Roasted Carrots with Garlic and Thyme

Roasted carrots with garlic and thyme are fall comfort straight from the oven to the dinner table.

Carrots with Thyme

Carrots and ranch dip have always been best friends and a go-to snack in my kitchen. However, I am discovering more and more ways to enjoy them beyond a relish tray.

Whenever possible, I prefer to use regular-sized raw carrots over baby carrots when cooking. They are never slimy and they seem a little firmer and more flavorful to me.

It takes no time at all to peel them with a vegetable peeler and then halve or quarter them into equal-sized pieces. While orange carrots are always easy to find, have you tried white or purple carrots?

I love making this dish with a combination of the different carrots. It is so pretty, and we do eat with our eyes first. Often called rainbow carrots the flavor differences are subtle but they do turn an ordinary dish into a party platter.

Garlic Carrots

Roasting carrots gives them a sweetness, with caramelized crispy edges that are so good with garlic and thyme. After roasting I will sometimes add a quick drizzle of honey or squeeze of lemon. To make these carrots you will need:

•  olive oil
• garlic cloves 
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• carrots 
• fresh thyme

Roasted Carrots with Thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the carrots on a large baking sheet. Combine the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil mixture over the carrots and toss well with your hands to coat.
2. Roast the carrots for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender. Turn the oven to broil, there’s no need to move the rack from the center of the oven. Broil the carrots for 2-3 minutes, or until the edges of the carrots are lightly charred.
3. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with thyme. Serve warm.

While there is a time and place for all the other carrot cooking methods, roasting is without a doubt my favorite way to cook carrots. (Though I do recommend you try air frying carrots as soon as possible!)

Learn how to roast carrots perfectly with these easy instructions and then give these old-fashioned Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots a chance to impress you. Or try to “eat the rainbow” and make these glazed and colorful herb roasted rainbow carrots.

After eating parmesan-roasted carrots you will not want to make them any other way. Bite-sized and toasty perfect, you can’t eat just one!

recipe lightly adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone