Of all the carrot recipes on Inspired Taste, these garlic butter carrots are my absolute favorite! We roast them until golden brown and tender, then toss them with the most delicious garlic parsley butter before serving.
These herby carrots are impressive. I’ve made them for the holidays and special occasions so many times!
They are also easy enough to make on a weeknight. If you’re tired of bland carrot recipes, this one is for you!
How to Cook Carrots – My Favorite Way!
Of all the ways to cook carrots, my favorite is oven roasting. Carrots don’t take long to cook in the oven — 25 to 30 minutes. And the oven does a magical job of bringing out the carrot’s natural sweetness.
For this carrots recipe, we roast our carrots tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper. I use a hot oven (425°F) and leave them in the oven until the edges start to wrinkle and lightly brown.
When our carrots come out of the oven, I toss them with the most delicious garlic parsley butter. It’s incredible.
Making the Garlic Butter
I love tossing carrots in this flavored butter. It’s also perfect tossed with other cooked or roasted veggies and spooned over salmon or chicken.
We’ll melt butter in a small pan over low heat to make it. Then add a smashed garlic clove and chopped fresh parsley.
Allow the butter to bubble gently around the garlic and parsley for a minute, then set the infused butter aside. I remove the garlic clove before tossing it with the carrots.
Make-Ahead Tips
These carrots are super easy to make ahead! Roast them 3 to 4 days in advance and store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months. To reheat, pop them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, or use the microwave for a super-quick fix.
The garlic parsley butter tastes best fresh the day you make it, but you can make it a few days ahead. Just store it in the fridge after it cools. The parsley might lose some bright green color, but it will still taste delicious.
What to Serve with These Carrots
These simple carrots with garlic butter always impress. We love to serve them next to Pan-Roasted Chicken, my mother’s Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill, and our Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples. They are also perfect for topping grain or rice bowls.
Our carrots recipe calls for garlic and parsley butter, but feel free to get creative! This recipe is more of a guide than a rulebook. Love basil? Toss it in! Want a kick? Add some red pepper flakes! Dill, cumin, or other favorite flavors are also delicious!
Makes 4 servings
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled with ends trimmed (8 to 9 carrots)
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Directions
Roast Carrots
1Heat your oven to 425°F (218C) degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
2Chop your carrots into sticks 2 to 3 inches long. If the thicker ends are wide, cut them in half lengthwise for even cooking.
3Toss the carrot sticks with olive oil and salt on the prepared baking sheet. Spread them in a single layer. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring twice, until tender and lightly browned on the edges.
Make Garlic Parsley Butter
1While the carrots roast, melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Gently crush a garlic clove with the back of a knife, remove the skin, and add it to the melted butter and the parsley.
2Let the butter bubble gently for about 1 minute. Then, slide the pan off the heat and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.
3Discard the garlic clove.
To Finish
1Slide the roasted carrots into a bowl with the garlic parsley butter. Toss then season to taste with additional salt as needed.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
To make this vegan, swap the butter for vegan butter, coconut oil or olive oil.
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.
Carrots are a unique vegetable because they seem to have a taste which battles sweetness and harshness. The sweetness of carrots comes from the presence of multiple sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose.
Carrots are naturally sweet, cutting them doesn't affect the flavor. If you want them even sweeter, roasting is a good option. Toss them with some oil, and something sweet- maple syrup, orange juice or even a little honey.
As per various health sites, eating too many carrots for a prolonged period can discolour your skin and give it an orange shade due to the beta carotene present in it. Ideally, you should not consume more than 1 or 2 carrots in a day.
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.
The fiber in carrots (and any high-fiber vegetables, actually) acts like a natural vacuum cleaner in your gastrointestinal tract, picking up debris as it runs through your body. Carrots can also help keep gut cells healthy, supporting a decreased risk of illness and improving your health overall.
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.
However, when terpenoids reach excessive amounts and are no longer balanced with sugar, they give these root vegetables that unpleasant soapy taste. It goes away once you cook the carrots, though, since the heat breaks down these compounds.
There are a few possibilities for why your carrots aren't as sweet as they should be. You are right to think about your soil--a crop of carrots can deplete a soil of nutrients. Be sure to rotate crops in your garden, rather than planting carrots in the same place year after year.
Carrots maturing under warm temperatures or high moisture conditions lack good root color. These carrots also have poor flavor and texture. Plant carrots so they mature under relatively cool temperatures that average less than 80 degrees F. Avoid excessive soil moisture.
Eating carrots on an empty stomach is a simple yet incredibly healthy habit that can yield numerous benefits for your overall well-being. These vibrant orange veggies are packed with essential nutrients like vitamins A and K, as well as dietary fiber, making them a fantastic choice to kickstart your day.
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.
It works best if you add the carrots along with the food you're frying. Otherwise, the carrots might shrivel up and burn before whatever you're frying is finished. You might have to switch out the carrots in between batches of food—again, to avoid burning the carrots and thus defeating the purpose of the tip.
It will make it far easier to blend. Just don't boil them for too long since you'll start to lose flavour. You could probably get away with microwaving them tbh since you're blending them so texture isn't important. Microwaving also keeps the vitamins in them if that's something you care about.
No matter which way you cook them, carrots are a healthy choice. Steaming is a slightly better pick since the carrots don't lose as many of their nutrients to the water. (Steaming is also more environmentally friendly since it uses less water.)
You don't want to soak them, you want to cook them. The prep and method of cooking will determine how long it will take to soften the carrots. Quickest: slice and boil in salted water; done in a few minutes. Best tasting: clean carrots, toss in oil and a little bit of salt.
Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
