I’ve been craving carrot cake for weeks, but summer’s coming up quickly and I really don’t need to be eating cake right now. I decided to make carrot cake granola instead! It’s loaded with all of the goodies that you’d find in your favorite carrot cake: coconut, walnuts, raisins, and warm spices. I even got all trendy and threw in some quinoa, which adds a nutty flavor and slightly chewy texture. This is one of my new favorite treats – I keep disappearing into the kitchen to sneak a hand full. It’s also great sprinkled over yogurt – I recommend coconut or lemon!
Because the carrots and quinoa add so much moisture to this granola, it takes longer to make than my other granola recipes – about an hour total. You’ll start it at high heat to toast the oats and walnuts, then reduce the heat to dehydrate the carrots. The result is a great combination of crunchy, chewy, and soft textures.
Carrot cake granola is my contribution to this month’s leftover club, where food bloggers ship their leftovers to faraway friends. A bag of this carrot cake granola is headed off to Dani from Dining with Dani.
Carrot Cake Granola
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 115 Total Fat: 5g Fiber: 2g Protein: 3g
Charlotte says
01/27 at 11:00 amWhat are the Nutrition Facts for Carrot Cake Granola? It looks great but I am diabetic and need to know how to count it into my diet.
sam says
03/03 at 4:35 pmTwo questions. Coconut, sweetened or unsweetened?–Coconut oil: how do you measure it and mix it at room temp.? It’s solid.
Sam
Lauren Keating says
03/03 at 6:20 pmI use sweetened coconut since it’s easier to find, but you can use either. At room temp, my coconut oil is a soft solid so it isn’t difficult to mix it into the honey. If yours is too hard (it might be this time of year) you can melt it down a little.
sam says
03/03 at 6:57 pmThanks! Tomorrow, granola.
Sam
LyndaS says
05/21 at 10:06 pmI was just thinking of a carrot (pan)cake today. Your granola looks great.
P.S.
I like the beef jerky you brought to Food Blog Forum.
Shelley says
05/08 at 10:37 amThe concept of this is wonderful! I tried it last night and unfortunately, had to throw it all away. 45 minutes at 225 was WAY off for my oven and I completely burned 90% of this. I just got busy doing something else and didn’t watch well enough. I will be making again though because the smell was fantastic and the raw ingredients were tasty.
Lauren Keating says
05/08 at 10:44 amI’m so sorry to hear that your burned! 🙁 Mine was barely toasted so I’m not sure why this would have happened unless one of our ovens if off… I’ll check the temperature on mine as soon as I can. (My other thought is that maybe my oven cooled off faster when I reduced the heat…)
Alan Brown says
08/19 at 7:48 amare you cooking at 225 Fahrenheit or Centigrade – you should cook at 180C then reduce to 100C for the remainder
Laura says
05/04 at 12:45 amThis is absolutely brilliant! Pinning now!
Ruthy @ omeletta says
05/03 at 9:13 amWhat a great idea! And probably a lot smarter than eating cake for breakfast, which I basically have to stop myself from doing on a fairly regular basis 🙂
Mathilde says
05/03 at 8:05 amA must try…. I put it on my list of recipes I need to try urgently! Great blog!
Ida says
05/03 at 7:21 amThis looks wonderful. And carrot cake is one of my favorites, so being able to have it in granola is quite tempting
Kristi Rimkus says
05/02 at 11:40 pmI’m crazy for carrot cake. It’s a treat I can’t resist. This is a must try!
kelly @ kellybakes says
05/02 at 11:33 pmThanks for the tip about adding extra honey! I always get overzealous with what I add to my granola and never put in enough honey to get the crunchy clumps. Also, this recipe comes at a perfect time–I’ve been religiously counting calories and if I saw carrot cake’s caloric info, I’m sure I would die. This granola seems like a much better option for way less guilt 🙂
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me says
05/02 at 9:38 pmI make carrot cake oatmeal all the time, but never granola! This is sooo great! I think I’ll make this over the weekend. My yogurt needs some oomph.
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere says
05/02 at 8:42 pmA healthy way to eat carrot cake… for breakfast? Count me in!
Sarah Crowder says
05/02 at 8:33 pmI’ve made carrot cake oatmeal but not granola – great idea! Love the addition of quinoa.
joybee83 says
05/02 at 6:53 pmDelicious. This looks great I am totally going to try this for my next granola.
Carrie @ Bakeaholic Mama says
05/02 at 4:35 pmOh wow! I could eat this every day for breakfast. Love the flecks of carrot in it.
Joanne says
05/02 at 3:36 pmI pretty much crave carrot cake on a daily basis…so perhaps I should eat this granola instead to curb my cravings! Such a fun treat.
jacquie says
05/02 at 12:52 pmI would never of thought of adding raw carrots to granola – I have to try this as it looks yummy.
what is the serving size? I know you said 20 servings but I just can’t get my head around how many cups of granola it would make and therefore how many servings. I was going to guess 1/4 cup but that would mean that there were 5 cups and it doesn’t seem as though those ingredients would make 5 cups of granola. but what do I know….
Lauren Keating says
05/02 at 12:55 pm1 serving = 1/4 cup.
I didn’t think it was going to make so much either, but 1/4 cup of this and that really starts to add up! (it’s almost 4 cups just with the oats, quinoa, and carrot)
Jessica S. @ Floptimism says
05/02 at 12:10 pmAmazing! You know, I never ate carrot cake as a kid, but lately I’ve been craving it in all forms. I’ve made carrot cake oatmeal, yogurt…and now I think I need to try carrot cake granola!
Monique says
05/02 at 10:42 amsend ME leftovers!
🙂
like this recipe- would make a nice topping for my new adventures in yogurt making.
Jen @JuanitasCocina says
05/02 at 9:51 amCarrot cake + granola will start my day off just right!
Kim @ Hungry Healthy Girl says
05/02 at 9:36 amYum…looks delish! I love adding quinoa to my granola!