Easy Roasted Carrots Recipe = Side Dish Perfection! • The Simple Parent (2024)

FAQs

How does Gordon Ramsay cook 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.

You want them partially cooked so that you can finish them off by roasting them. If you don't par cook the carrots, they will cook faster on the outside than the inside when they are in the oven. It also gives them a better texture. Raw carrots that are roasted can be a little rubbery and chewy.

The best whole-baked carrots

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Toss your carrots with a good lug of olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the garlic cloves. Place in a roasting tray or earthenware dish, cover tightly with tinfoil and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until just tender.

As with many vegetables, roasting carrots brings out their sweet inner nature. Peel the carrots or don't peel the carrots—it's up to you. Peeling takes a bit more time, obviously, but also leads to a more consistent final texture to the dish.

I love how roasting carrots completely transforms them! The natural sugars in the carrots caramelize in the oven, creating golden edges and a soft, full-of-flavor interior. A sprinkle of salt is the perfect seasoning to mellow out the sweetness of the carrots, for a salty-sweet side dish that is so good!

#1 Roasted

This is our CSA members' favorite way to enjoy our farm's fresh carrots. Slice or keep them whole if baby sized and toss with salt and pepper as your most basic preparation, or optionally add garlic, dill or honey to change it up. Roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until tender. So, so, so sweet!

Sautéing is one of the healthiest ways to cook carrots. You need only a small amount of butter or coconut oil, simple seasonings, and water to help them soften.

Next, put the garlic cloves and salt in the mortar, crush to a purée, then whisk in the oil. Now toss this mixture around with the carrots and spices, then spread it out on the baking tray. Pop it into the oven on a high shelf and roast until the carrots are tender when tested with a skewer – 30-40 minutes.

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.

Carrots get their signature flavor from compounds called terpenoids. Some terpenoids can have a bitter flavor, and carrots we perceive to have a pleasant flavor have a good balance between sweet terpenoids and slightly bitter ones. So far, so good.

Why do my roasted carrots burn? ›

Since it has a lack of moisture, roasting it will just burn the item before the inside can cook. This is the same for things like broccoli – the top part burns before the stem can cook. So it requires some trapped water (steam) to solve this issue! Follow the recipe below for perfect carrots!

Whole carrots stay nice and crunchy in their cold water bath, and this is also a great way to store packaged baby carrots. If the water starts to look cloudy, just swap it out with fresh water as needed. Stored this way, carrots have lasted weeks in my refrigerator with no ill effects, so give it a try!

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.)

Carrots - To preserve beta-carotene, a substance that helps the body obtain vitamin A, carrots should be cooked for about five minutes over medium to high heat. Grab a pot and add enough water to cover all the carrots. Try slicing them not so thinly.