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Loaded with oats, dried cherries, nutrient dense nuts and seeds and just a small sprinkling of chocolate chips this homemade granola recipe will make mornings so much more enjoyable!
Reinvent your favourite cake by turning it into a healthier breakfast option! This Black Forest Granola has all elements of the famous dessert but much less guilt.
I’m a big fan of granola, but I’ve found the varieties available in my local supermarkets to be a bit dull. It’s not that they are bad, just not made with a whole lot of creativity.
That’s one of the reasons I decided to make one using a flavour combination that I know my family loves. Plus I know every ingredient that is going in my breakfast bowl, which feels fantastic.
Homemade Granola Recipe
Granola in the morning is such amazing power food fuelled by oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. What a great way to start your day. It’s so simple to make and tastes much fresher and crunchier.
Another reason to make your own is you can choose just what to put in it! This batch was made at my husbands’ request (he is really trying to get healthy! ).
Given his love for Black Forest cake, I thought it would be fun to combine all the flavours of his favourite dessert in his morning granola. It’s full of dried morello cherries, hazelnuts and a little sprinkling of chocolate bits. Just to be on the naughty side.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I’ve made a list of ingredients that work as a combo and match what my family loves, but it’s all very flexible. There is lots of room to experiment with nuts, dried fruit and other additions to match what you love.
- Morello cherries are a type of sour cherry that, when dried, are often used in baking. If you need to substitute, dried cranberries are a good choice as they are both tart. Raisins are purely sweet, so not the best match for the flavour profile.
Serving suggestions
You can spruce up your granola with a many things that would add nutritional value.
- Bran
- Various nuts and seeds
- Hemp hearts
- Wheat germ
My favourite way to eat granola, which also happens to be a healthier way, is to sprinkle a couple of tablespoons over yogurt with some fresh or frozen berries.
This granola is SO good for you but can easily become “not-so-good” if you sit down to a huge bowl of it! Moderation is key.
Storage and leftovers
Good news is this granola recipe will stay fresh for up to a month if kept in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container. It’s one that can be made and eaten for a lot of breakfasts. But wait too long and the nuts can become rancid and the granola a bit stale.
If you want to keep it longer, the granola can be frozen for 3-4 months. It’s best to use a freezer bag with as much air as possible removed, although an airtight container will work as well.
More breakfast recipes using oats
Black Forest Granola
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 125ml / 1/2cup This is an affiliate link.maple syrup
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.vanilla
- 300g / 3 cups rolled oats
- 30g / 1/4 cup hazelnuts
- 30g / 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 50g / 1/3 cup dried cherries
- 3 tbsp chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F In a large bowl whisk together oil, maple syrup, honey and vanilla. Add all the remaining ingredients except for dried cherries, combine and press the mixture into a parchment lined baking sheet (this way no extra fat is needed for greasing).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Take it out and mix in dried cherries and chocolate chips, bake for additional 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t have any vegetable oil and the store is sold out. Can I use olive oil instead? Or avocado oil? Thank you!
You can absolutely use whatever oil you have, Brooke! I’ve never used avocado oil and don’t know what it smells like but choose the oil with the smell you prefer in your granola.
Best wishes, Julia
I make a similar version and bake it on top of frozen berries. It makes a cobbler or crisp type thing. Then I eat that with yogurt ๐ Sort of a play on cobbler and ice cream!
I love anything with berries, sounds delicious!
Just made this recipe this morning! It turned out great! I’m going to serve it tonight with coconut cream!
Sounds awesome, thank you for sharing!
This granola sounds freaking awesome. Black Forest anything, please.
Thanks, Sarah! I feel the same about Black Forest. ๐