Healthy Carrot Cake Granola

Healthy Carrot Cake Granola - an easy granola recipe featuring oats, grated carrots, coconut, raisins, pecans, and classic carrot cake spices! This granola recipe is gluten-free, vegan and free of refined sugars!

Want cake for breakfast? Make Healthy Carrot Cake Granola!

Have we all spotted the first chocolate bunnies at our local grocery store? Then we know what time it is! CARROT CAKE SEASON! Let's kick it off with a healthy spin on the classic springtime dessert — Carrot Cake Granola.  It’s naturally-sweetened, naturally gluten-free and vegan, made with real carrots. Perfect for anyone who likes the idea of carrot cake for breakfast without having to follow the sugar-induced urge to go straight back to bed afterward.

This Carrot Cake Granola happens to be:

• Gluten-free & vegan
• Free of refined sugars
• Easy
• Healthy
• Filling And DELICIOUS

Pretty good for having the word cake in the title, don't you think?

So what goes into carrot cake granola? Obviously, cake is not an ingredient or I couldn't call this a healthy granola without blushing. So how do we get all those delicious flavors you would expect from the perfect slice of carrot cake into this crunchy breakfast treat?

Let me tell you: All you need are some oats, nuts (I went with pecans), shredded coconut, carrots, maple syrup for that sweetness, coconut oil, and a handful of carrot cake spices. I based this recipe on another granola recipe I already have on the blog and just made some minor modifications, mostly due to the addition of carrots.

How to use this granola:

Guys, this is so more than breakfast cereal and can be so versatile.

• Mix it with yogurt as I did for the pics.  Breakfast parfait perfection!
• Use it as a base to make granola bars or granola bites! Here's a great recipe.
• Top a salad or a soup with it. Yep, I mean it!
• Put some granola in your food processor, pulse quickly to make it finer. Roll some bananas in the mix and freeze. Awesome as a healthy frozen treat.
• Crush and roll chicken in it and bake it in the oven. Voila -Carrot Cake Crispy Chicken. My kind of chicken.
• Sprinkle it on top of your breakfast smoothie.

How to make Healthy Carrot Cake Granola:

Prep - Preheat oven to 300 F / 150 C degrees.

Step 1  - In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: oats, carrots, shredded coconut, nuts, spices, and salt.

Step 2 & 3 - Add the wet ingredients: maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix thoroughly until well combined and all the oats look wet.

Step 4 - Transfer on a large baking sheet (you can line it with parchment paper for easy cleaning but you don’t have to) and spread the mixture.

Step 5 - Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, taking it out of the oven half-way through to give it a good stir. All ovens are different so start checking around 20-25 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. 

Step 6 - Remove the sheet pan from the oven, spread raisins on top and let it cool completely.

How to store homemade granola:

Once the granola has cooled down, transfer it to an air-tight container – ideally in the fridge to keep it extra crunchy.

Recipe Tips & Variations:

• If you’ve made my healthy granola recipe before, you might remember that I tell you to press the granola on the baking sheet to make it clumpy and not to stir it. I find that this method doesn’t work with this carrot cake granola: it ends up too soft, probably because of the carrot’s moisture. So bottom line: for this recipe, spread the mixture on the baking sheet, stir halfway through and bake a bit longer.
• You could use honey instead of maple syrup for a non-vegan version that is still refined sugar-free.
• Use virgin coconut oil if you enjoy a bit of coconut taste, refined coconut oil to avoid it
• I used pecans for this recipe but you can also use walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews or hazelnuts or a mix. And why not add in some sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or pepitas?
• Not a fan of raisins? Add some chopped dried apricots, candied ginger or cranberries. Try and find ones without added sugar.

5 from 6 votes

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Healthy Carrot Cake Granola Recipe - Glutenfree

Carrot Cake Granola - an easy, healthy granola recipe featuring oats, grated carrots, coconut, raisins, pecans, and classic carrot cake spices! This granola recipe is gluten-free, vegan and free of refined sugars!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword carrot cake desserts, gluten-free granola recipes, healthy granola recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 527 kcal

Author Marie

Ingredients

• 2  cups  rolled oats also known as old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½  cup  shredded coconut unsweetened – optional
• 1 ½ cup  pecans roughly chopped you can also use walnuts, or hazelnuts or a mix of the three
• 1  tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼  teaspoon  sea salt
• ⅓  cup  maple syrup
• ⅓  cup  coconut oil melted – virgin for coconut taste refined coconut oil to avoid it
• ½  cup  raisins I used golden

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F / 150 C degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: oats, carrots, shredded coconut, nuts, spices and salt.

3. Add the wet ingredients: maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix thoroughly until well combined and all the oats look wet.
4. Transfer on a large baking sheet (you can line it with parchment paper for easy cleaning but you don’t have to) and spread the mixture.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, taking it out of the oven half-way through to give it a good stir. All ovens are different so start checking around 20-25 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.
6. Remove from the oven, spread raisins on top and let it cool completely.
7. When cool transfer to an air-tight container – ideally in the fridge to keep it extra crunchy.

Recipe Notes

• This recipe makes about 6 cups
• If you’ve made my healthy granola recipe before, you might remember that I tell you to press the granola on the baking sheet to make it clumpy and not to stir it. I find that this method doesn’t work with this carrot cake granola: it ends up too soft, probably because of the carrot’s moisture. So bottom line: for this recipe, spread the mixture on the baking sheet, stir halfway through and bake a bit longer.
• You could use honey instead of maple syrup for a non-vegan version that is still refined sugar-free. 
• Use virgin coconut oil if you enjoy a bit of coconut taste, refined coconut oil to avoid it
• I used pecans for this recipe but you can also use walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews or hazelnuts or a mix. And why not add in some sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or pepitas?
• Not a fan of raisins? Add some chopped dried apricots, candied ginger or cranberries. Try and find ones without added sugar. 
•  

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Carrot Cake Granola Recipe - Glutenfree

Amount Per Serving (1 /2 cup)

Calories 527 Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Fat 36g55%

Saturated Fat 13g81%

Sodium 56mg2%

Potassium 447mg13%

Carbohydrates 46g15%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 1800IU36%

Vitamin C 1.7mg2%

Calcium 59mg6%

Iron 3.1mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you tried this healthy carrot cake granola recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

More healthy breakfast recipes you would love:

• Sunshine Smoothie with Turmeric and Vitamin C
• Almond Butter Blondies
• Quinoa Porridge with Roasted Rhubarb & Strawberries
• Raspberry Cinnamon Green Smoothie
• Gingerbread Smoothie
• Strawberry and Cantaloupe Smoothie