Carrot Cake Granola

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

Yield: 20

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

This is a very lightly sweetened granola. If you prefer a sweeter granola with more clumps, double the honey.

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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

1. Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 115 Total Fat 5g Fiber 2g Protein 3g