Tender young carrots, roasted with red onions with rosemary, salt, and pepper, until lightly caramelized.
Roasting carrots is not only one of the easiest ways to prepare them, it also brings out wonderful flavor in the caramelized bits. My friend Suzanne prepares tender young carrots this way and passed this method on to me years ago. I love it!
She uses the “Nantes” French carrots that Trader Joe’s carries or the bunched baby carrots from Whole Foods. Any small (4 to 5 inch) carrot will work; they are often sold in bunches with their greens still attached.
By “baby” carrots we’re not referring to the small capsule-shaped carrots carrots so popular to serve as a snack to kids (those are actually mature carrots cut to a small shape), but to carrots that are still young and not tough or woody.
To make, we just toss the carrots with sliced red onions, garlic, fresh rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper, and then roast at a high temperature until cooked through and lightly caramelized. They’re a great side to serve with chicken, turkey, or beef.
Roasted Baby Carrots Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds of 5 inch long young carrots, rinsed and scrubbed clean, patted dry, carrot greens cut to 1 inch above top of carrot
- 1 medium red onion, halved lengthwise (root to top) then cut into 8-12 wedges (see How to Slice an Onion)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
2 Arrange vegetables on pan, coat with olive oil, salt, pepper: Place the carrots, red onion wedges, and crushed garlic cloves on the pan and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine so that the carrots and onions are lightly coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3 Roast: Roast at 400°F for 30 to 40 minutes until well browned and caramelized around the edges.
Remove from pan and place in a serving dish to serve.
