a week in an airtight container. Happy baking! -Jamie
saj
Friday 9th of June 2017
thank you for this recipe...im addicted...so is all my family.
Jamie
Sunday 11th of June 2017
I'm so glad you and your family like it, Saj!
Katherine
Sunday 30th of April 2017
My husband loves cereal. Need to give this a try!
Jamie
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Let me know how he likes it, Katherine!
Jalah
Friday 28th of April 2017
Jamie, This recipe looks so great! i definitely enjoy granola and yogurt as one of my favorite snacks but I never thought about chocolate granola. The pictures look amazing and i can't wait to try to make this. I'm definitely going to try it with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. What is your all time favorite flavor of granola? Thank you for sharing this delicious looking recipe, I know lots of friends and family that would love to try it!
Jamie
Sunday 30th of April 2017
Hi, Jalah! I love this Salted Dark Chocolate Granola, but I also love Coconut Pecan Granola and Apple Cinnamon Granola. Let me know how you like the chocolate granola!