Looking for a way to add some color and flavor to your keto or low-carb meals? These keto-style roasted carrots are the perfect solution. Oven-roasted until crisp-tender and coated with a delicious glaze, they're sure to become a family favorite.
Why Roasted Carrots on Keto?
You can enjoy carrots on a keto diet, but in moderation. While carrots do contain natural sugars, contributing to their carb count (approximately 6-7 grams of net carbs in two medium-sized carrots), they can be incorporated into a ketogenic lifestyle. The key is portion control and preparation methods that enhance their flavor while minimizing added carbs.
Keto-Friendly Glazed Carrots
These easy Glazed Carrots require just 4 ingredients and are ready in about 15 minutes! The holidays can be a stressful time- especially if you’re the one hosting and cooking! But these Glazed Carrots are the perfect easy holiday side dish. You only need 4 ingredients for this simple dish and it’s full of flavor.
Nutritional Information
Per 1/4-Cup Serving:
- Calories: 80
- Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Fiber: 2g
- Net Carbohydrates: 3g
- Protein: 0g
Ingredients
The key to this recipe is to take it slow- while the actual cooking time is only 15 minutes, you need to be sure to give your carrots that full amount of time. Why? Because you want all of the delicious natural sugars in those carrots to meld and caramelize with the butter and brown sugar. One of the best things about this vegetable side dish is that you only need 4 ingredients and you probably already have most of them on hand!
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
- Carrots
- Butter
- Brown sugar (or brown sugar monkfruit for a lower carb option)
- Paprika
- Optional: Fresh herbs for extra flavor
Preparation
You can easily prepare these carrots in advance- they travel very well and are easy to reheat. You can warm them in almost anything and they’ll come out absolutely delicious. As always, here is a quick overview of the ingredients used in our sweet carrots.
- Prepare the Carrots: To ensure that all of your carrots cook evenly, you need to make sure that you are cutting your veggies equally. After you have peeled your carrots, cut off the head of the carrot at an angle. Continue to diagonally cut your carrot in 1/2 thick pieces all the way down.
- Melt Butter: First, bring a medium or large skillet to medium heat. Add your butter and allow it to melt.
- Coat Carrots: When your butter has begun to boil, add your prepared carrots. Toss your veggies to ensure that they are coated in the butter. I recommend trying to get your carrots in a single layer- it will help everything to cook together evenly.
- Caramelize: Lower the heat to medium low and cook the carrots for 10 minutes. Stir 3-4 times while cooking, but no more than that. This step is essential- this is where the natural sugars will caramelize, giving you that wonderful flavor.
- Glaze: After 10 minutes, sprinkle the brown sugar and paprika over your carrots and toss. Stir your carrots until a glaze forms, about 5 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Tips and Variations
- Low-Carb Option: If you are trying to keep your carb count low, you can substitute the brown sugar for brown sugar monkfruit.
- Extra Flavor: For extra flavor, you can top with your favorite fresh herbs.
- Baby Carrots: If your kids prefer baby carrots, you can make this dish with them as well.
- Other Vegetables: Note: these are already low-carb, but you can cut down the carb-level even more by substituting turnips - or doing a combo of both for added variety and color.
Serving Suggestions
These carrots really go great with anything, from a simple weeknight dinner to a full holiday table! Pair with Low Carb Vegetable Beef Soup, Blackened Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Skillet or Creamy Chicken Soup for an easy weekday side dish.
Storing and Reheating
To store these carrots, keep in a plastic or glass container with an airtight lid and keep in the fridge. These carrots will stay fresh for up to five days. One of my favorite things about these carrots is how easy they are to transport (just bring them in whatever dish you stored them in) and to reheat. You can warm in the Slow Cooker, on the stove top or in the oven.
Oven-Roasted Garlic and Herb Carrots
Oven-roasted whole carrots with garlic and herbs make an easy and delicious side dish that can go with just about any meal. The sweetness of carrots paired with herby-garlic chunks makes an incredibly delicious combination. These carrots are oven-roasted so the stove top can be used for other foods.
Ingredients
Requires only a handful of simple ingredients.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
- Carrots
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Dried basil
- Sea salt
- Minced garlic
- Fresh parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Easy recipe - toss everything together directly on the sheet pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If using garden carrots, trim the greens and scrub or peel the carrots. If using thicker carrots, cut them in half lengthwise.
- Pat dry your carrots to make sure they are completely dry. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil, dried basil, sea salt, and minced garlic. Stir to combine.
- Toss carrots with herby-garlic oil and spread them evenly on the baking sheet, giving them plenty of space for airflow.
- Roast for 25-35 minutes or until tender. You may broil the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time.
