Search

cherry chocolate granola

Nik_profile_2023

Nik Sharma

Hey Friends, I’m a multi-award-winning and best-selling cookbook author and photographer.

cherry and chocolate granola
Summer is the one time of the year that I get super excited and obsessed with every fresh and colorful ingredient that I can get my hands on. It goes without saying that cherries are never spared, they get devoured in this house and sometimes they don’t make it home from the market. 
sweet red cherries
Granola is one of those things, I refuse to waste money on. For one, it is really easy to make and the ingredients are cheap, and secondly, I find the pre-made versions to be a bit too sweet and/or expensive. This granola recipe has a fresh cherry puree that’s cooked into the oats with a heaving dosing of chocolate flavors. This granola is just like a black forest cake but with a tasty dose of toasted sliced almonds. There’s a whole lotta crunch with every chocolatey bite you take combined with a hint of sweet and tart cherry flavor. Maybe I should have called this the “black forest granola” ?
cherry

baked granola

I used a fresh cherry puree to flavor the granola versus actual cherry fruit bits because I wanted the cherry flavors to be absorbed by the oatmeal and coat every bit. I’ve used ghee here but you can also substitute coconut oil in the same amount. I’ve made it both ways and it works great, ghee gives it a much more aromatic and nutty flavor.
fresh chocolate cherry granola
cherry chocolate granola
cherry + chocolate granola

yields: about 3 cups

ingredients

2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons ghee (or coconut oil)  + 1 tablespoon to grease the baking pan
1 cup (2 3/4 ounces) raw sliced almonds
1/4 cup (1 1/8 ounces) cacao nibs
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt
1 cup pureed sweet red cherries, fresh (simply puree 2 cups of sweet red cherries and use as needed)

1. Place a wire rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 250F. In the mean time, toast the oats in medium saucepan with a thick bottom on a medium-high flame. Cook with constant stirring until the oats begin to brown. This will take about 4-5 minutes.  Reduce the flame  to low and stir in the 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, cook for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the stove.
2. Add the almonds, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, sea salt and cherry puree to the toasted oats. 
3. Pour the oat mixture onto a baking pan that’s been lightly greased with the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil. Spread the mixture in a flat layer with a silicone spatula and bake for about 45-50 minutes. Check occasionally during baking to make sure the granola does not burn. Once the granola is cooked, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container (I store mine in the refrigerator, it stays fresh for a longer time). 

9 Responses

  1. YES PLEASE! This sounds like my IDEAL breakfast scenario. I love cherries, so so much. And chocolate is my favourite breakfast food. And cherry puree in the granola? That's genius.

  2. Such a genius recipe, Nik! I'm so into this. I've been making the cacao buckwheat granola from Anya's The Vibrant Table cookbook and been enjoying it with plain yogurt and cherries. And yes, it reminds me of Blackforest Cake every single time. This recipe is definitely bookmarked. Thanks for sharing!

  3. Using fresh cherry puree instead of fruit is just genius! This looks so crazy good, Nik. 🙂 I've never thought to use ghee in granola – that must be remedied!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the Privacy Policy for more details.

Order your copy of the best-selling James Beard nominated cookbook, The Flavor Equation.