If you are looking for a new and simple side dish to try during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other special occasion, this easy maple roasted carrots is a recipe that all your family and friends will love!
Carrots are great on their own, we enjoy eating them raw or cooked but when they are combined with maple, vegan butter and an assortment of the right spices, they are just absolutely delicious.
We keep making maple roasted carrots every year, and every time they are a hit. The best part, this is one of the simplest recipes you will find out there! Our recipe is vegan and naturally gluten-free, so perfect to please everyone around the table.
During Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or any other family and friends gatherings, we put a lot of effort into making all the different recipes that we'll be serving, whether is a main or side dish. For these special occasions, we have a few favourite dishes that everyone already expects us to bring and one of them is this easy maple roasted carrots.
Ingredients to make Maple Roasted Carrots
Carrots. To prepare this festive dish, we prefer using organic carrots, as they won't need to be peeled and they are better for you! You can choose to peel the carrots or leave them unpeeled. This is totally up to you. If you are using organic carrots and prefer not to peel them, make sure they are washed properly under cold water.
Maple Syrup. This is used to provide the carrot that lovely sweet flavour and help to caramelize the outer part of the veggies. You can choose to use honey (not vegan) or sugar.
Vegan Butter. Find a good quality vegan butter. We normally use flora plant butter. If you want to make this dish vegetarian instead of vegan, you can use regular butter.
Spices. Cinnamon, ginger, white pepper and nutmeg, is there a better spice combination? The mixture of these four spices is the perfect mix you need to start any Christmas, Thanksgiving or fall dishes. Using good quality spices will result in a deeper flavour of the carrots. We recommend using freshly grated nutmeg. Instead of buying all the spices, you can get a mixture of them, pumpkin spice is perfect for this and many other dishes.
Fresh thyme. To finish the dish, sprinkle a good bit of fresh thyme to make this side dish complete.
Tips to make the best Maple Roasted Carrots
- Choose similar-sized carrots. When roasting carrots, you want them to be similar in size. When we make this dish we normally buy two bunches are select the ones that are longer and thinner. They cook faster and you won't need to cut them in half. If you are using bigger carrots, cut them in halves and roast them facing down.
- Do not cook in advance. You can have the carrots prepared on the baking tray with the marinate on them but the best thing is to roast them before serving. This dish is perfect when served hot from the oven. If you have any leftovers, you can keep the carrots in an airtight container and reheat using the oven or a pan.
- Use fresh and good quality spices. This dish contains just a few ingredients, so you need to make use you are using the right ones!
- Choose organic carrots when possible. Better in taste and for you, organic carrots are always a better option.
- Serve the carrots with a delicious main dish such us our Vegan Nut Roast.
- Use fresh thyme. Dry thyme is good to use in sauces or other dishes that will be cooked, but in this recipe, we add the thyme right before serving, so you will need to use fresh thyme. If you just have dried thyme, add it into the marinate before baking the carrots.
How to prepare Maple Roasted Carrots in three simple steps
- Prepare the carrots by washing them, peeling them if you choose to do so and placing them on a baking tray. Make sure to use a good peeler!
- Prepare the marinade. Combine vegan butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger powder, white pepper and nutmeg.
- Coat the carrots with the marinade and bake on a preheated oven at 210ºC or 410ºF, fan assisted oven for 30 minutes.
While the carrots are baking, make sure to stir them at least once so they roast evenly.
Serving Suggestions
This is such a festive side dish, that we normally serve it for Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter dinners. When we make our famous Vegan Nut Roast, we serve some side dishes with it, including this recipe. Maple Roasted Carrots make a perfect side dish for those special dinners.
To make this recipe outstand, even more, cook a simple gravy to go with it. We cook a fast gravy using gravy granules.
If you have any leftovers, you can keep the carrots in an airtight container and reheat using the oven or a pan.
Other side dishes to serve during this holiday season that we recommend to try are this lovely Winter Salad with Broccoli and Pomegranate or our delicious White Wine and Garlic Mushrooms.
Easy Maple Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
- 450 g carrots
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- Fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210ºC or 410ºF.
- Wash and peel the carrots. Place them on a baking tray.
- Prepare the marinade. Combine the maple syrup, vegan butter, cinnamon, ginger powder, nutmeg and white pepper.
- Coat the carrots with the marinade and bake at 210ºC or 410ºF, fan assisted oven for 30 minutes.
- Leave them to cool for 2-3 minutes and sprinkle fresh thyme on the top.
Nutrition
| If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations! |
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