It’s surprisingly easy to roast your own carrots in the oven. In this recipe we are going to look at a very easy easy and effective way to roast your carrots.
What’s the best way to cook carrots? Does it matter how you cook them?
Roast carrots are a world apart from serving them raw, boiled or steamed.
Roasting them creates a sort of alchemical change that brings your veggies to a whole new level of deliciousness.
The natural sugars in your vegetables will caramelise when roasted at a high temperature. This essentially means that the flavour deepens into an earthy sweetness.
Roast carrots are cheap to make
Not only are roasted carrots delicious, but they are usually inexpensive and abundant. This makes them an excellent option for adding a bit of luxury to budget meals. Equally, they work well as an addition to posher dinners.
To peel or not to peel my carrots?
Whether to peel or not peel your carrots is personal choice.
As long as they are clean and dry, it usually works well to leave the skin on for roasting carrots. It’s actually easier to leave the skins on. Peeling creates extra work for yourself. I am all about making life easier in the kitchen, so I almost always leave the skins on.
If you are a fan of peeling your carrots however, then peel them. Once your carrots have roasted it won’t make much difference visually as the outer layer or skin will shrivel and tan anyway.
What’s the best size to chop your carrots for roasting?
First of all, you want to chop your carrots into even chunks. If they are uneven, you’ll find that some roast much quick and begin to burn, whilst others seem to take longer to cook.
The size is less important, as long as you keep them roughly the same size. I prefer consistent chunks of about 3cm (or an inch) in length. Just adjust your carrot roasting time if you make them smaller or larger.
What to serve with your roast carrots?
Here are some of my favourite things that will go perfectly with your roast carrots…
How to roast carrots
Easy roast carrot recipe.
Ingredients
- 500g (1lb) carrots
- Sprinkle sea salt
- Twist of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Instructions
- Clean and dry your carrots if necessary.
- Top and tail (cut the very end bits off) your carrots.
- Next, chop your carrots into even pieces. It's important to get your carrot pieces a similar size to make sure that they roast evenly. If you cut them very unevenly, some may burn before the others are cooked. I like to slice large carrots lengthways down the middle and then chop into 3cm (about and inch) chunks, as in this photo
- Place your chopped carrots on an oven tray.
- Spinkle some sea salt and pepper on top of your carrots and drizzle with a minimal amount of oil. Tossing everything together so that the carrots are coated.
- Place in a pre-heated oven at a roasting temperature. I like to roast at around 200C (400F) in a fan oven. Sometimes a little hotter (220C/425F), depending on the oven.
- If you remember, you can shake the tray a couple of times during the cooking period to loosen the carrots.
- After about 25 minutes your carrots should be cooked. Cooking time depends on the size of the carrots and the oven temperature. You know that they are cooked when they look roasted and you can pierce a fork through them.
- Enjoy immediately as a side dish with dinner. Alternatively you can eat them cold with salad.
Other delicious recipes with carrots that you’ll love…
Roast carrot and parsnip curry
Pin how to roast carrots for later…
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