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
This is a very lightly sweetened granola. If you prefer a sweeter granola with more clumps, double the honey.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup shredded carrot (about 2)
- 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- dash salt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup raisins
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment.
- Mix fist 10 ingredients (through salt). In a separate bowl, mix together honey, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; mix thoroughly. Spread in a thin layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake 15 minutes; stir. Reduce heat to 225F and bake 45 minutes, or until ingredients are dry and toasted. Remove from oven and let cool. Stir in raisins.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 115Total Fat 5gFiber 2gProtein 3g
Charlotte says
What 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
Two 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
I 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
Thanks! Tomorrow, granola.
Sam