Easy Vegan Roasted Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe (oil-free) (2024)

FAQs

What are glazed carrots made of? ›

This is a super quick and easy recipe. Just toss the carrots in brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup), butter and oil with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Then just roast for 25 minutes in a hot oven (220C/425F) until the carrots are caramelised on the edges.

Undercook them, and the texture is tough and dense. Overcook them, and they're dry and wrinkled. The secret is to soften the carrots slightly by boiling them briefly before roasting. The texture will be firm-tender with just the right amount of caramelization on the outside.

Cooking instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.

Place them in a steamer, sprinkle with a little salt and steam for about 7 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a skewer but still retaining some firmness and bite. Serve plain, or I like them tossed in butter mixed with some chopped fresh tarragon leaves.

For carrots, you can try steaming them instead of boiling or roasting them. Steaming helps to retain more of the nutrients and natural sweetness of the carrots. You can also add some fresh herbs, such as thyme or parsley, to the steaming water to infuse some extra flavor into the 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.

Parboiling skin-on carrots and parsnips lets you soften them without them losing too much moisture. Follow up by browning in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 40 minutes.

The perfect temperature– 400 degrees Fahrenheit is the perfect temperature for most roasted vegetables. It allows for a crispy, perfectly browned exterior and a fork tender interior. But it will vary based on the types of veggies and oil used. If your veggies are not browning enough, try increasing the temperature.

Use two tablespoons of oil per sheet.

Too much oil does not result in more crispy vegetables; it actually does just the opposite. A good rule of thumb is about 2 tablespoons of oil per baking sheet; toss the cut veggies with the oil.

Also, fruits have more sugar content, something that can hinder the digestive process of vegetables. For the same reason, one shouldn't mix orange with carrot as when taken together, they may cause heartburn and excess bile reflux.

How do you get the most flavor out of carrots? ›

Carrots are naturally sweet, cutting them doesn't affect the flavor. If you want them even sweeter, roasting is a good option. Toss them with some oil, and something sweet- maple syrup, orange juice or even a little honey.

Another study showed both boiling and steaming increased levels of beta carotene. But try to cook carrots whole, as cutting can reduce nutrients by 25%. Wait and wash veggies just before cooking to preserve nutrients. In fact, cooking veggies whole is often the best choice to preserve nutrients.

No matter which way you cook them, carrots are a healthy choice. Steaming is a slightly better pick since the carrots don't lose as many of their nutrients to the water. (Steaming is also more environmentally friendly since it uses less water.)

Butter: I usually cook with unsalted butter, but salted high butterfat butter has an amazing rich, nutty flavor that is especially delicious for glazed carrots. Sugar: Combined with butter, sugar is the secret to a glaze and it enhances the naturally sweet taste of the carrots.

A basic glaze is an emulsion of butter and water (or even better, chicken stock) that is used to coat the vegetables. Hard vegetables like carrots and other root vegetables, can be cooked in a diluted glaze which is reduced into the final glaze by the time the vegetables are done cooking.

Glazing is all about reducing a cooking liquid until it coats your vegetables with a deeply flavored, glossy and beautiful sauce. Same-size cuts will cook more evenly, but if you prefer mixed textures, try using different-size vegetables. It's up to you. Some vegetables, like pearl onions, are better off left whole.

Raw carrots are 88% water, 9% carbohydrates, 0.9% protein, 2.8% dietary fiber, 1% ash and 0.2% fat. Carrot dietary fiber comprises mostly cellulose, with smaller proportions of hemicellulose, lignin and starch. Free sugars in carrot include sucrose, glucose, and fructose.

It was derived from the wild carrot, which has whitish/ivory coloured roots. The most popular, orange rooted carrot, is derived from yellow rooted domestic varieties. Early writings in classical Greek and Roman times refer to edible white roots, but these may have also been parsnips, or both.