Slow Cooker Honey Nut Granola
This Honey Nut Granola recipe is made easy with the help of your slow cooker!
My love for granola is well documented on this blog. It’s my favorite late night snack, breakfast, and on-the-go pick me up. After experimenting with savory granola, I didn’t really think there was much else that could shake up my granola routine.
Then Kristen of Dine and Dish shared a recipe for slow cooker granola. My mind was blown. This was a game changer. It didn’t take me long to whip out my crock pot and give this new technique a try.
Guys, I gotta tell you. I am sold. This recipe is so easy, and it delivers a pile of crispy, evenly golden oats. I decided to keep things pretty simple, and decorate the oats only with almonds and honey. I’ve made this with both butter and coconut oil, no brown sugar, and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and the coconut oil and brown sugar combination was definitely a winner. It had the right amount of sweetness, and I also felt the brown sugar and coconut oil gave the oats a crispier texture.
When I was eating gluten free, one of the things I missed the most was cereal. (I know, I know. I’m an addict). I searched the grocery store for gluten free granolas, and was shocked to discover how few options there were. I mean, it’s essentially just oats, nuts, oil, and sweetener. How hard can it be to make it gluten free? Of course, the ones that are gluten free cost an arm and your first born child.
It became apparent early on that I was going to need to find a gluten free solution to my breakfast woes, and this crock pot granola was just the thing. I made three batches within two weeks. It was satisfying in the morning with a pour of almond milk, and the perfect snack in the afternoon with a bowl of Greek yogurt and a (generous) drizzle of honey.
A few notes on the recipe. I’ve started pulverizing half of the nuts into tiny bits, which gives the oats extra crunch and flavor. I give the rest of the almonds a short chop in a food processor so some are whole and others are in small to medium chunks.
You’ll want to stir the oats every 30 minutes and leave the lid slightly off kilter so the steam escapes and your oats crisp up. Other than that, this recipe is smooth sailing. Here’s to granola innovation!
Slow Cooker Honey Nut Granola
Ingredients
- 5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups raw almonds, divided
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen; Method from Dine and Dish
What is the serving size for the nutritional information?
Good recipe & fairly easy. I made it last night & had the granola with my morning yogurt. My granola unfortunately wasn’t as chunky I’d like.
I’m glad you liked it. This isn’t a super chunky granola. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!
This would be a great granola for the summer because you wouldn’t have to heat up an oven. I made it recently, though, in the winter, and I liked it. It’s pretty and it chunks up nicely. However, I thought it a bit bland. The next time I make it, I’m going to add 1/2 t. nutmeg and maybe another 1/4 t. salt. I also used a crockpot liner, and the vast majority of the granola came off the plastic onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
http://www.what-marsha-eats.tumblr.com
Oh yum! I love your photos… this is a breakfast to get up for in the morning 🙂
Thank you! It’s definitely a little extra motivation. 🙂
the drizzle of honey! the almonds! the perfectly golden oats! you’re killing me, Courtney!
That’s my job! 🙂
These photos are seriously gorgeous!! I wish I had a giant bowl of this in front of me right now…
Sues
Thank you Sues! I wish I could send you a giant bowl!