Several years ago, I received a special request for a dairy-free chocolate granola recipe from Attune Foods. You see, Attune sadly discontinued their chocolate probiotic granola. It was awesome, and had a loyal following, but marketing a refrigerated granola has its challenges.
Needless to say, Attune anticipated many disappointed customers, and wanted to be ready with a recipe to satisfy them. Kind woman that I am, I tested numerous batches of dairy-free chocolate granola to come up with the delicious recipe below. Our neighbor definitely appreciated the overflow.
This Dairy-Free Chocolate Granola is a Delicious Copycat Recipe
Attune was later bought up by Post Foods, which is why you might not know of them today. But their dairy-free chocolate granola lives on in this recipe and has now been tested and loved by many former Attune customers.
Even if you didn’t get the chance to sample their probiotic chocolate granola, you will love this recipe. It’s perfectly sweet for a breakfast or afternoon treat, and it fits most dietary needs. It’s not only dairy-free, it’s also vegan-friendly and food allergy-friendly. Yes, no nuts or soy!
Recipe Notes & Options
- Cereal Options: Attune’s classic dairy-free chocolate granola used both oats and whole grain cereal for a crisper finish. In a pinch, you can use all oats, or substitute your favorite crispy cereal. I’m still an Uncle Sam fan. They are small flakes (not much bigger than oats), have virtually no sugar, and are completely whole grain. The wholesomeness keeps the flavor of this granola balanced and snack-worthy.
- Sweetness Options: Like most granola recipes, this one is quite forgiving with modifications. Feel free to adjust the sweetness to your tastes, using whatever “sugars” you desire (agave, brown rice syrup, etc.). Also, you can lower the cocoa powder for more of a subtle hot chocolate taste, or increase it for an intense dark chocolate delight. Just be sure that the oats and cereal are well coated.
- Oil Options: This recipe uses a minimum amount of oil. I do not recommend omitting the fat. Substituting applesauce or similar will leave you with unpleasantly chewy granola. You can use your favorite baking oil. I like coconut oil or extra-light olive oil in this recipe.
- Dairy-Free Chocolate: I originally used Attune probiotic raspberry chocolate in this recipe, but it’s no longer made. These days, I like Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels in this recipe, but their Semi-Sweet Chunks or Mini Chips (depending on your size preference) are also delicious.
Special Diet Notes: Chocolate Granola
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, optionally vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian. But be sure to choose the chocolate and cereal that suit your dietary needs.
For gluten-free granola, you can of course use certified gluten-free oats and cereal. Or see my dairy-free, gluten-free cocoa crispy granola recipe.
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups whole grain cereal (I use Uncle Sam; can sub other crisp cereal or more oats)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ to ¾ cup chopped dairy-free dark chocolate, chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life)
- Preheat your oven to 250ºF and lightly grease two 9×13-inch glass baking dishes or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I prefer the glass dishes in this recipe.)
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, cereal, cocoa powder, and salt until the cereals are coated with the cocoa powder.
- Whisk together the sweeteners and oil in a small saucepan. Place it over medium-low heat and whisk until the sugars are mostly dissolved. OR, heat the wet ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 15 second intervals, until the brown sugar is mostly dissolved (just 30 to 45 seconds total).
- Stir the vanilla into the liquid ingredients.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat.
- Spread the granola out in a single layer in your prepared pan(s).
- Bake the granola for 50 to 90 minutes, checking in to stir every 15 to 20 minutes. (The total time can vary quite by climate. In dry high altitude, this granola crisps up in less than an hour, but on the coast, it can easily take 90 minutes.) If using metal pans, check in more often as the granola tends to brown much more quickly. The granola will still be a little soft when done, but it firms up as it cools.
- Once the chocolate granola is completely cool, stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week, or in the freezer for longer.
Loose vs Cluster Granola: For loose granola, wait until the granola is completely cool before stirring in the chocolate chunks. But for granola snacking clusters, stir the chocolate in while the granola is still warm. Once cool, you can break it into clusters.
More Dairy-Free Granola Recipes
Basic Homemade Dairy-Free Granola
Mama’s Soft Baked Granola
Gingerbread Granola
29 Comments
For gluten free, would you use Rice Krispies or Chex cereal?
I have a separate recipe for that! I use cocoa crispy cereal -> https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-gluten-free-chocolate-granola
Oh. My. Yum! This look SO good! chocolate chunk granola!! Sign me up! 🙂
I’m a total sucker for anything chocolate flavored for breakfast. And when you can make it healthy? Sheesh it’s like the best dessert ever. I’m also a major granola addict, so I’ll def be pinning this so I can make a stash for later 🙂
Well I should just call this Alyssa’s Granola!
This look amazing Alisa! I need to make some granola over the weekend and can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank Christine! I hope you get the chance to – there’s nothing like homemade granola 🙂
chocolate and granola?!?! Sign me up! This sounds amazing! I have been making a lot of my own granola recently, and I have not found one that I cannot live without yet, I love that I am still experimenting. This will have to be added to the list 🙂
I have always wondered if an all chocolate (i.e., not just with chocolate chips) granola was possible but never saw a recipe. So I for one am grateful you did the testing! Pinned!
Indeed it is! I even have a triple chocolate version of this recipe using cocoa crispies 🙂
Wow. this looks fantastic. I would snack on it all day. 🙂
Thanks Susan!
Alisa, I adore granola on top of ice cream and I’m thinking that this one is the perfect candidate for a fragrant vanilla bean ice cream like the one that Karen (of Karen’s Kitchen Stories) makes. http://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2015/03/vanilla-bean-ice-cream.html Oh my goodness, just thinking about it makes me want to head straight for dessert – or maybe a dinner of salad followed by a dessert of chocolate granola-topped ice cream.
That recipe looks so intriguing and has my little hamster wheel going 🙂
Well you know I’m a huge granola addict! Delish!
Alisa,
This granola looks great–I’d love to try the crunch on top of my oatmeal. (Does that sound weird? At a hotel last weekend for a sled hockey tournament the breakfast bar had 6 toppings by the oatmeal: brown sugar, walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and coconut. I loved the crunch when I piled all 6 on my bowl, and now I’m craving crunchy oatmeal.)
Thanks!
I actually love granola on oatmeal, so not weird at all in my book 🙂
What a great way to start the day! I love the thought of these, particularly with coconut oil Yum 🙂
I love homemade granola and your recipe looks great. I could see using it on desserts, wraps, yogurt and so much more!
wraps? Fascinating! I haven’t thought of using granola in a wrap – nice crunchy option!
Wow, it that decadent and gorgeous! Love every ingredient which I means I need to make it ASAP!
Thank you!
I love that this snack could work for so many of those that have dietary restrictions! And it looks so chocolaty and delicious!
Yes! Most recipes can with a little imagination 🙂
I do love granola! Add chocolate and… WOW! This looks so good.
Thanks Marye!
Granola is my kryptonite and this version is calling to me!
Mine too lately Arman!
Dear Alisa, A great, tasty way to kick up granola. This sounds so good…I’d be snacking on this all day! xo, Catherine