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.
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.
Carrots are a unique vegetable because they seem to have a taste which battles sweetness and harshness. The sweetness of carrots comes from the presence of multiple sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose.
Carrots are naturally sweet, cutting them doesn't affect the flavor. If you want them even sweeter, roasting is a good option. Toss them with some oil, and something sweet- maple syrup, orange juice or even a little honey.
But, what is the best way to eat carrots — cooked or raw? “While raw carrots are great to get falcarinol, cooked carrots have beta-carotene as heat disintegrates plant cellulose and releases beta-carotene. So, for eye, skin, and hair health, eat soup, steamed, baked, stir-fried, or boiled carrots,” suggested Luke.
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.
“When the vegetable is cut, its cells rupture and release sugars and volatile hydrocarbons, the sources of the vegetables' sweetness and aroma,” he writes. "The more cells you rupture, the better the taste.”
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.
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.
Another study showed both boiling and steaming increased levels of beta carotene. But try to cook carrots whole, as cutting can reduce nutrients by 25%. Wait and wash veggies just before cooking to preserve nutrients. In fact, cooking veggies whole is often the best choice to preserve nutrients.
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.
"There is no need to peel carrots before eating—many people enjoy eating them with the skin on," says Alan Hilowitz, Communications Director at Bolthouse Farms. "However, since carrots are grown in the ground, washing/scrubbing is important if you do choose not to peel," he adds.
Generally speaking, it's safe (and a good idea!) to eat as many carrots as you'd like. Yes, there are rare cases where people have consumed so much beta carotene (from foods like carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, oranges and pumpkins) that their skin developed an orange hue (a condition called carotenemia).
Carrots are a nutritious and healthy snack that can be enjoyed at any time of day, including breakfast. They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and they can provide several health benefits.
Should I boil carrots before blending? Probably.It will make it far easier to blend. Just don't boil them for too long since you'll start to lose flavour.
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.)
Blanching the carrots before stir frying ensures that they are perfectly cooked while retaining their vibrant color and crunchy texture. To blanch the carrots, bring a pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt. Carefully place the carrots into the boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes.
Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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