Ready in under 30 minutes, these oven roasted carrots are an easy, healthy, and delicious side dish! A little honey brings out their natural sweetness.
To me, roasted carrots are the perfect veggie side dish. They’re easy to make, but they’re also amazingly flavorful. The hot oven intensifies the carrots’ natural sweetness, and it makes them soft and tender, with lightly crisp, caramelized edges. I can never resist eating some straight off the baking sheet!
You’ll find my favorite roasted carrots recipe below. In addition to the olive oil, salt, and pepper I’d toss with any roasted vegetable, I use some honey here. It lightly glazes the carrots and helps them brown and caramelize in the oven.
Make this recipe to round out a weeknight dinner, or serve it at a special occasion. Quick, healthy, and delicious, it’s great for either.
How to Roast Carrots
To make this roasted carrots recipe, start by gathering your ingredients:
Ingredients
- Carrots, of course! You’ll need a pound of fresh carrots, from about 1 large or 2 medium bunches. If your carrots have tops, save them to use in vegetable stock, pesto, or carrot greens chimichurri.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It helps the carrots soften and brown in the oven.
- Honey – It lightly glazes the carrots and highlights their sweetness. Maple syrup works too!
- Salt and pepper – These savory seasonings balance the sweet carrots and honey.
- And chopped fresh parsley – For garnish. It’s a lovely, fresh finishing touch!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
A Note on Roasted Baby Carrots
I recommend seeking out whole orange or rainbow carrots to make this recipe. They have a more complex flavor and firmer texture than packaged baby carrots, which are not really “baby” carrots at all, but mature carrots that have been trimmed down and bagged.
That said, if baby carrots are what you have, you can use this recipe to roast them. I’d start checking them sooner though, after just 10 minutes in the oven. They can quickly go from fork-tender to mushy.
How to Roast Carrots
Got your ingredients? Here’s how to make this roasted carrots recipe:
First, prep the carrots. Wash them well (no need to peel!). Then, cut the carrots crosswise into 2-inch barrels. Slice any very thick barrels in half vertically. This will help them cook at the same rate as slimmer pieces.
Then, season them. Place the chopped carrots in a large bowl. Toss them with the honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper, mixing well to evenly coat them.
Next, roast the carrots. Spread them in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Transfer to a 425°F oven and roast for 15 to 25 minutes.
The carrots are ready when they’re fork-tender and nicely browned, but not mushy.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley, if you like. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
This roasted carrots recipe is delicious as written, but like any simple recipe, there are lots of fun ways to change it up! Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Add spices. Carrots pair beautifully with warm, earthy spices like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Toss them with 1/4 teaspoon of one or more of these spices before roasting.
- Use a garlic Parmesan seasoning. Skip the honey, and toss the carrots with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder instead. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan on top!
- Try another herb. I call for parsley, but the carrots would be equally good with other fresh herbs on top. Sprinkle them with chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or fresh thyme leaves. Chopped carrot greens would be lovely too!
What to Serve with Roasted Carrots
These oven roasted carrots are a delicious, healthy side dish for any meal! For a simple weeknight dinner, pair them with your favorite protein, a grilled cheese sandwich, lentil pasta, or baked feta.
This recipe is also a great addition to a holiday dinner or brunch. Bookmark it to add to your Thanksgiving feast, or serve it for Easter alongside a frittata or quiche, muffins, and a green salad.
Enjoy!
Storage
These honey roasted carrots are best just after they’re baked, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, warm them in a 350°F oven or zap them in the microwave.
More Favorite Vegetable Side Dishes
If you love this roasted carrots recipe, try another flavorful vegetable side dish next:
Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, about 1 large or 2 medium bunches, cut into 2-inch barrels
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss the carrots with the olive oil, honey, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- Transfer the carrots to the baking sheet and spread in a single layer. Roast for 15 to 25 minutes, or until fork-tender and lightly browned but not mushy. The timing will depend on the size of your carrots.
- Remove from the oven and season to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve.
I’m confused by this. I’ve known for years that honey loses all nutritional value when baked at above 350 or at most 375 degrees, and in fact becomes quite unhealthy. I love the idea of honeyed carrots but would never put honey in the oven at a high temperature. My approach is to wait to add the honey 5-10 minutes before the carrot are done, after
dropping the oven temperature to 350 degrees. (Same with baked apples and honey.
I started eating them before I roasted! Tastes great as a raw salad too
I sprinkled the honey coated roast carrots with about a Tablespoon of brown sugar and butter. Then roasted until tender.
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and love it! So simple and yummy.
So glad you love it, Jenn!
I just tried this roasted carrots recipe, and it turned out amazing! The combination of spices really brought out the natural sweetness of the carrots, and the tips on achieving perfect caramelization were spot on. I also loved the suggestion of adding fresh herbs for garnish—it added such a lovely touch! Thank you for sharing this delicious and simple recipe; it’s definitely going into my weekly rotation. 😊
Combination of spices? You mean salt and pepper?
the author listed ideas under: Recipe Variations with with a pink background. But I don’t know what the reviewer used.
Such a good recipe! 🥕🍯🧂
So glad you loved it, Brittney!
Excellent! Delicious and easy. I used young small carrots that I got from the Hollywood farmers market. Is sliced them in half and roasted them for 10 minutes I love this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them!
Best carrot recipe I’ve ever made!
So glad you loved it!
Thanks for the recipe! I was looking for something different to do with a big bag of Costco carrots. I liked your comment about “warm spices” as a variation and sprinkled on some garum masala along with the pepper. Smelled great and tasted even better. I added a pat of butter at the table, and we ate the whole batch with some baked salmon and gratin. Thanks!
Very nice and colourful
Super yummy, but carrots took much longer than recipe stated to start browning. Had to bake for around 40 mins
Ooff! Glad I saw this comment!!
Just gorgeous! And perfect for spring.
Hi Mimi, so glad you enjoyed!
There are so many ways to change up this delicious and VERY economical side dish. For instance, I like to use either rosemary (sparingly because it’s strong), fresh chives, or my fave tarragon as a garnish. Sometimes I glaze with a little brown sugar instead of honey, and grated fresh ginger is always yummy, too! The lowly and cheap carrot is a wonderful thing.
Hi Janet, so many great ideas here! I love how versatile carrots are too.
good dish,easy to cook. Thanks for sharing amazing side dish.
nice side dish, great flavors too beyond just roasting carrots, so thank you