I’d go all-in on sides and condiments over mains any day of the week. And this whole roasted carrots recipe, with its mixture of textures and temperatures, is one of those stand-out side dishes. Rainbow carrots are typically small, so you can roast them whole at a high temperature and they get gloriously caramelized all over and just a tiny bit burnt at the ends in a way I find totally irresistible. As a bonus, they look pretty on a platter, especially one painted with garlicky, salty Greek yogurt. I would admittedly put the yogurt sauce on just about anything, but the tangy flavor and contrast in temperature is a welcome match to the warm and sweet roasted carrots. You can stop there, but to me, roasted carrots are almost always too sweet to stand solo. Enter dukkah, a nutty, earthy Egyptian condiment with a rustic, crunchy texture. The spices and nuts give the caramelized carrots a satisfying savory quality that tames their sweetness just enough. Get yourself a bite of the cool yogurt, crunchy dukkah, tender roasted carrots, and refreshing mint and you’ll ask yourself why you ever planned the entree first!
Ingredients for this Roasted Rainbow Carrot Recipe
You don’t need much to make this easy side dish:
Rainbow carrots have a nice variety of color and flavor, but you can use standard orange carrots. Olive oil prevents the carrots from sticking to the pan and encourages them to brown. Whatever high-quality extra virgin variety you have in your pantry will work–head over to our shop if you’re running low. Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor. Dukkah is nutty, earthy, and slightly warming, which balances the carrot’s sweetness. You can make your own Egyptian Dukkah, or use a high-quality store-bought version. Greek yogurt is rich, creamy, and tangy. Garlic adds a sweet and savory depth of flavor to the yogurt sauce. Mint leaves add a very addictive refreshing quality to the whole dish. I wouldn’t substitute with dried herbs, and I certainly wouldn’t skip it! But other fresh tender green herbs, like cilantro, dill, or parsley work in its place.
What are Rainbow Carrots?
Rainbow carrots are a mix of different varieties–typically purple, orange, white, yellow, and sometimes red. Each variety is picked earlier than standard carrots, making them not only smaller but often more tender and flavorful. No surprise, but all of them taste like carrots with some variety in sweetness and earthiness. I find the more saturated the color, the sweeter they’ll be. So a white carrot is very mild almost like a turnip and a purple carrot is usually sweet like honey.
What is Dukkah?
Dukkah–also spelled duqq–is an Egyptian condiment or seasoning blend made from nuts, seeds and spices. It’s pronounced doo-kah, or in Egypt, dua’ah, from the Arabic word meaning “to pound.” It’s nutty, crunchy, very subtly sweet and spicy, and totally addictive. The exact recipe varies from family to family, or spice market to market. I love Suzy’s Egyptian Dukkah Recipe, which is a combination of hazelnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, pistachios, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt.
How to Make Whole-Roasted Carrots
Whole roasted carrots are an easy side dish that looks far more impressive than the actual effort involved–particularly if you can get a nice array of colors in the mix. I like to leave mine in the oven until they’re very golden brown anywhere they touched the pan and nearly burned at the tips, but feel free to check on them a little earlier if that’s not your thing.
Get Ready
Get set up. Position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Peel the carrots. First trim off the stems (turn them into Carrot Top Pesto!) You can leave an inch or so at the top if you like the look, just make sure they’re not caked in dirt. Then peel the carrots, slicing off the long stringy bit at the end as you go. Season the carrots. Place the carrots on the sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper and use your hands to rub the oil into the carrots, making sure they’re well coated and seasoned all over. Space apart on the sheet pan so they’re not touching, but leave a little room at one side for the dukkah later.
Roast the Carrots
Roast the carrots. Place the carrots in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to flip them so the other side is touching the hot pan. Roast until they’re deeply brown and charred at the tip, 10 to 15 minutes more. Toast the dukkah. Turn off your oven and spread 1/4 cup of dukkah on the sheet pan where you left the gap. Toast in the oven for just about a minute or so–you want it to get nice and fragrant, but take it out before the sesame seeds burn. Remove from the oven, then use tongs to turn the carrots in the dukkah, coating them all over. Set aside to cool just a bit while you make the garlicky yogurt. Make the garlicky yogurt. Add 1/2 cup Greek yogurt to a small bowl. Grate in a clove of garlic (or mince it and add), along with a pinch of salt. Spread the garlicky yogurt on your serving platter, using a metal spoon to make swoops. Drizzle with olive oil. Finish and serve. Top with the roasted carrots. Sprinkle on the mint and serve.
Ways to Make this Recipe Your Own
You can go rogue on the seasonings with this whole roasted carrots recipe, but if you’re working with anything that burns easily–like nuts or seeds–add it in the final 10 minutes so it doesn’t turn bitter.
For spicy roasted carrots, coat the carrots in harissa sauce in the final 10 minutes or so–either homemade harissa or a high-quality store-bought version like the one at our shop. Trade out the garlicky Greek yogurt for something else that’s tangy and creamy. Serve on a bed of labneh, herbed labneh (like the one from Suzy’s cookbook), or drizzle with tahini sauce. Make your own spice blend. Coat the carrots in whatever spices speak to you. I’ve had success with za’atar. My other go-to is making a “Mediterranean Tajín” of sorts with sumac, Aleppo pepper, and salt. You can find all these spices and more at our shop. Try another vegetable. I love Borani Kadoo, a traditional Persian dish of Roasted Zucchini and Tomatoes with Garlicky Yogurt that has many of the same elements but brings a totally different flavor.
Leftover Dukkah? Here’s How to Use It
Like Za’atar, dukkah is most often used like a dip of sorts, coating flatbread after it’s been dunked in olive oil. It’s also a great way to add crunch and toasty flavor to Heirloom Tomato Salad, White Bean Hummus, and Crispy Roasted Cabbage. One effortlessly chic and very handy hospitality trick I’ve picked up from traveling to the Mediterranean:
When people are coming over and you have little time for mezzes, warm some good crusty bread or pita. Set the bread next to small bowls: one with really good, fresh-tasting olive oil. One with za’atar, and one with dukkah. Show people to dunk the bread in the olive oil and then into the dukkah or za’atar. Light some candles, open a bottle of wine and you’re done!
What to Serve with Whole-Roasted Carrots
Roasted vegetables are such a staple of home cooked meal, I really love a classic roasted meat alongside. You can roast them at the same time as this Easy Oven Roasted Whole Chicken–just leave them in a bit longer so they get nice and charred at the lower temperature. For a vegetarian dinner, serve as a spread with crispy falafel, dolmas, and pita bread for dipping and scooping. Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
Simple Roasted Carrots Recipe
Oven Roasted Carrots with Sumac
“Sexy” Crispy Roasted Cabbage Recipe (with Dukkah and Tahini)
Easy Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
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