This gourmet vegan chocolate granola is made with aquafaba and is truly healthy and most importantly, super delicious with all the crunchy breakfast taste you want from your granola. What's magic about this gourmet granola, is that it has all the taste and texture of indulgent granola, but it's totally oil-free and also refined sugar-free!
This yummy vegan granola is packed full of protein and wholefoods for a filling breakfast, breakfast topping, or even to use in your healthy vegan desserts! The secret to getting the delicious chocolately flavour to stay on is by using aquafaba in place of eggwhites, which are often used in other healthy granola recipes.
If you're curious to see how else you can use aquafaba, aka- the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, check out my favourite Vegan Carrot Cake using Aquafaba or this Aquafaba Garlicky Vegan Mayo. recipe. Or, Alternatively, you also need to try my Savory Chickpea Granola which uses chia and flaxseed to create the crunchy clusters.
I promise this is also super quick to make - all ingredients in one bowl, pop in the oven, then it's ready to eat. No complicated steps! If you're into super easy and wholesome chocolate recipes, you should definitely try this peanut butter chocolate balls recipe as a yummy snack! Alternatively if you're more into a cozy breakfast, you should try this Middle Eastern Oatmeal Recipe as a delicious twist!
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☀️What makes this granola healthy?
Many granolas are marketed as healthy and even a 'weight-loss' food, but truthfully, they are often full of refined fats and sugar. Many are held together with oil for crunch (which we love, of course). But what if we could give you the satisfying granola crunch without the oil?! So, this chocolate granola is healthy because:
- It's oil-free as it's held together using aquafaba - that's the water from a tin/can of chickpeas! Extra bonus - you don't have to whip the aquafaba 🎉 so it's super quick!
- It has no refined sugar. We just use a little coconut palm sugar, but no reason you can't leave this out altogether if you're happy with less sweetness!
- It's full of protein from the nuts and seeds, which also provide good healthy fats. If you want more great high protein vegan recipes and a checklist of the best sources of vegan protein, then check out our guide.
- We use cacao powder - a super food and the pure form of chocolate. Many other recipes use whole pieces of sugar-filled chocolate. The cacao powder gives that chocolate tastes but without the extra sugar, plus it has great antioxidants and has an energising effect! I use cacao in my superfood breakfast bowl for a healthy, filling start to my morning.
🍫Ingredients
This homemade gourmet chocolate granola has very simple ingredients - many of which you probably have in your cupboard. Plus as they're all gluten-free (as long as you choose gluten-free oats). It has:
- Oats - the main base of the gourmet granola. These are great for slow release energy. If you want to use quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes, these work just fine too!
- Aquafaba - this is the water from a tin/can of chickpeas (or any other beans). It's generally used as a replacement for egg whites. This holds your homemade granola together and keeps the chocolatey flavour on. You can then make hummus with the leftover chickpeas! Horray! Check out this Beautiful Beetroot Hummus Dip for starters!
- Sunflower seeds - filling and healthy with lots of vegan protein and good fats.
- Nuts - I love using walnuts, but any nuts are good. You can even use a mix such as brazil nuts, hazelnuts and almonds.
- Coconut flakes - these add natural sweetness to the granola and make it look beautiful. Use dessicated coconut if you can't get hold of the coconut flakes.
- Coconut palm sugar - this is a great unrefined sugar that just adds that little bit of sweetness. Leave it out if you want though - the coconut will give the granola sweetness too. You could also use brown sugar or maple syrup here.
- Cacao powder - for that chocolate hit. It's the pure form of chocolate and very healthy. If you can't get hold of this, you can use cocoa powder (it's more processed but still totally fine and sugar free).
👩🏾🍳How To
This vegan chocolate granola is super easy to make. I'm also feeling smug that we discovered you don't have to whip the aquafaba (chickpea water) in this recipe, it just needs to be mixed in with the ingredients so that it works like a binder.
In summary, this is how you make our fabulous healthy and gourmet homemade granola:
1.Drain the tinned/canned chickpeas and reserve the water (the aquafaba).
2. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a bowl, plus the vanilla essence and cocoa.
3. Pour in the aquafaba.
4. Mix together well so all the ingredients are coated with the aquafaba. This ensures they stick together and they have that lovely crunch that tastes like store-bought gourmet granola.
5.Pour the granola on to two lined baking trays/sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 160°C / 320°F / Gas Mark 3, or until it's crunchy. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
6. Once cooled pour into an airtight container for storage.
🥫Storage
Keep the granola in an airtight container somewhere cool. It will keep for up to 3-4 weeks. I do not suggest freezing this recipe.
❓FAQs
Yes! Just be sure to buy gluten-free oats if you want it truly gluten-free. Or use buckwheat flakes or quinoa flakes instead of oats.
Store it in an airtight container for up to three weeks.
Yes! Just replace the nuts with seeds, or extra oats or coconut.
What a question! But yes, you can make it plain (the vanilla essence means it will still be delicious), or add something else like cinnamon/mixed spice for a different flavour.
🍽️Serving suggestions
So many lovely ways you can eat this gourmet granola. You could:
- Have it on its own, topped with vegan milk and fruit.
- Sprinkle it on a superfood breakfast bowl for some extra crunchy texture.
- Make a breakfast (or dessert!) parfait by layering the gourmet granola, then yoghurt, then more granola and more yoghurt, and top with fruit and some more granola sprinkles! Even better, add a dollop of almond or peanut butter on there!
🍴Other recipes
If you loved this vegan gourmet chocolate granola then you may like our other breakfast recipes:
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Granola with Aquafaba
Equipment
- Baking parchment
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 230 g (2 cups) oats (use gluten-free if desired)
- 70 g (½ cup) sunflower seeds (or any other seed)
- 100 g (1 cup) nuts (broken up, like walnuts, brazil nuts or hazelnuts)
- 25 g (½ cup) coconut flakes (or dessicated coconut)
- 2 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (leave out if desired, or use brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon cacao powder (use cocoa powder if you want)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 120 ml (½ cup) aquafaba (water from a tin/can of chickpeas)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C / 320°F / Gas Mark 3.
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl (except the aquafaba/chickpea water).
- Pour the aquafaba over the mixture and combine. Make sure all of the mix is coated with the aquafaba (this will help it clump together and give it crunch). You could use your hands for making sure it's really well combined.
- Line 2 trays with greaseproof paper / baking parchment.
- Spread the granola mixture across the lined trays.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is crunchy. Halfway through, swap the trays round on the shelves, and give the mixture a stir. Keep an eye on them near the end to make sure they don't burn. You want a nice crunchy texture.
- Once cooked, leave the granola to cool. Once cool, it can be stored in an airtight container.
Shanshan says
Aquafaba works great as an emulsifier.
Recipe is not sweet at all, so I would add maple syrup or caramelized nuts into the recipe. And/or dried dates after baking!! Yum!!
Louise-Claire Cayzer says
Thank you for your feedback. Adding a little extra sweetener or dates to taste is a good idea- this recipe was created on the not-sweet side to keep it healthier.
Elaine says
Thanks for the recipe! I love how customizable it is and oil-free. My second batch is in the oven now!
Gail Montero says
What a delicious and healthier option from the usual sugar-filled granola! Best way to begin the day!
Gloria says
Homemade granola is the best. You can make it with the ingredients you like. I would love some of this on my yogurt right now.
Beth Sachs says
My kids love this chocolate granola with almond milk as a healthy breakfast or after school snack!
Toni says
This is such a great healthy dessert! Everyone at my house enjoyed it!
Dannii says
What a way to start the day! This chocolate granola looks amazing.