20 Carrot Recipes You'll Want to Make Forever By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 2, 2023 Close Credit: Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Slightly sweet but earthy, the humble carrot is the delicious root vegetable we all know and love. These flavorful dishes showcase the colorful veggie in many different ways, including baked with maple syrup and spices, blended with fruit into smoothies and more. Plus, each recipe has been rated with four and five stars by EatingWell readers, so you're sure to love every bite. Recipes like our Carrot Cake Overnight Oats and Sheet-Pan Carrots & Chickpeas with Tahini can be happily enjoyed any day or night of the week. Love any of these recipes? Tap "Save" to add them to MyRecipes, your new, free recipe box for EatingWell. 01 of 20 Sheet-Pan Carrots & Chickpeas with Tahini View Recipe Save Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Melissa Gray, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Roasted carrots and crispy chickpeas pack on the fiber in this vegan main dish. The tahini sauce strikes the perfect balance of nuttiness and sweetness. Tahini, made from ground sesame seeds, is a great pantry staple to have on hand. Use it to make dressings, simple sauces or any of these other healthy tahini recipes. 02 of 20 Carrot Soup View Recipe Save Photographer /Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist / Kay Clarke, Food Stylist / Emily Nabors Hall This easy carrot soup recipe is a great way to use up a bag of carrots that were forgotten in your produce drawer. The carrots cook together with aromatics like onions, garlic and fresh herbs before being pureed into a silky smooth soup that's delicious for dinner or packed up for lunch. 03 of 20 Carrot Cake Overnight Oats Taste Like Dessert for Breakfast View Recipe Save Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Catherine Jessee, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle Carrot cake for breakfast? We say yes! These carrot cake overnight oats taste just like the classic dessert—complete with a frosting-like layer—but with far less added sugar. We like layering some of the frosting in between layers of oats, but you can just dollop it all on top if you prefer. 04 of 20 Roasted Carrot Tart with Carrot-Green Pesto View Recipe Save In this vegetarian main-dish recipe, you use the entire carrot from root to greens, so there's less waste. Roasted carrots are layered on top of a creamy ricotta base with pesto made using the green tops from carrots. Untrimmed carrots can be tough to find, but when you do, cut off the tops and store them separately or they'll draw moisture from the carrots. If you don't have carrot greens, use 1 cup of parsley instead. 05 of 20 Maple Roasted Carrots View Recipe Save Roasting brings out the inherent sweetness in carrots—but add a little maple syrup and butter and you have a caramelized vegetable your kids (and you!) will actually want to eat seconds of. 06 of 20 Carrot Cake View Recipe Save Carrots give carrot cake a health-halo effect--people think it's health food, but it's usually very high in fat and calories. But our version has about 40 percent less calories and 50 percent less fat than most. First, we use less oil in our batter. Then we skip the butter in the frosting (don't worry, it's still light and smooth). To ensure the cake is moist, we add nonfat buttermilk and crushed pineapple. 07 of 20 Carrot-Apple Smoothie View Recipe Save Fred Hardy This carrot and apple smoothie is creamy and has a light tropical flavor thanks to coconut milk. It's naturally sweetened from the carrots and apple, and the combination of ginger and lemon juice adds just a bit of spice and helps balance the flavor. The turmeric, fresh or dried, gives the smoothie a vibrant bright orange color. 08 of 20 Balsamic Oven-Roasted Carrots View Recipe Save Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their sweetness, which is enhanced further with a tangy balsamic and maple glaze. Serve these balsamic roasted carrots as an easy weeknight side dish. 09 of 20 Carrot & Banana Muffins View Recipe Save Packed with flavorful and wholesome ingredients, these carrot-banana muffins make a good snack or breakfast. 10 of 20 Carrot Dog Pigs in a Blanket View Recipe Save Carrots replace cocktail wieners in this healthy update of pigs in a blanket. Soaking the carrot "dogs" in a smoky marinade is the key to giving them that hot dog flavor, for a vegan app meat-eaters will love too. Serve with dipping sauces like honey mustard or ranch dressing to take these to the next level. 11 of 20 Breakfast Carrot-Cake Oatmeal Cakes View Recipe Save Sara Haas Enjoy all the classic flavors of carrot cake in these healthy oatmeal cakes. Shredded carrot, raisins and walnuts are packed into each bite. Chopping the raisins helps distribute them throughout the batter. These oatmeal cakes are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast, but also make for a great snack. 12 of 20 Honey & Orange Glazed Carrots View Recipe Save Bright and fresh, these candied carrots have just a hint of sweetness from the honey and citrus. This one-pan dish is quick and easy to make, but also has such a pretty presentation that it works both as an entertaining-worthy or weeknight side dish. Look for carrots that are similar in size so they cook evenly. 13 of 20 Vegan Carrot Cake View Recipe Save Photographer: Stacy K. Allen. Food Stylist: Ana Kelly, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This vegan carrot cake recipe with almond flour is packed with carrots, raisins and pecans, which add wonderful texture. Vegan butter and vegan cream cheese combine with rice flour to create a creamy, tangy frosting. Letting the frosting chill in the fridge is crucial so it thickens, giving it a more spreadable consistency. 14 of 20 Instant Pot Cream of Carrot Soup View Recipe Save Antonis Achilleos This luscious and healthy cream of carrot soup comes together with just 15 minutes of active time, thanks to the Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker). For an even easier dish, use an immersion blender to puree the soup--you'll only have the Instant Pot insert to clean after cooking. Serve this soup as a starter for a holiday meal or with crusty bread and a salad for dinner any night. 15 of 20 Carrot Cake Energy Bites View Recipe Save These no-cook energy bites keep well in the fridge or freezer and are easy to grab on the go for a healthy snack. 16 of 20 Carrot Smoothie View Recipe Save Diana Chistruga This type of drink tends to be pricey in the big city juice bars. Now you can make the recipe at home. 17 of 20 Carrot Cake Cheesecake View Recipe Save Will Dickey This orange-scented carrot cake cheesecake has a wonderfully moist and flavorful carrot cake shell which holds the creamy cheesecake portion. The swirl effect of dollops of cheesecake batter is a fun and festive way to round out this rich dessert. 18 of 20 Roasted Purple Carrots with Black Sesame Dukkah View Recipe Save We love how the Egyptian nut, seed and spice blend dukkah adds aroma, flavor and texture to this otherwise simple purple carrot recipe. 19 of 20 Garlic & Parmesan Roasted Carrots View Recipe Save Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their inherent sweetness, while Parmesan and garlic give this easy side dish a flavorful savory accent. 20 of 20 Spicy Pickled Carrots View Recipe Save This pickled carrot recipe gets its heat from jalapeños and is a great topping for tacos, tostadas and quesadillas. These spicy carrots are also delicious added to a bowl of soup or tossed with spring greens, feta cheese and just a drizzle of olive oil. Explore more: Healthy Recipes Ingredient Vegetable Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit