This easy recipe for roasted carrots will be your new favorite veggie side dish. These carrots are oven-roasted so you can focus on other things while they bake. The perfect accompaniment to your main dish. Step-by-step photos show you how to slice and bake these naturally sweet carrots.
I grew up with many steamed carrots, they were fine but not too exciting. While steamed carrots have their time and place, weeknight dinner on rotation is not one of them for me anyway. Oven-roasted carrots though, whole other story! They are incredibly flavorful with just a bit of oil and salt and pepper. The key to that roasted flavor is baking them at a high temperature.
Many people like to bake carrots with a bit of brown sugar but I find the carrots are sweet enough on their own so I leave the brown sugar for my slutty brownies recipe.
Let's get to the roasted carrot recipe.
Ingredients
- Carrots. I like to use large carrots and peel and chop them into sticks. You could use baby carrots if you want.
- Oil. Since we are roasting the carrots at high heat you want to make sure you use an oil that has a high smoke point. I also love to use a spray oil so I don't end up using tons of oil. I like to use Olive Oil or Avocado Oil. I have been known to drizzle a little bit of melted butter after they've baked.
- Salt and Pepper. You can season the carrots to your preference, most of the time I keep it simple and just use salt and pepper but of course you could add some other spices, garlic is always a good one!
For a richer veggie dish check out my cauliflower cheese recipe.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425F/218C. The key to roasted carrots or any roasted veggies for that matter is a hot oven. The high heat produces an almost caramelized, browned skin with a delicious tender inside.
Peel carrots and chop the stems off.
Then chop the carrots in half lengthwise. If the carrot is very thin you do not need to cut them in half. The bottom of the carrot is often much thinner than the top so sometimes I chop a 2-3 inch piece of the whole bottom of the carrot before cutting the carrot in half
Cut each piece into 2-3 inch sticks,. You just want to make sure that your pieces of carrot are around the same size so that they will bake evenly.
Ever so lightly spray a baking sheet with oil then place carrots on the baking sheet and spread evenly in a single layer. You do not want the carrots to be too close together or place too many on one sheet, if the carrots are too crowded they will not get the nice roast on them, they will end up steaming more than roasting. Spray a little more oil to cover the tops of the carrots and toss carrots with olive oil salt and pepper
Roast in the oven on the top rack of the oven for 15 minutes then take the tray out and jiggle the pan to move the carrots around, or use a spatula to flip the carrots, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on how large/ thick your carrots are, they should be fork-tender when done.
Serve immediately, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can you double
You can totally double this and make more carrots but I do suggest baking them on two sheet trays so the carrots are not overcrowded in the pan.
What to serve with roasted carrots
Whenever I make a roast dinner, similar to an American Thanksgiving dinner, I serve these carrots alongside my Yorkshire pudding recipe.
A surprisingly delicious pairing is my baked salmon.
Salt & Vinegar smashed potatoes are a delicious potato recipe!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Roasted Carrots
This easy recipe for roasted carrots will be your new favorite veggie side dish. These carrots are oven-roasted so you can focus on other things while they bake. The perfect accompaniment to your main dish. Step-by-step photos show you how to slice and bake these naturally sweet carrots.
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1lb Carrots peeled
- 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F/218C.
- Peel the carrots then chop the carrots in half lengthwise and cut into 2-3 inch sticks, the bottom of the carrot is often much thinner then the top so sometimes I chop a 2-3 inch piece of the whole bottom of the carrot before cutting the carrot in half. You just want to make sure that your pieces of carrot are around the same size so that they will bake evenly.
- Ever so lightly spray a baking sheet with oil then place carrots on the baking sheet and spread evenly. You do not want the carrots to be too close together or place too many on one sheet, if the carrots are too crowded they will not get the nice roast on them, they will end up steaming more than roasting. Spray a little more oil to cover the tops of the carrots and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake the carrots on the top rack of the oven for 15 minutes then take the tray out and jiggle the pan to move the carrots around, or use a spatula to flip the carrots, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on how large/ thick your carrots are, they should be fork-tender when done.
- Serve immediately, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Side
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
Jase says
So easy even I could do it and they were fantastic!!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Glad you found the recipe helpful Jase!! These carrots are the best!! XX Liz
Karen says
These carrots are Scrumptious!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thanks, Karen for coming back to star rate and review the recipe, I truly appreciate it! I think the carrots are delicious too!! XX Liz
Chad says
This is the perfect addition to any dinner or party, especially for the unskilled in the kitchen! Such an easy recipe to follow!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Aww thank you so much for the lovely review Chad! I seriously love these roasted carrots!! Take care. XX Liz