- Remove carrots from the sheet pan and garnish with fresh parsley and coarse salt flakes.
Tips for Roasting
- To avoid burnt garlic on the sheet pan, make sure your carrots are not too big. For small diagonally sliced carrots, roast for 10 minutes. Baby carrots can be done in 15-20 minutes. Thin garden carrots will be tenderly roasted in 25 minutes. Store-bought large carrots are much thicker and can take up to 35 minutes to roast to tender perfection.
- A good way to test for doneness is to use a fork. Gently pierce the carrot at the thickest part. If you can pierce the fork all the way through, the carrots are overcooked. Generally, there should be just enough softness to tell it's tender. Most importantly, remember that the thinner parts of the carrot (the root end) may be slightly more cooked and possibly charred. Those are actually my favorite part of the carrots.
Other Ways to Jazz Up Your Roasted Carrots
You'll find this oven-roasted carrot recipe to be pretty basic yet with big results. But there are so many other ways to jazz this easy side dish recipe.
- Honey Mustard: Add a touch of honey and mustard for a little tang
- Balsamic: Drizzle some balsamic glaze over the carrots before popping them in the oven
- Tone Down the Garlic: If the garlic chunks are a bit too much, mash some of the olive oil roasted garlic (from this garlic confit recipe) along with its oil.
Alternatively, you can also use multi-colored heirloom carrots (most commonly known as rainbow carrots) like in this Healthy Carrot Salad with Caramelized Onions.
Air Fryer Roasted Carrots
These crispy roasted carrots can be made in a convection-type air fryer like this one. It can also be made in basket air fryers but you have to make sure they are not lined with toxic non-stick coatings. Preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
What Carrots Are Best for Roasting?
The best carrots are from the farmer's market - go for the small-medium size as they will roast quicker without burning the garlic. Garden carrots are also great in that peeling is not necessary. Just clean them well with a vegetable brush. However, store-bought regular carrots work too. Peel if you prefer and cut them in half lengthwise to cut on cooking time. You can also slice them diagonally and roast for 10 minutes or until tender. In a pinch, you can use baby carrots.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Low-Carb Roasted Glazed Carrots
I treat my family to recipes like these low-carb roasted glazed carrots. This means you can enjoy a traditional favorite without feeling deprived. I roast my carrots in a high oven setting so that the natural sweetness comes through. It's really easy to properly roast carrots. All you need to do is scrub and peel your carrots, if you are using whole carrots. I chose to use multi-colored carrots for this recipe, so using baby carrots was not an option for me. I will say that using different-colored carrots makes the dish extra special and all the colors add more nutrition.
To roast your carrots, you only need to wash and trim the ends. Afterward, you cut them in half lengthwise, into pieces no more than 1 ½ inches long. If you choose to slice them into smaller, coin-sized pieces, the baking time can be reduced even further. Making your low-carb glaze is pretty straightforward. At that point, you just garnish your keto roasted glazed carrots with a little fresh chopped parsley.
Having said that, I'm also partial to the brand Swerve brown sugar, which is an erythritol blend. Truvia tends to be overly sweet, so I recommend half the amount called for in this recipe. There are approximately 6 grams of total carbs per medium-sized carrot. Don't be so quick to dismiss carrots while doing a ketogenic diet. Carrots happen to rank low in the glycemic index. Keep in mind that the carrot recipes I share are the equivalent of ½-1/4 of a medium-sized carrot.
Simple Oven Roasted Carrots
This oven roasted carrots recipe results in perfectly tender carrots and makes a fantastic healthy side dish that pairs with just about any dinner. It’s low calorie, easy to prepare, and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees.
- Wash, dry, and trim the carrots.
- Chop the carrots both length-wise and then into 1 ½ inch pieces. Ensure that the pieces are cut as uniformly as possible as this will ensure the roasting is even. Otherwise, some carrots will take longer than others.
- In a large bowl toss the chopped carrots with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Make sure to coat the carrots evenly in olive oil.
- Then spread the carrots on a large cookie sheet and place them on the top rack of your oven.
- You are going to roast your carrots for about 20-25 minutes but at the 15-minute mark flip your carrots so that they are roasting evenly.
- Cook your carrots until tender.
Basic Roasted Carrots
Roasting them is my favorite way to bring out their natural sweetness, and it’s so simple.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Then slice the carrots diagonally in 1½-inch-thick pieces. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and toss them with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Rearrange them to a single layer.
- Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender and browned.
- Gently toss the cooked carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste if necessary, and serve.
Variations
- Make this dish sweeter! Add in a sweet potato.
- Fresh or dried herbs can be used. Experiment with different herbs.