Chocolate Chai Granola

There are approximately 1,398,426 varieties of granola available at Kroger.  I know this because every time I stand in the aisle where the granola is found, I stare at the selection for nearly five minutes before walking away empty-handed.  It’s just too overwhelming for me to make that kind of decision with so many to choose from.  Note:  This does not happen to me in the tea aisle.  With too many varieties of tea to choose from, I typically just grab several boxes and throw them all in my cart.  We’ll drink them all within two weeks anyway.

When I need granola, I have about three options to make it easier on myself:

1. Buy granola on my Aldi week. (I rotate grocery stores week by week to keep life spicy.)  With their smaller selection, it’s much easier for me to choose.
2. Wait until I find a Kroger coupon and buy whichever brand I can get the discount on.  I let coupons make an overwhelming percentage of my grocery decisions for me.
3. Let ingredients build up in my pantry for long enough that I have everything I need to make granola at home.

This week I chose Option 3.

I’ll throw chai spices in basically anything, and while the preferred “chai spice blend” differs from person to person, for this granola I used cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom.  (For my Rainy Day Honey Chai recipe I use a slightly different blend.)  Feel free to use any combination of these ground spices you have on hand.  My true love in the spice world is cardamom, so I never leave that one out of my chai.  Just be sure to use around two teaspoons of spices to get enough of the spicy flavor to come through; next time I may use even more than two teaspoons because I don’t feel like I can ever have too much.

I’ve learned by looking at several granola recipes that the Internet’s agreed-upon trick to getting a good granola with lots of big clusters is letting it sit for an hour after pulling it out of the oven before stirring it or trying to scoop it up.  This allows it to harden in bigger pieces that you can break apart later.

The chocolate flavor is subtle enough in this recipe that I don’t feel like I’m eating straight sugar, but strong enough that it acts like Cocoa Pebbles when eaten with milk poured on top. (i.e. The milk turns into chocolate milk. Bonus.)  I think next time if I’m really looking for a treat I might mix in some chocolate chips once I’ve baked the granola and let it cool.

 You might also like: Chocolate Cherry Almond Bites

If you try this Chocolate Chai Granola at home, I’d love to hear what you think! Share pictures with me on social media by tagging @thesavvyplate on Instagram or by mentioning my page The Savvy Plate Blog on Facebook!

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Chocolate Chai Granola

Easy and healthy homemade granola recipe with chocolate and chai flavors, great with milk or yogurt!

Course Breakfast

Author Savannah

Ingredients

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (I used 1/4 cup each)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine oats, pecans, coconut, chia seeds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Melt butter/coconut oil and stir in cocoa powder, vanilla, brown sugar and honey.
3. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir until very well combined. Granola should be evenly coated and crumbly without being too wet.  If it seems overly dry, stir in more butter or coconut oil.
4. Spread into an even layer on a greased baking sheet and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time.
5. Remove granola from oven and do not stir.  Let cool for 1 hour and then break into pieces.  Some of it will naturally crumble, while other parts will need to be broken into clusters.  A metal spatula was useful for this step.
6. If desired stir in chocolate chips.
7. Store in an airtight container and serve with milk, yogurt, or by itself.