Gluten Free Vegan Cereal (Chocolate Pecan)

Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Pecan Cereal

Today we are making a Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Pecan Cereal recipe! Chocolate tart? Check. Hot chocolate? Check. Hot fudge? Chocolate ice cream? Chocolate milkshakes? Check, check and double check. I run through bags of cacao powder like Costco ran out of toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic. I have absolutely no shame in it either, because what’s NOT to like about chocolate? It literally comes from the ground, gets roasted as cocoa nibs, and gets ground up into our chocolate bars.

Ever watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Because I feel like Augustus Gloop when I’m in the kitchen, testing out multiple cacao-containing recipes at once. And this was the result. This rich, crunchy, perfect-dessert-for-breakfast chocolate pecan granola recipe. I’m already a huge fan of crunchy granola (flax, chia, hemp – add it all in and I’ll be drowning in oat milk cereal bowls for days)!

Store Bought vs. Homemade Chocolate Granola

Chocolate in my granola is next level. I have yet to find a store-bought chocolate granola that I can give glowing reviews to. Accessibility and cost are also other issues, because buying gourmet $8 bags of granola that fit a lone apple inside is (a) not so good for the packaging waste (b) expensive?? Money does *not* grow on trees (c) not easy to find everywhere – even if I found a brand I loved, if I moved out of my city I’d probably have to ship it to my house or find a new favourite.

All of these taken into account, I definitely prefer to make my own breakfast cereals at this point in my life. Also, growing up I used to eat BAGS of Honeycomb, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Flakes and every other sugary cereal down the breakfast aisle. I don’t knock on our childhood favourites, but this chocolate pecan granola recipe might just steal the spotlight for me!

What’s in Processed “Healthy” Cereals?

Let’s take a look at some common “adult” breakfast cereals and their ingredients (as in, not a sugary coated breakfast cereal that seems to come off as a good breakfast food). For example, some gluten-free cereals include Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios or Rice Krispies.

For example, let’s take a look at the ingredient label in Honey Nut Cheerios:

WHOLE GRAIN OATS, SUGAR, CORN STARCH, HONEY, BROWN SUGAR SYRUP, SALT, TRIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CANOLA OIL, NATURAL ALMOND FLAVOR. VITAMIN E (MIXED TOCOPHEROLS) ADDED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: CALCIUM CARBONATE, VITAMIN C (SODIUM ASCORBATE), IRON AND ZINC (MINERAL NUTRIENTS), A B VITAMIN (NIACINAMIDE), VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE), VITAMIN B1 (THIAMIN MONONITRATE), VITAMIN A (PALMITATE), VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN), A B VITAMIN (FOLIC ACID), VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D3. CONTAINS ALMOND INGREDIENTS.

Cereal Ingredient Inspection: White Sugar …

As you can see, there’s added sugar (which is just white sugar) as the second ingredient. As ingredient labels are listed in order of the most to least of that ingredient, that’s quite a lot of sugar as just second on the list! It seems that this cereal is full of healthy ingredients given that it contains a list of vitamins at the end, such as Vitamin D (we should either take vitamin D3 or get it from the sun, so makes sense why people may opt for a vitamin D fortified cereal). However, marketing labels would like us to think this is great for us, when in reality we’re eating a whole bunch of extra, unneeded ingredients. For example, the VITAMIN E (MIXED TOCOPHEROLS) is just a preservative used to help food become shelf stable, even if it is also a form of Vitamin E.

Rather than use another chemical as a preservative, companies may opt for this instead because it sounds better to use a vitamin as a preservative for the consumer! Although, not every ingredient in processed cereals may be something that disrupts our body, such as white sugar, there is still a lot of marketing schemes behind the way ingredients are presented to us, and none of them are to protect our health as much as we would like to think.

… and Added Oils

This also contains added oils, such as canola oil (and the VITAMIN A (PALMITATE), which is a synthetic vitamin made with palm oil). Processed oils are not something you want to be eating everyday for breakfast either. Not to mention that white sugar acts about the same as high fructose corn syrup in our bodies, which is not food for the brain.

One serving size of this cereal is also one standard cup. Measuring this on a scale varies so much from what we actually add to our cereal bowl in the morning. A serving is much smaller than many people may think! The good news is that we can avoid all this by making out own breakfast at home using simple ingredients that taste just as good, or even better (and definitely fresher!)

Why You’ll Love This Gluten Free & Vegan Cereal Recipe

German Chocolate Flavor: This homemade granola recipe is a combination of German Chocolate flavors. This is pecan, coconut and chocolate! I love German Chocolate cake, and this is the perfect way to turn that love of dessert into a breakfast recipe! Additionally, it contains no animal products, soy or any gluten, making it inclusive to different diets and cutting out some top allergens.

On-The–Go Snacking: Making granola is a great way to always have a healthy snack on the go. These crunchy clusters can be kept in a Ziploc or a small container for happy snacking whenever, wherever!

Substitutions

Oats: Full of health benefits, a good source of fiber and touted as the king of breakfast, oats are the base of the granola ingredients. Make sure you get rolled oats – these are the best to make granola with. Quick cooking oats may also work as a substitute. If you have a severe gluten allergy, find certified gluten free oats.

Coconut Oil: Use refined coconut oil (has no smell). Don’t go with a virgin or extra virgin one. The latter tastes (and smells) strongly of coconut, and you may not love the end result.

You can usually find all three types (refined, virgin or extra-virgin coconut oil) at most grocery stores.

Chocolate Chips: There are many brands of vegan chocolate chips, even if it doesn’t say vegan on the bag. Go to the baking aisle at the store and check the ingredient label of a bag of chocolate chips. Look for one that does not have milk ingredients in it.

You could also buy a bar of dark chocolate and chop it up, since there are a lot more varieties of dark chocolate bars than there are dark chocolate chip bags. The specific “gourmet, organic” dark chocolate chips are usually in the natural and organic products aisle (since they are usually sweetened with natural sugars) and are more expensive. You can use these for a healthier chocolate version as well.

Maple Syrup: Use 100% pure maple syrup, the lightest grade available. The darker the syrup, the stronger the molasses flavor, which we do not want. You can substitute this with agave syrup.

Cacao Powder: This is the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa powder which is commonly used in baking. You can also use cocoa powder, or find cacao powder in health food stores or online.

Gluten Free & Vegan Cereal Notes

• Add in healthy fats such as flax seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, almond butter and more on top when eating. I love a granola bowl loaded with yummy toppings!
• The best milk to drink this with is oat milk or almond milk as a cereal! You can also use carton coconut milk (not canned) as a cereal milk (if you like a strong coconut flavor in your cereal), or your favourite plant-based milk.

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If you make this Chocolate Pecan Cereal Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!