Looking for a fun take on homemade granola? Try this carrot cake granola recipe, featuring many of the flavors and ingredients found in traditional carrot cake – but this version has way more crunch!

I was recently shopping at the local food co-op, which has an impressive bulk food selection. In one of the bins I noticed something that piqued my curiosity:

Carrot cake granola

As a curious shopper, I had to buy some. And as an adventurous cook, I had to try making it at home.

So I gathered some carrot cake essentials, did some recipe magic, and came up with a really delicious granola that had all the familiar flavors of carrot cake.

As a bonus… you can have carrot cake (granola) for breakfast! You (probably) can’t say the same for carrot cake. This recipe also makes a great snack or topping for yogurt.

What You’ll Need To Make Carrot Cake Granola

As promised, most of the ingredients are ingredients you’ll find in carrot cake. Even the carrots! You’ll need:

• Oats: Old-fashioned oats or rolled oats are ideal for this recipe. Do not use quick oats or steel cut oats.
• Coconut: Look for unsweetened coconut flakes. Sweetened will work but adds more (and unnecessary) sweetness to the granola.
• Raisins: Every carrot cake needs raisins – just like every carrot cake granola recipe needs raisins for that traditional flavor.
• Carrots: See notes below about using dehydrated carrots. If you don’t have a food dehydrator, there is an alternative method that involves grating carrots and baking them with the oat mixture.
• Sweetened dried pineapple: Look for this in the dried fruit section or the bulk food section of the grocery store.
• Nuts: I used walnuts but pecans would be equally good in this recipe.
• Liquid ingredients: The liquid mixture holds everything together and helps you create granola that is clumpy and delicious. You’ll need 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of the following: coconut oil, honey, and orange marmalade. 
  • The orange marmalade adds more flavor to the granola – including the delicious little pieces of orange rind. The marmalade also adds moisture that helps keep the granola sticking together.

My Favorite Way To Make Clumpy Granola

Want to learn how to make clumpy granola that sticks together in delicious, large pieces?

It’s all about the liquid-to-oat ratio: the liquid helps keep that oat mixture sticking together.

I’ve found that for every cup of oats, you’ll want to use at least 1/3 cup of liquid. As the recipe states, below, you’ll use 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, orange marmalade, and honey.

For this recipe:

• The dry ingredients included about 3 cups of oats and 1/2 cup coconut.
• The liquid portion was a heaping 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of each the following: coconut oil, orange marmalade, and honey

The other important step to make clumpy granola is in how thick the oat layer is on the baking sheet: I kept the oat layer thick on the pan (about 1/2-inch). I didn’t spread it out across the whole pan.

How To Get The Carrots In Carrot Cake Granola

Carrots are an essential ingredient in carrot cake – and also in this granola recipe. 

But how do you get the carrots into the granola? 

There are two methods to get this done:

• Dehydrate your own carrots: I have a food dehydrator that I use all the time to make things like dehydrated fruit for homemade cocktail kits, homemade spice blends, and more. A dehydrator also makes it easy to make little bite-sized carrots that can be added to the granola. To make, cut 5 to 6 carrots into coins about 1/4-inch thick. Cut each coin into fourths. Place carrot pieces on the dehydrator trays and dehydrate until dried and crunchy.
• Grate carrots and bake in the oven: Other carrot cake granola recipes have you grate carrots, add to the oat mixture, then bake. This option will work well – although I prefer option #1 (dehydrated carrots) for more flavor and texture.

If you like carrot cake, check out this raw carrot cake recipe. It truly tastes like carrot cake but requires no baking.

More Granola Recipes

Granola is a great breakfast and a great snack. Granola also makes a great gift. Here are some more granola recipes to put on your recipe-making bucket list:

• Orange marmalade granola
• Strawberry granola
• Banana and peanut butter granola
• Chocolate granola