I wish I could say that I came up with this idea myself. Seriously, why have I never thought about dressing up carrots? This is a Tasty recipe on BuzzFeed. The video popped up on my Facebook feed last week, and I immediately went into the kitchen and made them for an appetizer. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand… I think that’s why the Tasty videos and recipes are so popular. They use common ingredients to make incredibly, amazing, easy dishes. Here’s a link to the original Tasty recipe for their Garlic Parmesan – Baked Carrot Fries.
Carrots are often overlooked. I tend to think of them as one of the most generic vegetables, like celery, and group them with apples, oranges, and bananas… all very basic. But fresh, roasted carrots with garlic and parmesan is a whole other story. Honestly, Kris and I were eating the leftovers cold, straight out of the fridge with breakfast the other morning. Something about the garlic and parmesan with the sweetness of the carrots is irresistible. The carrot sticks just barely caramelize and get slightly crispy, so tasty! 😉 So, I think I found my new favorite side dish and appetizer.
I bought more carrots today just so I could make these carrot fries again this week at least once, maybe twice. Especially relevant to this recipe is that you should buy whole carrots. The whole carrots that you have to peel and chop yourself is where the flavor is at! Do not get baby carrots. Fresh, whole carrots have so much more flavor than baby carrots. I think baby carrots sometimes taste very bland and have no flavor at all. And then if you let them sit in the bag too long they get slimy…so gross. Just buy the whole carrots. They’re usually cheaper than baby carrots anyway.
Also, don’t worry about carrots having too much sugar. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have had people tell me that they don’t eat carrots because they have too much sugar….right after they admit to eating chips, crackers, and drinking soda…. I’m not making this s**t up. One large carrot has about 30 calories, 7 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, <1 gram of protein, and meets 240% of your Vitamin A needs. And only 5 net carbs if you’re into that kind of thing… So eat your carrots! Eat them anyway you want – dipped in ranch, baked with butter, or like these garlic parmesan carrot fries.
And don’t forget about the dipping sauce because it compliments the carrot fries perfectly. I didn’t follow the Tasty recipe exactly for the sauce but pretty close. My sauce has Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and red pepper flakes (optional because I like a little spice).
So there you have it! You need to go make this Tasty recipe!
- 3 large carrots peeled, ends cut off.
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/3 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
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Cut carrots lengthwise into "fries".
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Next, mix olive oil, parmesan, garlic powder, parsley, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add carrots and toss to coat.
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Place carrots on baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes until carrots are soft and starting to get slightly crispy. Turn carrots over halfway through baking.
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While carrots are baking, mix Greek yogurt with lemon juice, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to make the dipping sauce.
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When carrots have finished baking, let cool slightly and serve with dipping sauce.
This recipe is excellent! Do you have the nutritional information?
If you do four servings with the yogurt dipping sauce, it’s approximately: 190 calories, 14 g fat, 13 g carbs, 2.2 g fiber, 5 g protein.
What is the serving size for both the carrots and the dip?
Hi Chelsie,
The recipe makes four servings. The amount of carrot fries depends on how big you cut the carrots, but with four servings, each serving is about 3/4 of a large carrot and approximately 2-3 tbsp of the dip.
what is the nutrition information with out the dip?
Four servings without the dip is approximately 178 calories, 14 g fat, 8 g carbs, 2 g fiber (6 net carbs), 6 g protein. Most of the calories are coming from the olive oil.
How thick were the fries when you made them? What size should we be aiming for?
We usually cut them on the skinnier side, trying to keep them around a 1/4-1/3 of an inch. Carrots are usually pretty tapered, so it is ok if you have some varying sizes, but just try to keep everything relatively close in width so they all cook the same. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Have you tried these with baby carrots and keeping them whole? Curious if it would be the same or too soft of a texture.
I haven’t tried baby carrots. I think I would cut them in half lengthwise and then you might need to reduce the cooking time, maybe try 10-15 minutes and see how they look. Let me know if you try the baby carrots!
Making these right now and I cannot WAIT to try them! Took a little nibble after 15 minutes and the flavour was great, just needed to cook them a bit longer. I’ve been really experimenting lately with different ways to cook my veggies and this puts an exciting twist on carrots 🙂
Hi Victoria! So glad you like them! I’ve started cooking almost all my veggies this way. The garlic and parmesan go great with green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus…endless possibilities! Enjoy!
Hey! Great recipe, just wondering if the 400 degrees is in Farenheit?
Yes, Fahrenheit. I updated the recipe. 🙂
me
If I make 6 carrots do I double the recipe and time?