Good-For-You Carrot Recipes

Carrots' natural sweetness shines in this recipe from Urban Roots Farm in Springfield, Missouri, so shop your farmers market for the freshest ones, even if they aren't heirloom.

Related: Best Roasted Vegetable Recipes

Thyme and garlic flavor this puree of carrot and swede, the British word for rutabaga. British-born chef Kieron Hales of Cornman Farms in Michigan makes this humble root vegetable the star of the table by blending it with lots of butter (which earns raves even from his picky younger son).

Since no one wants the soggy middle piece of a square tart, we cut a sheet of puff pastry in half to make two small ones: crisp edges for everyone! Eat as a meal with a salad or slice into petite wedges for a grab-and-go party app.

These sweet oven-roasted carrots are a perfect complement to a holiday menu, but they're easy enough to be a weeknight side. This comfort food recipe comes from Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri.

Related: Celebration-Worthy Side Dishes

Serve these addictive, cumin-spiced fritters as an appetizer or a side dish with the creamy, Middle Eastern-style sauce.

This hummus-with carrots, garbanzo beans and a hint of lemon- makes a healthy snack dip, wrap spread or potluck dish. 

Related: Easy Dip Recipes

Bright with lemon and dill, the blanched carrots and snap peas get "dipped" in the pool of creamy dressing underneath when you spoon up a helping—a playfully pretty twist on two nostalgic carrot classics.

Related: Sensational Salad Recipes

White dips don't have to be humdrum. In this recipe from The Vegetable Butcher cookbook, Cara Mangini sautes grated carrot, pine nuts and garlic in olive oil, then stirs the mixture into Greek yogurt.

Whole-roasted carrots are an effortlessly glam side, perfect with ham. But the real genius here is the matchstick-sliced ginger that bakes with them. Candied in the glaze, it's a chewy, intensely gingery topping you'll be pinching right off the pan.

Better at room temperature than warm, these carrots are perfect for summer entertaining—a make-ahead dish full of earthiness, creaminess and crunch. 

Related: Easy Appetizers for Summer Parties

Combining cinnamony pumpkin-pie spice with fresh mint lends North African flavor in a flash. Try this simple salad as a side dish to grilled chicken.

Related: Fresh Slaw Recipes

Goat cheese and chives top golden skillet-cooked mushrooms and cooked carrots in this recipe from Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Chicago. Homemade honey-mustard vinaigrette adds a pleasing tang.

The carrots from chef Edward Lee's cookbook Smoke and Pickles are sweet, buttery—and, yes, boozy.

Italian salsa verde—no relation to the Mexican one—is a classic herb sauce made with parsley, garlic and capers. Our version includes carrot tops, too. The bold, tangy flavor is a perfect match for steak (or any protein or roasted vegetable).

Related: Great Steak Recipes

Thickened with a little potato and flavored with leeks, shallot, white wine and the faintly anise-y herb tarragon, this sleeper hit of a soup is subtle, springy and unexpectedly special.

Related: Vegetable Soup Recipes

These super crunchy pickled carrots are a natural addition to a charcuterie spread, but they're so easy to make, you might keep them around for snacking.

Chicago chef John Shields' vegetable dish is sweet, bitter, tangy and completely beautiful—perfect for serving with a special-occasion roast.

Purchased shredded carrots and bottled minced ginger and garlic keep prep time to a minimum in this recipe.

Toss carrots, fresh peas and green onions in honey vinaigrette for this crunchy veggie salad.

Combine caramelized onions, ginger, carrots and a sweet potato for this creamy, pretty soup.

Combine carrots with pineapple, mango, peanuts and cilantro for a colorful side dish that goes well with grilled meats.