Easy Hazelnut Granola with Chocolate Chips

I have been meaning to make a Nutella inspired granola for quite some time. It didn’t turn out tasting anything like Nutella but it turned out amazing! It tastes like a European desert of some sort that you would get in a patisserie. We actually ended up eating most of it straight out of the jar and I was terrified we would finish it all before I had a chance to photograph it.

The recipe uses no oil and no refined sugar or dairy so is completely vegan and healthy (although it doesn’t taste very healthy). The recipe is based on (overly expensive) hazelnut butter and rolled oats. Unfortunately, hazelnuts, in general, are quite expensive. You can save yourself a little money by making hazelnut butter at home, provided you have a good food processor that doesn’t overheat but even that can prove to be quite pricey. It’s totally worth it for me because I’m obsessed with hazelnuts but to be honest I think I’ll only make this recipe every once in a while as a special treat. I’ve  kept the add in ingredients for this granola quite simple just using good quality dark chocolate chips and some roughly chopped hazelnuts.  Make sure the whole hazelnuts you use in the recipe are raw and not roasted as they will burn when put in the oven (I’ve made that mistake before). If you don’t have raw hazelnuts just add the roasted ones in after you remove the granola from the oven. You can add any other add ins you like! I think I’m going to repurpose the ingredients and turn them into a cookie of some sort. The granola is honestly more of a deconstructed cookie than typical granola.

Hazelnuts are actually a brilliant nut to eat if you’re struggling with hormonal balance. Biochemically, hazelnuts and almonds have very similar properties and nutrients and are very good at providing the building blocks to synthesise progesterone. Although almonds (which are known to be great for hormone support) are cheaper and more resilient than hazelnuts they both do a great job at hormone balancing. They contain things like good quality plant-based fats, plant-based protein as well as minerals and vitamins  like magnesium and vitamin E. Maybe that is the reason why so many women can down a jar of Nutella at that time of the month (this used to be me); the hazelnut chocolate combo has all the necessary ingredients to lift hormone levels and make us feel better!

Although this granola doesn’t quite taste like Nutella its a healthier way to get all the hormone balancing effects of hazelnuts with a little-added benefit from dark chocolate as well.