Healthy, homemade chocolate cereal made with five superfoods and no refined sugar. So good as a cereal with milk, or as a topping for yogurt!
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*post updated from 2015
Yesterday I was out doing one of my favorite things…grocery shopping with my kids. (Crazy, I know). The plan was to hit up Whole Foods and, of course, Costco. Since we would be passing by my mother-in-law’s work at lunch hour, we also picked her up so she could join us for shopping and a snack-lunch at Whole Foods.
The boys had their choice of firetruck or police car cart, apples and oranges were on sale, and our favorite hot tea was buy one get one free. Things were off to a good start.
Then, as we were standing in the cereal/milk aisle two things happened that led to writing this post and sharing this recipe.
First, the bags of sweetened cereals lined up so enticingly on the shelves (well played, Whole Foods, well played) reminded me of how wonderful cereal can be. When I was a kid, Apple Jacks, Fruit Loops, and Rice Krispies (served with extra sugar so the last few bites were essentially just sugared milk) and more were mainstays at our house.
Nowadays, I may purchase a (somewhat healthified) bag of fancy cereal studded with marshmallows occasionally. Because childhood is short and it shouldn’t be completely without its special treats. But for the most part, I try to limit excess sugar, thus ruling out almost all packaged cereals– or at least, all the ones that taste better than the box they come in. (2020 Lisa here. We do buy cereal more regularly now, but still try to mostly avoid the “fun” cereals).
Thankfully, making granola (cereal) at home is a really simple process.
Healthy Chocolate Cereal
Which brings me to the second thing that happened. My mother-in-law helped me save money on our grocery budget by telling me that Costco has big bags of oats for a great price. Somehow I’ve never realized this. Likely because I always avoid the cereal aisle. So I put the smaller containers of oats back on the shelf and planned to stock up on our next stop.
All of this led to deciding to make my kids some chocolate childhood magic in a bowl. Only with healthy ingredients and without the sugar overload.
This cereal is perfectly chocolatey and sweet. It tastes like a treat and turns your milk brown just like it should. It is also full of “super foods” like oats, honey, coconut oil, chia seeds, and dark chocolate.
And for full disclosure, it’s not just a cereal for kids. I may have eaten more chocolate cereal than my kids have so far. (It’s makes a great after dinner treat!)
This recipes makes a little over 12 cups of granola, so it will last more than one morning (always nice). We like it as cereal served with milk and some dried fruit or fresh slices of banana. It’s also really great served with homemade yogurt and fresh strawberry slices. (Like this Dark Chocolate Strawberry Parfait that is a pretty and tasty dish to bring to a brunch).
If you have older kids who can read a recipe and measure ingredients, this would be a very simple recipe to delegate to them. Making granola is also a really fun way to let your little help you cook because it’s a lot of dumping and stirring.
I can find most of these ingredients at Costco (the oats, chia seeds, coconut oil, cacao powder, and honey). The others I picked up at Whole Foods, but I will also link the more specialty items in case you don’t have easy access to them and would rather order online.
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{Healthy!} Chocolate Cereal
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12+ cups 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: baking
Description
Healthy, homemade chocolate cereal made with five superfoods and no refined sugar. So good as a cereal with milk, or as a topping for yogurt!
Ingredients
- 6 C oats
- 1 C wheat bran or germ*
- 1 C unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 C chia seeds
- 3/4 C melted coconut oil
- 3/4 C honey
- 3/4 C cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 C chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
1. Combine the oats, wheat bran, coconut, and chia seeds in a large bowl. Stir well to mix the ingredients thoroughly. In a small bowl mix together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla and cocoa powder. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients are coated. Mix in the dark chocolate.
2. Spread the cereal mixture evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake for 45 minutes in a 275° oven, stirring twice during the cooking time.
4. Let the cereal cool completely before transferring to a container.
Notes
* Substitute flax meal for the wheat bran to make a gluten-free granola.
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This is our go to recipe for granola! Our kids like it better than store bought. I usually add the chocolate chips after.
