Sea Salt & Chocolate Chip Granola

A simple sea salt and chocolate chip granola recipe that tastes reminiscent of your favorite chocolate chip cookie! With chocolate chips and bits of sea salt in every bite. This vegan and gluten free granola will instantly become your new favorite.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA.

It’s one of those recipes that is relatively simple yet more often than not I find myself grabbing one of my favorite brands when walking down the grocery aisles.

Sometimes that granola is over $6.00 for a small bag!

But into the cart it goes and every time I say to myself:

“Ashley, just make your own. You have tons of granola recipes on your site…”

But laziness gets the best of me and well, you get it.

But if I can entice you to make granola at home AND save some money with this lovely chocolate chip granola recipe, let’s get to it.

A Simple Recipe for Granola with Chocolate Chips

So several years ago, my business coach Nicole Culver had a granola company called Blissful Eats. She was actually one of the first people I started working with when I started Fit Mitten Kitchen almost five years ago now. (CRAY-ZAY.)

They had this chocolate chip cookie granola flavor that was my FAVORITE. The chunks, the chocolate chip bites, a hint of sea salt…

It was my favorite, and I still miss it. I think about it a little more often than what’s probably considered normal… but I just really loved it!

I still ask her if she has some secret stash lying around that she can send me… Of course, she does not.

So I did my best to recreate the flavor at home to share with you!

Ingredients You Need

• rolled oats AND quick oats – why both? Well, the quick oats help bind the ingredients together and create the clusters. If you don’t care about clusters, you can use all rolled oats.
• salted roasted sunflower seeds – trust me, you want the salted ones. It adds better flavor!
• slivered almonds – you can sub with more sunflower seeds if you’d like this recipe to be nut-free. Or even something like hemp hearts.
• cashew butter or sunflower seed butter– I pretty much always add a nut or seed butter to my granola recipes. I like the additional flavor.
• oil – olive oil, avocado, melted/cooled coconut oil all work here.
• maple syrup – we’re using maple syrup here as a part of the wet ingredients and the sweetener. I do not recommend getting rid of the maple syrup as it affects the rest of the wet to dry ratios. If you opt to use honey, the texture of the granola might change slightly.
• molasses – just a hint to give the taste a more “cookie” feel.
• vanilla – Can’t make cookies without vanilla so we’re adding it to this granola recipe too.
• chia seeds – I like to add chia seeds because not only is another healthy fat but it acts as another binder to keep the oats together and create chunks.
• chocolate chips – can’t have chocolate chip granola without chocolate chips. Add these at the end as the granola is cooling – this will result in some melty bits and create more chunks!
• sea salt – add the sea salt flakes at the end while the granola is cooling for the perfect salty-sweet finisher.

How to Make Homemade Granola (with clusters!)

Step 1 – mix the wet ingredients together

First mix together the chia seeds with water and allow the mixture to gel up – about five minutes.

Mix together nut /seed butter with oil, maple syrup, molasses and vanilla.

TIP: If your nut or seed butter is on the thicker side, try warming it up before mixing with the maple syrup, oil and vanilla extract. You can also mix this all on the stovetop.

I often have homemade nut butter on hand, so it isn’t as creamy as some store-bought brands tend to be.

Step 2 – mix the dry ingredients

Combine the oats, nuts and seeds together.

Step 3 – combine the wet with dry

Now it’s time to mix everything together by combining the nut butter mixture with the chia seeds and oat mixture.

Use your hands at the end to make sure everything gets fully coated and combined.

Step 4 – spread onto baking sheet

Then spread onto a lined baking sheet, leaving some clumps.

Step 5 – bake! (& *flip* for clusters)

Now it’s time to bake the granola for about 30 minutes total, flipping the granola halfway through baking time.

TIP: Flipping the granola with a flat spatula (versus stirring) will keep some of the clusters. Moving the granola halfway through baking time also prevents it from burning.

Step 6 – cool & add chocolate chips

Don’t stir the granola again just yet. Let the granola cool for about 10-15 minutes before sprinkling with chocolate chips. Sit another 15 minutes, then gently stir and kind of cluster together. The slightly melty chocolate chips will add to the clusters as well.

Oh, and sea salt! Yes, you need this sea salt.

This sea salt chocolate chip granola is sure to be your new favorite.

Whether you’re making a big batch for yourself, the kids, or as a gift, homemade granola is a delicious snack or addition to breakfast!

Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

How to Make…

Sea Salt & Chocolate Chip Granola

This chocolate chip cookie granola is a simple homemade granola recipe that will remind you of your favorite chocolate chip cookie! Perfect as a snack, with yogurt, milk – however you like!

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes

• Yield: about 4 cups 1x
• Scale: 1x2x3x

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Ingredients

• 3 TBSP chia seeds 
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2/3 cup quick oats (see notes)
• 1/2 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds 
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup creamy cashew butter (or sunbutter to keep nut free)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tablespoon molasses
• 1/3 cup oil (melted cooled coconut, avocado, olive)
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• sea salt, for sprinkling once cooled

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF and line large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine chia seeds with water; set aside for about 3-4 minutes until mixture gels together.
3. In large bowl combine rolled oats, quick oats, almonds, sunflower seeds.
4. In medium bowl combine nut or seed butter with oil, maple syrup, molasses and vanilla. Note: if nut or seed butter is very thick, try warming up first. Now stir in chia seed mixture and add dry ingredients. Use large wooden spoon or sturdy silicone spatula to combine, using hands at end as necessary to get the mixture fully coated.
5. Transfer to lined baking sheet, spreading out almost flat but keeping some chunks.
6. Bake granola for 15 minutes, then flip the granola using flat spatula (to prevent from browning too much) and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. Remove granola from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes on baking sheet. Next sprinkle mini chocolate chips over granola and gently cluster granola together – this will melt some of the chocolate chips. Finish with flaked sea salt and allow granola to cool completely – about one hour.
8. Transfer granola to airtight container. Granola will keep at room temperature about 7-10 days. 

Recipes Notes:

To make nut-free: omit almonds and use 1 full cup of sunflower seeds. You can also add half cup hemp hearts. Use sunflower seed butter instead of cashew. 

Category: Breakfast Method: Oven Cuisine: American
Keywords: homemade granola recipe, healthy granola, chocolate chip cookie granola
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen

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