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Carrot Cake Granola

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Packed with wholesome oats, nuts, coconut and carrots, this crunchy granola has all the delicious flavors of carrot cake.. in a healthy breakfast form! It is perfect for sprinkling over yogurt or eating by the handful. It has moved to the very top of our favorite granola list!

a glass jar filled with homemade granola

Why You’re Going To Love This Carrot Cake Granola

We absolutely love granola at our house. It is one of our favorite snacks to have on hand! It is nutritious, filling, and perfect over a bowl of yogurt or simply enjoyed by the handful. If you have never made homemade granola.. it is time to start! It is so easy.. just stir and bake! And it so much better than store-bought. Once you’ve tried homemade granola, you will never be able to go back! Not only is it super easy and totally delicious, but you can customize the ingredients and control what is going into it.

This Carrot Cake Granola is one of our favorite creations to date. It is super crunchy, and full of all the warm spices that make carrot cake so yummy. We packed it with nuts, carrots, and coconut- so not only is it delicious, it is also filling and nutritious. Not to mention, totally addicting. Like.. eat half of the pan before it even cools addicting.

carrot cake granola spilling out onto the counter

Ingredients for Carrot Cake Granola

  • Oats– You will use regular rolled oats for this recipe.
  • Carrots– We used a fine grater to shred the carrots, then used paper towels to remove excess moisture.
  • Pecans– Almonds or walnuts are also delicious!
  • Coconut– We have used shredded coconut and coconut chips- either one works great.
  • Maple Syrup– We love using maple syrup in granola, but you can also use honey.
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Salt
  • Coconut Oil– Coconut oil is so delicious in this granola, but any neutral-flavored oil will work here.
ingredients for carrot cake granola

How To Make Carrot Cake Granola

  1. Combine all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Melt the coconut oil in a small bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup. Stir in the grated carrots.
  3. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
  4. Spread the granola onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once during the bake time. It will still be slightly soft to the touch, but will get crunchy as it cools.
  5. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. It will be good for up to a month.
process shots for how to make carrot cake granola

Tips & Suggestions

How long can you store homemade granola?

Store homemade granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. For longer storage, store in the freezer for 3-6 months.

How should I serve Carrot Cake Granola?

Our favorite way to enjoy this granola is on top of vanilla Greek yogurt! Eat it plain, or add some fresh fruit like fresh berries or sliced bananas. Some other ways to enjoy granola are:

  • on top of smoothie bowls
  • sprinkled on apple slices spread with nut butter
  • in a bowl with milk
  • rolled up in a tortilla spread with cream cheese or nut butter
  • stirred into muffins or quick breads before baking
  • sprinkled on toast
  • as a pancake topping; before or after cooking!
  • on top of cottage cheese
  • as a salad topper
  • stirred into cookie dough
  • added to trail mix
  • by the handful!

Why isn’t my granola crunchy?

If your granola isn’t crunchy, try adding an additional 5 minutes to the bake time. Watch carefully to avoid over-baking. You can also try cooking your granola at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. Bake your granola mixture at 275 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Can I add anything else to my Carrot Cake Granola?

Yes! We love boosting the nutrition and flavor of our granola with extra add-ins. Some of our favorite add-ins include hemp seeds, flax meal, chia seeds or dried fruit like raisins or crushed banana chips.

a bowl of yogurt topped with carrot cake granola
an overhead shot of carrot cake granola in a mason jar with a wooden scoop

More Delicious Granola Recipes:

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3.4 from 166 votes

Carrot Cake Granola

Packed with wholesome oats, nuts, coconut and carrots, this crunchy granola has all the delicious flavors of carrot cake.. in a healthy breakfast form! It is perfect for sprinkling over yogurt or eating by the handful. It has moved to the very top of our favorite granola list!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 197kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, coconut flakes, and chopped pecans if using.
  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk together maple syrup and melted coconut oil. Stir in grated carrot. Pour into oat mixture and stir to combine.
  • Spread onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. You want the pieces underneath to get stirred to the top and so everything cooks evenly. You will know its done when it starts to look golden brown and the carrots have dried slightly. It will feel a bit wet to the touch when it comes out of the oven, but it gets crunchy as it cools.
  • Cool completely and then store in an airtight container at room temperature. It will stay good for up to 1 month. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1309IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword : carrot cake granola

www.superhealthykids.com

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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16 Comments

Hi, is there a way to cut back the honey and still have them stick? We’re a pretty low sugar family and I’d like to have about half the honey this calls for.

Hi Sarah! Good question. I haven’t tried yet so I can’t be sure- but I have hope that half the honey might work since there’s almond butter and the flax egg to help things hold together. My husband requested these again so I’ll try it out and let you know! And if you get to it first, let us know! I’d love it if it works out.

Hello again, Sarah! I just made these with half the honey (1/4 cup) and they worked great! At first I was a little nervous because they seemed dry when I combined everything, but they held up fine in the oven – maybe only slightly more crumbly, but not much. I just made sure to pulse the oats and nuts pretty well and spread the mixture on the thick side for baking. Thanks for asking – I’m happy to cut sugar when I can!

Hi! Do you think these keep just as well in the freezer or refrigerator? I like the idea of having them last longer as quick go to snacks but 3-4 days wouldn’t be enough time.

Hi Mirav! Yes, we actually put some of ours in the freezer and it worked really well! We just grabbed a couple on our way out the door and they thawed by the time we needed a snack.

Hi, this recipe looks great, but is it possible to make a nut free version? Wanted to make these for the school cake sale as a healthier alternative.

Hi Farzana, good question! You can definitely leave out the nuts and just add more coconut and/or raisins if you like. The tricky thing will be getting the bars to stick together without almond butter. If seed butter is something you are okay using, I think sunflower seed butter would work really well. If not, it might work to add a few tablespoons more honey and double the flax egg – I haven’t tried this myself though. Let us know how they turn out for you!

The nutrition facts at the bottom of this recipe say that there are 599 calories per serving. That can’t be right, can it?

Hi Andi! Our system defaulted this recipe for 4 servings. You can actually get about 12-14 granola bars out of it. That makes each granola bar approximately 175 calories. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Great granola bars. I appreciate that I don’t have to make granola first and then make the bars. Didn’t have almond butter, substituted peanut butter. Didn’t have raisins, substituted cranberries. Used an egg, rather than flax seed egg. Despite the substitutions, they baked into moist snacks which held together well. Thanks for this… it’s now in my files!

Hi Kristy! We don’t calculate nutrition facts for these recipes on the site, BUT they are all calculated automatically in the connected cooking app, Prepear. Every one of our recipes is already in the app, and it’s free to use! Sign up here: https://www.prepear.com/

2 stars
I tried this recipe but I didn’t like and even my kids ;it’s a little bit dry and i thought it will be crispy when you have a bite but I didn’t like the texture at all