Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots
on Nov 04, 2024
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These garlic parmesan roasted carrots are an easy vegetable side dish for a weeknight fall-winter dinner while still being special enough for a holiday meal. All you have to do is stir the carrots in a mixture of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and then they go into the oven. Part way through roasting you top the carrots with grated parmesan. The cheese melts right into them, and they turn out tender and tasty.
Also try this parmesan roasted acorn squash with Italian seasoning.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These parmesan garlic roasted carrots are an exciting single vegetable side dish that delivers. At first glance, maybe roasted carrots aren’t something you get excited about, but with garlic and parmesan doing the heavy lifting, they have lots of flavor.
You only need 7 ingredients. That includes olive oil, salt and pepper, which I think of as pantry staples, so maybe they shouldn’t count. This is such a simple side dish recipe. Then you can focus on other parts of meal prep.
The leftovers are wonderful too. So often it’s the main dish that you think of repurposing when you have extras after a holiday dinner. These roasted carrots can be reheated or they are great cold in salads with greens and/or grains.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Carrots: Look for carrots that are firm. If they are limp or soft, then you know they aren’t fresh. You can use orange carrots or rainbow carrots for a mix of color.
- Garlic: Three garlic cloves may sound like a lot, but roasting mellows them out. The most important thing with the garlic is to very finely mince it. You want to end up with a paste. You can do this with a microplane or the fine holes of a grater or with a chef’s knife. Don’t substitute with garlic powder.
- Parmesan cheese: If you want the recipe to be vegan, there are brands that make plant-based, dairy-free cheese.
- Parsley: I finish the roasted carrots with chopped fresh parsley.
- Olive oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor. Some roasted carrot recipes use melted butter, but I prefer oil to keep an element of lightness.
- Kosher salad and black pepper season the carrots.
How To Make Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots
1. Cut the carrots. First peel them. Then you want to slice them into 2-inch long pieces with your knife on a 45-degree angle. The diagonal cuts will make them look more finished. Carrots can vary quite a bit in width. If they are bigger than a half inch in diameter, slice them lengthwise.
2. Make the garlic-oil mixture. Use a bowl big enough to hold all the cut carrots. Stir the oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Marinate the carrots. Add them to the bowl. Stir the carrots around, so they are all well coated in the mixture.
4. Arrange the carrots on a sheet pan. Leave the excess marinade in the bowl. You want the carrots to be in a singe layer without overlapping.
5. Roast the carrots. Give them 20 minutes. They should be starting to wrinkle. Then sprinkle them with grated Parmesan cheese and continue roasting for 10 minutes. The cheese should be fully melted and the carrots should be fork tender, but still have some bite.
6. Toss the roasted carrots with chopped parsley.
Serving
These roasted carrots can go with so many fall and winter main dishes, especially ones with Mediterranean flavors. I love them for a weeknight dinner with roasted chicken or salmon, but they are definitely holiday-worthy for Thanksgiving or Christmas with my go-to roasted turkey breast recipe.
Leftovers & Storage
These oven-roasted carrots are best served warm. If you do have leftovers, let them cool to room temperature. Then put them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. You can reheat them in a 350-degree F oven.
You can repurpose leftovers in egg dishes like frittatas, scrambles and omelettes. Dice them into bite-sized pieces, so they warm quickly in the skillet with a little oil before you add eggs. I also like eating them cold in salads.
Recipe Tips
- Mince the garlic into a paste. By doing this, the garlic almost melts into the oil. If you have tiny pieces of garlic, they will burn in the oven.
- Even though you will have some excess marinade in the bowl, don’t just throw in additional carrots and end up with a crowded pan. When you roast vegetables, they need space around them to roast. If the carrots are overlapping, they will steam, and you will miss out on those caramelized edges.
- You don’t need to line the baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. The oil that you toss the carrots in will be enough to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Also, the carrots will brown better when they make direct contact with the hot metal.
- Do not overcook the carrots. You want them to be tender in the middle, but not soft and mushy.
More Roasted Vegetable Side Dishes
Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Easy Roasted Honeynut Squash
Tahini Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
Chili Lime Roasted Root Vegetables
Curry Roasted Cauliflower
Smashed Roasted Potatoes
Roasted Carrot Farro
Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
Easy Roasted Parsnips
Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced into a paste*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Peel the carrots. Then cut them into 2-inch-long pieces on a 45-degree angle. If the diameter of the carrots is larger then a half inch, slice them in half lengthwise.
- In a large bowl, stir the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Stir the carrots into the garlic-oil mixture until they are well coated.
- Spread the carrots across a sheet pan into a single layer without overlapping. Leave the excess garlic-oil mixture in the bowl.
- Roast for 20 minutes. Flip over the carrots, sprinkle them with parmesan and continue roasting for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted. The carrots should be lightly browned on the edges and tender in the middle.
- Toss the carrots with chopped parsley before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
