Honey Roasted Carrots Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should you boil carrots before roasting? ›

I only boil these for a couple of minutes; you don't want them fully cooked when you par-boil. 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.

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.

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!

Carrots: Carrots can be peeled in advance (if roasting them whole) or peeled and chopped, shredded, or grated up to 3 to 4 days in advance. Store in a sealed bag or container with an airtight lid in the refrigerator.

Using the wrong pan

Yes, you can roast vegetables in a casserole dish or even a cake pan. But the high sides make it harder for the water inside of the vegetables to evaporate during baking, setting you up for sogginess. Instead? Use a simple rimmed baking sheet.

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.

As long as you wash and scrub them well to remove dirt and any debris (this natural fruit and veggie wash is a good start!), unpeeled carrots are perfectly safe (and delicious) to eat.

You'll have to store your carrots in the refrigerator, but how you store them can actually make a difference. Raw carrots, when properly stored will usually stay fresh for around 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge. If your carrots are sliced or chopped, you can store them in the fridge and they'll last for about 2 to 3 weeks.

Chefs at restaurants add finishing salts

Salt intensifies their flavor, helps draw out moisture, tenderizes them, and tames their excess bitterness. The key is not to over- or under-salt vegetables, which takes some practice and keen taste buds.

For a simple and versatile seasoning, stick with salt, pepper, and garlic. For an herbier taste, add rosemary, parsley, cumin, or coriander. Or, to bring out their fresh, woody flavor, add some anise. If you're roasting your carrots, toss them in olive oil first.

How to take the bitterness out of carrots? ›

Try adding salt while cooking. Salt can remove the bitterness.

Roasting Tips

Parboiling skin-on carrots and parsnips lets you soften them without them losing too much moisture. Follow up by browning in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 40 minutes.

Root and cruciferous vegetables — think carrots, parsnips, turnips, Brussels sprouts — can be washed, peeled and cut a day in advance for a beautiful medley of roasted vegetables.

Since you have time, try roasting your carrots low and slow.

Let's hit those carrots at 300°—hell, you can go as low as 250°! —for as long as it takes (probably closer to an hour, depending on the size).

When roasting vegetables, they sometimes burn before they get tender. Blanching veggies before roasting them allows them to caramelize a bit without burning.

No, it's not necessary. However, many nutritionists say that cooking them (not boiling them to mush) makes the nutrients more accessible. I don't know, I just like them either way. However, when I was a child (I'm now 82), my grandmother had a way of cooking carrots that was anything BUT healthy!

Cooking carrots allows beta carotene, an antioxidant compound that gets converted to vitamin A in the intestine, to absorb more easily in the body, explains Beckerman. 2 This helps your body soak up even more health benefits, like boosting your immunity and promoting eye health.

Some cooks like to parboil hearty vegetables like parsnips and carrots before roasting them so that the oven can quickly brown the exterior. However, we find that by roasting vegetables in a 425℉ oven, they'll become perfectly tender on the inside and evenly browned on the outside.