Roasted Maple Curry Carrots is a delicious, familiar, yet unique side dish for your holiday gathering. Carrots roasted with tangy cranberries, mildly spicy curry, and then gently caramelized in sweet maple syrup, it's the ultimate carrot recipe!
Are carrots high in sugar?
The short answer: no. They are not.
I recently saw a comic of a bunch of carrots in the fridge chowing down on cake and sodas. Honestly, that's the only way your carrots have a lot of sugar in them!
In my post Tropical Carrot Cake Oatmeal, I dive pretty in depth into this misconception, if you want to read more. But here's a brief quote from it:
"A half of a cup of chopped carrots contains about 3 grams of sugar. By comparison, a 12 oz Coke contains 39 grams of sugar! A teaspoon of sugar or honey is 4 grams. An apple has 10 grams of sugar."
Laura Yautz, RDN
So, anyway, enjoy your carrots, please! Start with roasted maple carrots!
How do I get my roasted carrots to be soft?
In this healthy glazed carrots recipe we use a secret weapon to get wonderfully soft, but not mushy, roasted carrots! The secret is to parboil the carrots first! Parboiling is similar to blanching.
First peel and chop the carrots to whatever size you like, and then give them the hot tub treatment for a few minutes. Just 3-5 minutes in boiling water is enough to ensure your carrots roast up perfectly!
Crunchy roasted carrots that are raw on the inside and burned on the outside? No more!
What to serve with Maple Syrup Roasted Carrots
If I do say so myself, this is a perfect holiday carrots recipe. But besides the turkey or ham, here are some other great options for serving with roasted maple carrots:
- Quinoa Mushroom Burgers with Black Beans
- Curry Chickpea and Mango Mini Pizzas
- Easy Skillet Tempeh with Caramelized Onions and Grapes
- Olive Oil Biscuits
- Mulled Grape Juice
FAQs and Tips
Technically, no. Boiling them first helps ensure they cook through without burning on the outside. If you don't want to do that, skip that step, but watch your carrots so they don't burn. They may take longer to roast also.
You can skip that ingredient entirely, or use another seed or nut. I think pistachios would be great, or perhaps some chopped almonds.
A few options here. First, if you don't use cranberries, reduce the maple syrup to 2 Tbsp.
It's fine to leave the cranberries out altogether. Or you could use pomegranate arils in place of them. If you do that, sprinkle them over the top with the pepitas instead of roasting them.
If you try this maple glazed carrots recipe with curry, tell me in the comments!
And don't forget to try some of our other carrot recipes!
📖 Recipe
Roasted Maple Curry Carrots
A delicious, familiar, yet unique side dish for your holiday gathering. Carrots roasted with tangy cranberries, mildly spicy curry, and then gently caramelized in sweet maple syrup, it's the ultimate carrot recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Carrots, scrubbed well
- ½ cup Fresh Cranberries
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Curry Powder (more or less to taste)
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoon 100% Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoon Unsalted Pepitas
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425°F.
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Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
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Prepare the carrots: peel them if you like. Cut off the tops and bottoms. Cut the carrots on a diagonal in about 1 inch pieces. Cut them in half lengthwise first if they are thick.
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When the water reaches a boil, add the carrots, and boil for 3 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
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Put the carrots and cranberries on a lined baking sheet, and toss with olive oil, curry powder, and salt.
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Roast for 20 minutes, tossing a few times.
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Remove from the oven, and add the maple syrup. Toss again.
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Optional: Toast the pepitas, by placing in a small pan (no oil), and tossing over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until fragrant.
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Return to the oven, and roast an additional 10 minutes, or until the carrots are tender and caramelized.
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Spoon the carrots onto a serving platter, and sprinkle with pepitas.
Paula says
I made these yummy carrots for dinner guests and everyone loved them! There was not a single carrot left in the serving dish! Great job!
Laura Yautz says
Thank you so much! Happy it was such a hit!
Dianna Reynolds says
These carrots were delicious!! I think I could of ate them all!!
Laura Yautz says
Awesome to hear! I think this is probably my new favorite way to make carrots. Glad you enjoyed!