A simple side dish you can easily add to any meal during the week, these oven roasted baby carrots just as quickly become a fancy side when using heirloom baby carrots from the market.
A good source of vitamins, fiber, beta carotene, and antioxidants, eating too many carrots is never a bad thing. Roasting baby carrots helps bring out their natural sweetness as the starch slowly converts to sugar, making them a hit even with kids.
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Table of Contents
Do You Have To Use Baby Carrots?
Absolutely not! To be honest you can you any carrots you see fit or happen to have in the pantry.
Peeled baby carrots, whole carrots cut into a batton stick, or carrots from the garden will all work.
The key to making this recipe for oven roasted baby carrots, which come out perfectly every time is to make sure all the carrots are evenly sized. This makes baby carrots ideal because they are all generally the same size already(meaning less chopping) and will cook quite evenly.
How Long Do You Roast Baby Carrots ......& At What Temperature?
Since baby carrots are fairly thin, you want to roast them at a higher than normal temperature to ensure they are fully cooked (without being mushy), while slightly caramelizing around the edges.
I've found the best temperature for roasting baby carrots to be 400F for 20-35 minutes on the middle oven rack.
Oven Roasted Baby Carrots
To make this recipe you'll need:
- 2 - 3 bunches baby carrots
- 2 tablespoon oil
- Pinch salt and pepper
- Brown sugar (optional)
PRO TIP: To prevent the carrots from burning to the roasting pan at such a high temperature, I like to use parchment paper or a Silpat baking sheet. The Silpat sheet is naturally non-stick, and can be re-used hundreds of times, making it zero-waste friendly!
Instructions for oven roasted baby carrots
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and then wash and trim the baby carrots. If you are using fresh bunched carrots from the market, cut off the top greens and any spindly roots that may be sticking out. If using pre-peeled baby carrots give them a rinse under running water.
2. Once washed and trimmed, pick out carrots that are larger than the rest and cut them in half to make them more uniform in size. I like to cut all my baby carrots in half to speed up cooking time.
3. Toss the baby carrots in a bowl with the oil, salt, and pepper. Line a baking sheet with a non-stick Silpat liner or non-stick parchment paper.
4. Spread the carrots on the baking sheet and evenly spread them out to ensure even cooking. Place the baking tray in the hot oven and roast the carrots for 15-20 minutes.
The cooking time may vary here depending on the size of the carrots. Generally speaking, finger-sized carrots will cook in 20-30 minutes.
5. Once the cooking time is up, test the carrots to make sure they are soft all the way through. A little bit is ok. But you don't want them to be hard.
6. (Optional) If you like you can sprinkle some brown sugar over the carrots in the last 5 minutes of roasting. The sugar will melt and caramelize giving the carrots a glazed look and taste.
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Recipe
Oven Roasted Baby Carrots
Ingredients
- 2-3 bunches baby carrots
- 2 tbps oil
- 1 pinch salt
Optional
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and then wash and trim the baby carrots. If you are using fresh bunched carrots from the market, cut off the top greens and any spindly roots that may be sticking out. If using pre-peeled baby carrots give them a rinse under running water.
- Once washed and trimmed, pick out carrots which are larger than the rest and cut them in half to make them more uniform in size. I like to cut all my baby carrots in half to speed up cooking time.
- Toss the baby carrots in a bowl with the oil, salt, and pepper. Line a baking sheet with a non-stick Silpat liner or non-stick parchment paper.
- Spread the carrots on the baking sheet and evenly spread them out to ensure even cooking. Place the baking tray in the hot oven and roast the carrots for 15-20 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is up, test the carrots to make sure they are soft all the way through. A little bite is ok. But you don't want them to be hard.
- (OptionaI) If you like you can sprinkle some brown sugar over the carrots in the last 5 minutes of roasting. The sugar will melt and caramelize giving the carrots a glazed look and taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Kitchen Varieties
Made these this morning, and followed instructions exactly. They were out of this world. Outstanding! I can’t wait to make these for friends.