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Roasted Carrots are one of the most versatile vegetable side dishes! You can go savory or you can go sweet. This roasted carrots recipe is all about classic flavor. Do you remember the glazed carrots from your childhood and from holiday meals? They’re perfect for weeknight dinners with the family too!
Whether you call them brown sugar carrots, carmelized carrots, or maple glazed carrots, you’ll call these delicious! Plus, they’re so simple to make! Use them for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Thursday night dinner!
SWEET ROASTED CARROTS
Carrot side dishes are often seen at the holidays, but they pair so well with a variety of main courses that I started serving them as part of our weekly meals too! I’m a huge fan of cooked carrots so I enjoy making them different ways.
When I am cooking for the holidays, I usually make my classic slow cooker carrots. While they cook, I can work on other dishes I’m in charge of making. On weeknights, I don’t often reach for my Crockpot for a side dish. If I’m breaking out the slow cooker, it’s going to be a one-pot meal night!
So oven baked carrots are a great solution. I get the brown sugar cinnamon carrots I love and still have a fairly convenient recipe going.
HOW TO COOK CARROTS
There are a lot of different ways to cook carrots. If you’re interested in trying some different methods, we’ve got you covered! Try Maple Glazed Carrots for a sweet recipe or Buttery Cooked Carrots for more savory flavor!
Most of my carrot recipes lean towards the sweet side of things and use ingredients like brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup. But you’ll find some garlic thrown in there as well!
For this recipe, you cook the carrots in the oven at 425°F to roast them. It’s easy to do and you can work on the rest of the meal while they bake!
DO YOU PEEL CARROTS BEFORE ROASTING?
The truth is you don’t have to peel carrots unless you want to do it. Some people don’t like the texture or the taste of carrot skin, so most people do peel them. If you peel them and have never tried a Y-shaped Peeler, I highly recommend trying one! You can get a Y Vegetable Peeler here!
I often use baby carrots to avoid peeling and doing a lot of chopping. But if you use whole carrots for this recipe (and you can!) then it’s up to you if you want to peel the carrots before roasting them.
HOW DO YOU CUT CARROTS FOR ROASTING?
If you’re not using baby carrots, I suggest you cut your whole carrots before roasting them with this recipe. There are a few options.
You can slice the carrots. If you slice them, I recommend slicing them into slices that are about 1-2 inches thick. You’ll want them all to be similar in size so you get more even cooking.
You can also chop them into chunks or slice them length-wise to make carrot sticks. No matter how you cut them, make sure the pieces are all about the same size.
If you’re using baby carrots but would like more bite-size carrots to serve, you can cut them in half too before roasting in the oven.
HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR ROASTED CARROTS
To get started, prep your carrots if you’re not using baby carrots. Then heat your oven and line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. You don’t have to do this, but it really helps make cleaning up easier when you’re glazing carrots.
Then mix all of the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Put the carrots in a larger bowl and once you’ve mixed your glaze, pour it over the carrots. Stir them around to get them coated with the glaze.
Spread the glazed carrots on the baking pan in a single layer and put them in the oven to roast! Cook the carrots for about 20 minutes or until they reach the desired softness and tenderness. I recommend flipping them over about halfway through the cooking time.
You can garnish them with parsley flakes and serve them with your favorite main dish!
SUGGESTED MAIN DISH RECIPES: Oven Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken, “Fried” Chicken Legs, Crockpot Turkey Breast
Easy Roasted Carrots
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 158
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter, maple syrup, salt, and pepper together until smooth.
Put baby carrots in a large bowl and pour glaze mixture over them. Mix to coat.
Spread baby carrots in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness. Turn the carrots halfway through cook time.
Garnish with parsley flakes, if desired. Serve warm.
Notes
You can substitute whole carrots for the baby carrots in this recipe. Slice or chop your carrots into similar sized pieces before roasting.
Please note: All nutritional values are estimates. Exact values depend on the specific products used.
Nutrition
Calories: 158 kcal
FAQs
There is, however, a trick to getting roasted carrots right. Undercook them, and the texture is tough and dense. Overcook them, and they're dry and wrinkled. The secret is to soften the carrots slightly by boiling them briefly before roasting.
How to make Gordon Ramsay carrots? ›
Cooking instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.
