Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola

The Okanagan – in granola form! This addictive Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola is a mix of oats, dark chocolate, dried cherries, coconut and crunchy almonds. Enjoy solo, with a splash of milk, or over your morning yogurt. This also makes a beautiful gift packaged up in a jar with a ribbon!

It’s cherry season y’all! That means time to find a way to incorporate cherries into basically every meal. Luckily I have this incredible Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola to share with (and many other cherry recipes)!

Eating granola is a great way to start the day, and is easy to take on the go! I enjoy it best with a little milk and handful of fresh fruit on top, but to each their own. Make into a parfait with fruit and your favourite yogurt or even layer it into a popsicle mould with yogurt or leftover smoothie for a breakfast popsicle.  Consider your mind officially blown.  Keep scrolling for your new favourite granola recipe.

Recipe Ideas for Cherries

Cherries can be enjoyed in their purest of forms – right off the tree! But cherries also work great in both sweet and savoury dishes. Here are some of the ways I love to use fresh cherries:

1. Make a cherry smoothie
2. Enjoy in a salad (like this Cherry Kale Salad)
3. Add them to my morning yogurt
4. Make Cherry Ice Cream
5. Make a salsa with peaches (try the recipe here)
6. Black Forest Black Bean Brownies – just add ice cream and OMG so good

We rounded up a whole bunch of other ideas in this blog should you be on the hunt for more!

How to Make Homemade Granola

I love making homemade granola, and have been doing so for a long long time. I love having fun with the ingredients, and mix up the kinds of nuts, seeds and fruit that I add based on what I have on hand. Some of my favourites include pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts and pecans but you can use whatever combination your heart desires. I have a tried and true Top Secret Granola and a Strawberry Coconut Granola that are some of my all-time favourites.  Make nut free granola by substituting seeds for the nuts (ie: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds…).

Making it is the easy part! Armed with your desired toppings, nuts, fruits and oats I bake the dry ingredients with oil, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract (optional) until golden, stirring halfway through. Always add the dried fruit once removed from the oven and allow to cool.

Healthy Summer Breakfast Ideas

We house hundreds (literally) of healthy breakfast recipes on our Fraîche Table platform! Muffins, overnight oats, smoothies, eggs, vegan options, gluten free options, you name it! If you haven’t checked it out yet, try it on us with a 10 day free trial.

I love refreshing breakfasts on hot mornings, so some of my favourite summer recipes include : Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie, Cafe au Lait Overnight Oats and this Citrus Kiwi Fruit Salad. Also take a look at these Okanagan Cherry Overnight Oats over on Jilly’s site!

Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola

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Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola

The Okanagan – in granola form! This addictive Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola is a mixture of dark chocolate, dried cherries, coconut and almonds. Enjoy solo, with a splash of milk, or over your morning yogurt. This also makes a beautiful gift packaged up in a glass jar. 

Course Breakfast, Snack

Keyword Cherry, Granola, Nuts, Oats

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 10 cups

Author Fraîche

Ingredients

• 5 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups coconut* (ribbon or flaked)
• 1 cup roughly chopped raw almonds
• 1 cup whole raw almonds
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup neutral oil or melted coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips optional
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ½ cup hemp hearts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl combine the oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract. Drizzle it over the oat mixture, stir well to combine.

4. Spead the granola evenly on the prepared pan and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a light golden brown. Once completely cooled, stir in the chocolate, dried cherries and hemp hearts. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes

*sweetened or unsweetened, it’s up to you