When I first spotted rainbow carrots at the market, I was intrigued. What would they taste like? Would the different colors have different flavors? I just had to buy them and find out for myself, and honestly I was really pleased with the result of my roasted rainbow carrots recipe!
Of course there are different ways to cook carrots, perhaps the worst way being roughly chopping them and boiling them to mush. I recommend roasting the carrots for the very best results. They will take a while to become tender because they are quite dense. But allow sufficient time and your result will be a wonderful side dish which is as healthy as it is tasty.
Roasted Rainbow Carrots: What Colors are There?
In my package of rainbow carrots I had yellow, light orange, mid-orange and purple ones. I tasted them raw first. The yellow one was quite sweet, and the light orange one was halfway between the flavor of the yellow one and a regular orange carrot. I expected them all to taste the same when making roasted rainbow carrots, but they really don’t.
Pretty Purple Carrots
The purple one offered quite a distinctive flavor – savory and almost spicy. Most carrots were purple if you go far back enough in time, although I only discovered them recently. Anyway I loved all the flavors and have made the following recipe a few times.
When I peeled them I saw the purple one was orange inside (I had expected it to be purple all the way through!) so I took care not to peel too much off, so there was still a purple tinge to the color. You don’t need to peel them at all if you don’t want to. Your roasted rainbow carrots will still taste the same.
If you want to cut the fat content of the dish you can swap the olive oil for PAM or Frylight, or a similar cooking spray, although to be honest the flavor of the olive oil is incredible with the carrots so I would recommend you use that, perhaps a light coating. Try them with these crispy duck legs.
Roasted Rainbow Carrots
Rainbow carrots are not only visually pleasing to the eye, but they are really tasty as well, each one offering a slightly different flavor. This recipe makes a lovely side dish and is great with any entree.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 rainbow carrots
- Salt, to taste
- Olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with the rack near the bottom.
- Peel the carrots if you wish (this is optional).
- Toss them with some oil (maybe half a tablespoon, but more if you like).
- Grind some salt over them.
- Spread them out in a large pan and roast for 20 minutes.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 325°F (160°C).
- Roast them, stirring or flipping occasionally, until they are tender and browned.
- This will take about another 25 minutes.
- If they start going too brown, cover the dish with foil.
Notes
- Peeling the carrots is optional but leave the green tops on for an attractive look.
- You can chop the carrots in half or quarters lengthwise for a shorter cooking time, or cook them whole.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Carrots -
- Calories: 75
- Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Protein: 1g
Keywords: roasted rainbow carrots, rainbow carrots recipe, how to cook rainbow carrots, rainbow carrots oven
Serve these delicious roasted rainbow carrots with your favorite meat, poultry or fish. If you are cooking for vegetarians consider a mushroom risotto on the side, or even a tofu dish. These carrots really do go with anything. A final idea (for leftovers) is to serve them cold on a bed of salad greens with some creamy potato salad, nuts, raisins, and cubes of cheese.
