Baby Carrots Recipe

If you love snacking on Baby Carrots, you’ll love this elevated version of the tiny veggie!

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If you’re looking for a new way to incorporate veggies into your family’s meals, look no further. These baby carrots are incredibly easy to make, use just a few common ingredients, and taste great. Yup, even to kids!

For many parents, it’s all but impossible to get kids to eat their vegetables. When I was growing up, that was hardly the case. I was always a picky eater as a kid (and still kind of am). I hated anything with sauce, anything mushy, anything that resembled meat—but one thing I loved to snack on was raw, crunchy baby carrots. I’d pack them in my lunch, munch on ‘em after school, and my mom would even make them as a side dish for dinner once in a while! That’s how she got the idea for this cooked, elevated version of baby carrots that I still make today.

My mom was working hard to incorporate veggies into my diet, as all moms do, but for some reason, I was not into the idea of cooked carrots. She tried common dishes like roasted broccoli and carrots, and I would eat out all the greens. What kind of kid does that?! Finally, she figured out that it was the baby carrots I wanted. She decided to cook her carrots as usual, drizzled and roasted with olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper but replaced whole, sliced carrots with my baby ones. Nailed it.

The result was a sweet, soft, flavorful side dish that the whole family could enjoy– even me, the pickiest eater in the world! Turns out, I was just attached to the idea that baby carrots were for kids, and full-sized carrots must be for adults. The joke was on me, though, because I still make this dish with dinner well into adulthood.

Is This Baby Carrots Recipe Healthy?

Carrots offer a healthy dose of good-for-you nutrients. Plus, they’re low in calories. Pair this side with a protein for a more rounded meal that’ll help you stay full.

What Are Baby Carrots?

Contrary to popular belief, we’re not working with premature carrots in this dish. The “baby carrots” you might be familiar with from your local grocery store are more likely baby cut carrots, which are cut and shaped out of full-size carrots. Baby carrots do exist and are simply regular carrots that are harvested before reaching their full size. But they are far less common.

Regardless of all that, we’re using baby cut carrots in this dish. These finger-shaped veggies were one of my favorite snacks as a kid, and you’ll still find at least one bag of them in my fridge on any given day!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound baby carrots
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep

Preheat oven, mix carrots with seasonings.

Roast

Roast carrots until tender and caramelized; top with parsley.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store

Once cooked, store your baby carrots in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days, reheating them in the microwave when you’re ready to enjoy.

DRY OFF BABY CARROTS

Make sure you dry off your baby carrots before seasoning and roasting them. Baby carrots are often stored in bags with water, but the extra moisture will affect how they cook.

CAN I USE WHOLE BABY CARROTS?

While this recipe calls for baby cut carrots, you can use whole baby carrots if you adjust the cooking time.

Serving Suggestions

These roasted baby carrots make for a great side dish for any weeknight dinner. Make them to accompany a French roast chicken, seared pork chops, or gluten-free meatloaf! Whether it’s for you or your kids, everyone will be more than happy to eat their vegetables when they taste this good.

These baby carrots also make for a great vegan option, paired with meatless entrées like my favorite vegan eggplant parmesan.