What is the healthiest way to cook carrots? ›
Another study showed both boiling and steaming increased levels of beta carotene. But try to cook carrots whole, as cutting can reduce nutrients by 25%. Wait and wash veggies just before cooking to preserve nutrients. In fact, cooking veggies whole is often the best choice to preserve nutrients.
What goes good with carrots? ›
A few main dishes that pair well with roasted carrots are:
- Easy Skillet Chicken Thighs.
- Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes.
- Lemon Butter Chicken.
- Chicken Piccata.
- Spaghetti.
- Baked Ziti.
Because a carrot's skin isn't as thick as other root vegetables (like potatoes) or winter squashes, carrots are perfectly safe and delicious to eat without peeling so long as they are properly cleaned. When it comes down to it, peeling carrots or keeping the skin on is a matter of personal preference.
Should you peel whole carrots before roasting? ›
When to Skip Peeling Carrots. “Juicing and roasting carrots are good times to avoid peeling,” says Hilowitz. “If you are making a rustic dish, then leaving the peel on could potentially enhance the look and experience of the dish.
What makes carrots taste better? ›
Or, to bring out their fresh, woody flavor, add some anise. If you're roasting your carrots, toss them in olive oil first. This will help keep the moisture in them. To bring out the sweetness in your carrots, season them with orange or lemon juice or a little brown sugar and butter.
What not to mix carrots with? ›
For the same reason, one shouldn't mix orange with carrot as when taken together, they may cause heartburn and excess bile reflux. Only a few fruits are starchy in nature. These include green bananas and plantains.
Are roasted carrots better than raw? ›
Cooking carrots allows beta carotene, an antioxidant compound that gets converted to vitamin A in the intestine, to absorb more easily in the body, explains Beckerman. 2 This helps your body soak up even more health benefits, like boosting your immunity and promoting eye health.
What flavors go well with carrot? ›
For example, carrots are said to pair exceptionally well with butter, ginger, lemon, maple syrup, orange, parsley, and sugar. Other ingredients that are said to pair well with carrots include cinnamon, coriander, dill, lime, spearmint, olive oil, parsnips, salt, tarragon, thyme, etc.
You can peel them with a vegetable peeler or knife if you'd like, but you don't have to. From there, you might slice them into sticks and eat them with hummus or a yogurt-based dip. If you don't like crunchy carrots, you can steam, boil, or roast them and serve them as a side dish.
How do you cut carrots for side dishes? ›
Using a sharp knife, simply crosscut each carrot into rounds of whatever thickness is desired. This is a good option for salads and simple carrots side dishes (for side dishes, it's best to cut the rounds thicker so the carrots don't snap in half easily once cooked).
How do you eat carrots for beginners? ›
Here are a few suggestions for how to eat carrots:
- Raw: Wash and peel the carrot, then slice it into sticks or rounds for a healthy and crunchy snack. ...
- Cooked: Carrots can be boiled, steamed, roasted, or sautéed. ...
- Juiced: Carrots can be juiced using a juicer or blender.
Yes, dogs can eat carrots. Carrots are an excellent low-calorie snack that is high in fiber and beta-carotene, which produces vitamin A. Plus, crunching on this orange root vegetable is great for your dog's teeth. Carrots are included as an ingredient in many dog foods as well as plenty of carrot dog treats.
Is it better to boil vegetables before roasting? ›
Blanching the veggies before roasting them may allow you to have less salt on the vegetables and for them to caramelize a bit nicely without burning. Sometimes I have burned vegetables when roasting them until they were tender. So try this — enjoy the bounty.
Why are my carrots not getting soft in oven? ›
The solution: Turn the oven temperature up to 400°F to 425°F. The high heat will quickly coax out all those naturally sweet flavors while keeping the vegetable tender-crisp.
Does carrot need to be boiled? ›
Carrots can be consumed both raw and cooked, so whether or not you need to cook or boil them depends on personal preference and the intended use. Here are some advantages of cooking or boiling carrots: Enhanced flavor: Cooking or boiling carrots can enhance their natural sweetness and make them more palatable.
Do you need to boil carrots before roasting reddit? ›
I just pop mine in the microwave with a bit of water for that same time, just enough that I can force a fork all the way through. You technically don't need to parboil any vegetable, but it will take an annoyingly long time at a low heat to get some of the denser, thicker ones soft.
