Easiest Roasted Carrots with Cumin
These easy roasted carrots are an excellent vegetable side dish for dinner party menus and holiday meals. They’re hands-off cooking so you can host with ease.
This recipe is perfectly suited for entertaining. In contrast to glazed carrots, it’s quick and simple to make in the oven. It’s also affordable to serve to a crowd, and it’s complimentary to rustic dishes or fancy entrees.
Fresh carrots are delicious year round so you can add this side dish to Easter dinner as well as Thanksgiving potluck. It goes great with beef, pork, poultry, or fish.
How to Make Roasted Carrots
You can use traditional orange carrots or get the colorful petite size rainbow carrots like I used here. These make a lovely presentation for dinner party menus, and leaving a bit of the stems on makes them look even more interesting!
- Rinse and dry your carrots whole if they are about 1/2-inch in diameter. If they’re thicker, you can cut them in half or cook for a longer period of time. I love to use the tri-color carrots for a pretty presentation, but orange is great too. For that rustic look, don’t peel them!
- Place carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat and sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Cook until they can pierce easily with a fork at the thickest part, but still firm.
Helpful Tip
Remember, the size and thickness will vary among the vegetables. After the first 25 minutes of cooking you can pierce them with a fork to make sure they’re tender all the way through. If you can’t pierce them easily, continue to cook them and check on them at 5 minute intervals until they’re done.
Use a kitchen scrub brush if you need to get any stubborn dirt off. Then dry with a paper towel, season and cook.
Make this the day before but slightly under cook them. Let them cool before placing them in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, arrange them on a baking sheet once more and put them in the oven just to heat through. You can also add a little more olive oil if necessary.
Serving Suggestions
These are ideal for a Moroccan theme dinner party next to curry chicken and mezze platters.
This is perfect for Easter dinner with lamb chops and goat cheese polenta. Add something green to your menu with green peas and parmesan, or a more indulgent side dish such as broccoli casserole.
Pair with a steak dinner featuring filet mignon with balsamic-red wine reduction.
Add them to a Spring ladies luncheon, for mother’s day, or a shower, along with chicken quiche.
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Easy Roasted Carrots with Cumin
Roasted tri-color carrots with cumin are an easy side dish for parties. These vegetables pair well with any protein entree from lamb & beef, to chicken & fish.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch whole carrots - about 2 pounds
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Cumin
- salt & pepper to taste
- fresh thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Rinse and dry whole carrots to clean them. For a rustic look, do not peel.
- Put carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat them with the oil.
- Arrange carrots in a single layer and sprinkle with ground cumin.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for about 25 minutes or until you can pierce them easily with a fork, but still firm.
- Remove and serve with fresh thyme leaves sprinkled over the top.
