Slow Cooker Honey Nut Granola Recipe: Slow Cooker Granola is crunchy, golden, and delicious, combining oats, nuts, coconut, oil, and honey in the crock pot for an effortless, wholesome treat!
Slow Cooker Granola…who knew it was a thing?! I have to admit that I was more than a bit skeptical the first time I heard you could make granola in a crock pot. After all, I make granola all the time, in a multitude of variations. But I’ve always just baked it. Isn’t that the norm?
So I was definitely intrigued when a friend recently mentioned slow cooking granola…like, in a crock pot. What??? After a bit of research and some experimentation, however, I can now report that not only does crock pot granola work, but it turns out delicious, with a texture that’s actually very comparable to oven-baked granola. Crazy!
Slow Cooker Honey Nut Granola Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup sunflower kernels
- 1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash salt
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup raisins
- Yogurt, optional
Directions
- Mix the first eight ingredients together in a 3- or 4-quart slow cooker. Mix honey, water, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl with a whisk. Then, add the mixture to the oats and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring well every 20 minutes, until crisp.
- Add the raisins and cherries and mix them in. Spread out evenly on baking sheets or waxed paper, and let it cool fully. Use sealed containers to store. Serve with yogurt if you want.
- Seeds add both crunch and fiber to breakfast. Good options include sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, poppy and flaxseed. (Flaxseed is usually ground to make more nutrients available.
- Wheat germ, the embryo of the wheat plant, is a concentrated nutrient source. Each tablespoon adds 2 grams protein and 1 gram fiber to dishes. So go ahead and shake some over your cereal, add to granola recipes or blend it into smoothies.
- Be sure to stir the granola mixture thoroughly every 20 minutes for even cooking.
Unsweetened Coconut
Look for unsweetened coconut in the baking or health food section
Nutrition Facts
- 1/2 cup: 267 calories
- 12g fat (2g saturated fat)
- 0 cholesterol
- 43mg sodium
- 39g carbohydrate (19g sugars, 5g fiber)
- 6g protein
