How to Make Granola in the Slow Cooker

When it comes to cereal, I call my husband The Beast. For him, muesli is breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, dessert and a snack. That’s why we go through it very fast, so every Sunday I replenish our supply so The Beast can be fed.

Why Use the Slow Cooker for Cereal?

First, the oven baking method doesn’t really allow you to bake large batches. If you bake the granola on a baking sheet and spread it too thick, you’ll end up with granola that will stay wet in the center and burn on the outside.

Yes, you can mess it up halfway, but it’s a mess waiting to happen. That, or you cook it in multiple batches, but honestly, who has time for that?

Second, I really hate turning on the oven during the warmer months.

For these reasons, I prefer the slow cooker method of making granola.

It’s really a simple trick. The key is to leave the slow cooker lid slightly ajar.

This allows moisture to escape and dry air to enter, essentially making the slow cooker an air dryer. All the granola needs is about 2 1/2 hours and a bit of attention every 20 to 30 minutes. Then place the granola on baking sheets to cool quickly, add dried fruit and you’re done.

If there is one downside to this method, it’s that you won’t get large clusters of granola. You can thank the generous airflow and few rounds of stirring you’ll be doing, along with the lack of intense high heat from an oven that cements the oats along with the sugar. I doubt you’ll miss them, though, as the end result tastes just as good.

If your family is just as full of granola beasts as mine, then trust me when I say this recipe is just what you need to keep their hunger pangs at bay.

Granola is a work of improvisation

This recipe is more of a guide than anything else. I used more or less oats or nuts depending on what I had on hand. The beast, who has an incurable sweet tooth, adds a quarter cup of packaged brown sugar to the dry ingredients for when he needs a midweek helping after using up the week’s supply early.

Dried fruit is also the norm, but if you have access to freeze-dried fruit, I recommend trying a crunchy granola. Also, since freeze-dried fruit contains almost no moisture, it helps your granola last much longer than using regular dried fruit.

Freeze-dried fruit is a bit more expensive, so if you want to use regular dried fruit, that’s fine. I switch between the two depending on my mood and am always amazed by the results.

Really, no matter what I’ve done to tweak the recipe, the granola always turns out good. I’ve included a few of my favorite variations at the end of the recipe, but feel free to make your own and let us know in the comments!

My favorite granola variations!

• Apricot Raspberry Granola (pictured): 1 cup almonds, 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, and 1/4 cup freeze-dried raspberries.
• Banana Berry Granola: Use 2 cups of chopped walnuts. Once cooked, add 1 cup dried or freeze dried blueberries and 1 cup chopped dried bananas.
• Autumn muesli: Use 2 cups pecans and 1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove). Use maple syrup for the liquid mixture. After cooking, add 1 cup of dried cranberries.
• Heavenly Granola: Use 2 cups chopped raw pistachios, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 heaping teaspoon cardamom. Use honey for the liquid mixture and add 2 teaspoons of orange flower water (1 tablespoon of orange zest or a teaspoon of orange extract will do in a pinch).
• Earl Gray Granola: Omit cinnamon. Add 1 teaspoon of finely ground Earl Gray tea with the dry ingredients. Use honey instead and add 2 teaspoons of orange zest to the liquid mixture.
• Birdseed Granola: Use 1 cup almonds, 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. (Instead of or in addition to sesame and/or poppy seeds, I also used hemp and chia seeds for this recipe).
• Tropical Granola: Add 1 teaspoon of ground vanilla bean to the dry mix. Add dried pineapple, kiwi, banana, mango and/or papaya.
• Cherry-almond-crunchy muesli: Use 2 cups whole or slivered almonds. Add 2 teaspoons of almond extract to the liquid mixture. Once cooked, add 1 cup chopped dried cherries.

More granola recipes to try!

• Cherry-almond granola with vanilla crumble
• Crispy Banana Nut Granola
• Christmas Spice Granola