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Simply the BEST salty & sweet granola! This vegan salted chocolate probiotic granola is gluten-free, high protein and made with no refined sugar!
This granola is quickly disappearing from our kitchen. Like, really really quickly so I keep making more. Thank goodness it’s SO easy to make!
It requires just one bowl and about 1 hour to make! It’s chocolatey, hearty, crunchy and salty!
Not only is this vegan salted chocolate probiotic granola delicious and addicting, its packed with protein and lots of healthy ingredients like pumpkin seeds, rolled oats, hemp hearts and chia seeds! It’s also really fun for kids to make!
So, little E is usually always in the kitchen with me cooking and baking but when I do recipes for the blog I usually do them while she’s napping, just because it’s easier to keep everything clean and focus on my recipe.
Although, I’ve made this several times and it’s so incredibly easy and super fun for kids to make. So, we stayed in our pajamas, listened to the Frozen soundtrack (again) and had some fun! I did have to tell her multiple times to stop eating the ingredients, though.
How to Make
First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grab a large bowl and add your wet ingredients (maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla). Make sure your coconut oil is melted and if your maple syrup is cold, your mixture might get hard and clumpy due to the coconut oil hardening. If this happens, simply pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds or so until it’s smooth. Whisk well.
Next, add all your dry ingredients, except for the chocolate chips and probiotic powder. Mix everything really well.
Transfer the granola to the baking sheet and flatten with a spatula until you have a thin layer that’s tightly packed (you want everything to cook nice and even). Press the mixture down into the pan with your spatula. That’s how you get those nice granola clumps.
Add to the bottom rack of the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Take out, flip over and press granola into the pan again. Turn the oven off and bake for another 15 minutes on the bottom rack.
Oven temps and times can vary so make sure to check it’s not burning. It’s ok for the granola to be soft when it’s done, it’s hardens up as it cools! I take mine out when the edges of the granola are hard and the middle is still relatively soft.
Take the granola out and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle dark chocolate chips over the mixture and pop the granola back into the oven (the oven is still off here!). Make sure to keep checking on the granola. You want to take it out of the oven when the chocolate chips are just starting to get soft but not totally melted. It should only take a minute or two. The reason for doing this is when the chocolate is barely melting, it will stay a little hard and add some texture. If it’s completely melted, it won’t clump as well.
Gently mix the granola so the semi-melted chocolate chips start to get softer and spread over the granola.
Let the mixture sit for about another 20 minutes or so, until almost completely cooled. Then sprinkle your probiotic powder evenly over the granola and gently stir.
If you’re wondering why I don’t mix the probiotic powder in with everything else before it bakes, it’s because most if not all probiotics are heat sensitive and you don’t want to kill the good bacteria!
Enjoy this vegan salted chocolate probiotic granola over yogurt, ice cream, straight from the bowl…little E even eats it as “cereal” over some cold almond milk! Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator for maximum crunchiness!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating below or take a photo and tag @wholesome.crumbs on Instagram!
Vegan Salted Chocolate Probiotic Granola [GF]
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats certified GF if needed
- 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup hemp hearts
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 – 1 tsp salt start with 1/2 tsp before baking, then add the rest to taste when it's done
- about 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp probiotic powder, or 1-2 capsules OR desired amount
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all wet ingredients to a large bowl. Mix well. See notes.
- Next, add the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips and probiotic powder) to the wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Add granola mixture to the baking sheet and press down with a spatula until you have a nice even layer, tightly packed (that's how you get those yummy clusters!)
- Bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack.
- Then, take granola out, turn the oven off, flip mixture over and press down again with the spatula into another tightly packed even layer.
- Return the granola to the bottom rack and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Then, take it out of the oven, and cool the granola cool for about 10-15 minutes. Next, sprinkle chocolate chips over the granola and then return to oven (the oven is still off!) and bake for a minute or two, until the chocolate chips are just starting to melt (soft but not liquid). ***see notes!
- Take granola out of the oven and gently mix granola so the melted chocolate spreads a bit.
- Let the granola sit and cool and harden.
- Add the probiotic powder (sprinkle lightly and evenly) and mix again.
- Serve and enjoy! It is best stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Make sure your coconut oil is melted and if your maple syrup is cold, your mixture might get hard and clumpy due to the coconut oil hardening. If this happens, simply pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds or so until it’s smooth.
- ***you can easily skip this step and just add the chocolate chips as soon as the granola comes out of the oven if you don’t mind them being completely melted. I take the extra time to wait for it to cool a bit and watch the chocolate chips closely in the oven because I really enjoy the chocolate chunks in my granola but this is personal preference!
- If you are oil-free, you could omit oil and add a bit more maple syrup, or add peanut butter in place of the coconut oil, although I haven’t tried this myself so I’m not sure how it would affect the texture but it should work!
- Oven temps can really vary, so be sure to check on your granola to ensure it’s not burning. I take mine out when the outer edges are crispy and the middle is still relatively soft. It hardens as it cools.
- Add salt to taste. I like mine salty but didn’t want to put a measurement as everyone is different!
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