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.
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.
Carrots are root vegetables that were first grown in Afghanistan around 900 AD. Orange may be their best-known color, but they also come in other hues, including purple, yellow, red, and white. Early carrots were purple or yellow. Orange carrots were developed in Central Europe around the 15th or 16th century.
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.
Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout.
Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A inside the body. Vitamin A is required for the proper functioning of the immune system and the organ systems in the body. Carrots are also a great source of dietary fibre, which helps to reduce cholesterol and stabilise blood sugar.
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.
Spice 'em up! Carrots pair well with fresh or dried herbs like thyme, rosemary & parsley. Bring out extra flavor in carrots by adding spices like ginger, paprika, cinnamon or curry powder.
One proven cause for high levels of terpene and terpenoids in carrots is the general growing temperature. Studies show that, while carrots grown in higher temperatures have the highest sugar content, they're consistently more bitter than carrots grown in colder conditions due to higher terpene concentration.
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.
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.
Tasters unanimously preferred the peel-free carrots in the glazed and roasted samples. In both cases, the skins on the unpeeled carrots became wrinkled, tough, and gritty. Their flavor was “again earthier, but not in a good way” and they weren't particularly appealing looking.
Introduction. Carrots are a member of the Apiaceae (formerly called Unbelliferae) family, which also includes celery, anise, dill, and cilantro. They are a biennial crop, producing their taproot the first year, and, if left to grow, would flower, set seed and die the second year.
Carrots are biennials that grow in loose soil and in cooler climates. There are wild carrots and domesticated carrots, and the part that most people eat is the taproot. This vegetable contains carotene, which helps you stay healthy and sharp-sighted.
It was first aired from 2002 to 2005, with 26 episodes altogether. The series follows Henry Wiggins, a boy who has an extraordinary ability to make his wishes come true when eating his mother's mushy carrots. This was the first stop-motion animated series to be entirely produced in Canada.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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