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Thank you for this recipe! My whole family enjoyed it.
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Very helpful and informative article. I learned a lot from the post. I have bookmarked your blog and I become a regular reader of your blog. Please keep up the wonderful work. Special thanks to the blog owner as well as the writer for creating a valuable and informative article. I appreciate your advice and I am going to apply these tips in my real life soon.
I have made this cereal few times now and it has been such a breakfast treat.
★★★★★
Just took this cereal out of the oven….. not only does the house smell like chocolate deliciousness, but my kids can’t stop eating it warm! My son just asked if he could have this for his birthday. ?. Thank you for this recipe! This is a total game changer! Yay!
This sounds amazing! I had cereal on my list to buy this week, but when I went to the store (the new Earth Fare!) I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on good cereal. My kids like granola, but they tire of my usual vanilla/cinnamon/maple flavors after a while. And… I have a bunch of wheat bran in my pantry that we bought on clearance a while ago. Thanks for this recipe!
I just made this today. I have to say I was thrilled when my 2 very very picky sons approved. They loved it, and I do too! Thank you for sharing!
My kids (Barbs and Billie) LOVE THIS!!! Thanks so much for a delicious, nutritious recipe!! I thoroughly enjoyed making this with Duncan and I can say he also LOVES this amazing cereal you have created!!
★★★★★
Looks great! I have been slowly trying to wean my boys off the sugary cereal. This one should be a hit!
I made this a couple days ago and have had it for breakfast the past two mornings. In fact, I was at the grocery store the other day, and randomly thought of this post and got really hungry to try the recipe! I tried to remember all the ingredients and what I had at home and successfully obtained everything needed (unless you count buying both wheat bran and wheat germ, because I thought the recipe called for both :P) This cereal is absolutely delicious, I am not at all a fan of the sugary candy ‘they’ call cereal. I love the wholesome delicious taste of this cereal that has a little sweetness but it is definitely not overpowering. It is also really filling!! I can actually make it to lunch without horrible noisy grumblings 🙂 Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
Ha! …”some chocolate childhood magic in a bowl.” Hilarious! lol. 😉
Seriously though, this looks and sounds amazing! We, too, try to avoid candy – I meant cereal!
I’m loving this healthy version!
Thanks for sharing this and for linking up to Favorite Things Friday with Simply Rachel & Hip Homeschooling!
This looks delicious! We buy cereal quite often, but only the basics, nothing to sugary! We’ll have to try making this!
Thanks for sharing and linking up at Favorite things Friday! Hope to see you again this week!
★★★★★
I hope you love it!
I am going to try this my next shopping trip! I have been craving cereal myself but it is usually hands off for me. Thanks for posting.
I am having one issue while looking at your page, though, and it happened on another page I was looking at, which makes it hard to read. Something on your page keeps sending me to the bottom, one of your advertisements. Maybe one of the videos. And even since writing this the screen has moved about 4-5 times. Just letting you know!
Thank you for letting me know Elizabeth. I will look into it. Though others haven’t had the same issue so the problem may be on your end?
I hope you enjoy the cereal! It’s definitely a favorite around here.
Making this for the first time tonight. You might be in trouble, Lisa. It smells sooooooo good. 😉
I hope you love it as much as we do Abigail!
I have just made this for the third time. Yummy. I have played around a bit and added the chocolate after cooking. I live finding the tiny pieces at breakfast it feels really decadent. I’ve also tried adding fruit pieces after cooking which I really like too. Can you tell it’s become my cereal rather than my children’s? They are allowed some some times ;). Thanks so much for this wonderful recipie.
★★★★★
So great to hear you are enjoying the recipe Anna! We really enjoy ours with fresh fruit too. And yes, it is just as much my cereal as my kids! 😉
I am a cereal lover to the core, but am trying to purchase it less. This looks super tasty. I’m saving for later! I’m enjoying reading your blog. 🙂
My family would love it if I made this granola! It sounds delicious.
I bet they would Rachel! My kids love it. 🙂
Thank you Emily! Hope you enjoy it!