Embark on a flavor-packed journey with these 20 easy carrot recipes offering wholesome soups, satiating salads, and delicious desserts.
From savory mains to delectable desserts, these recipes showcase carrots’ versatile and nutritious nature and offer wholesome and easy meal ideas.
Carrot is a versatile root vegetable that is incredible for bread making, cakes, sides, stews, soups, pasta, and more.
You can eat carrots in many ways: raw, steamed, boiled, mashed, roasted, or as part of a flavor base (soffrito) in numerous main dishes.
Whether you have surplus carrots in your fridge or love cooking with this root vegetable, these delightful and tasty recipes will please you and your family.
1. Roasted carrots
Roasted carrots are a buttery tender side dish, perfect for many occasions, from a simple weeknight family dinner to a special holiday meal.
Make them with your favorite toppings (try tahini yogurt sauce and pickled red onions) for a guest-friendly appetizer or vegetable side.
2. Vegan carrot cake
Despite having less sugar, less oil, and no eggs, this cake’s taste is incredible and perfectly moist, and the texture is light, just like the carrot cake of your best dreams.
Serve it as is, or top it with our creamy cream cheese frosting. You can make it round, square, or rectangular; it will be delicious, whatever shape you choose.
3. Carrot ginger soup
Don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients and the prejudice most of us have against humble carrots.
When made correctly, carrot soup is one of the best, tastiest soups you’ll ever have. It’s creamy, colorful, and, most importantly, delicious with sweet and aromatic notes.
4. Carrot salad
Our raw carrot salad recipe is inspired by a classic French carrot salad (carottes rรขpรฉes).
We make it with crunchy, raw shredded or grated carrots and a simple mustard vinaigrette.
5. Moroccan carrot salad
The following carrot recipe on our list is Middle–Eastern–inspired with a creamy cumin dressing.
Moroccan carrot salad is a delicious and aromatic recipe with tender boiled carrots that pairs incredibly well with couscous, flatbread, or pita bread.
6. Carrot raisin salad
Shredded carrots, mayonnaise, and raisins are a match made in heaven.
Bring this salad to potlucks and picnics, and serve it as a side dish with a high protein main dish.
7. Butternut squash and carrot soup
With our “bake and blend” technique, you can make this soup with minimal effort and maximum flavor.
Butternut squash soup with carrots is easy to make, and itโs excellent as a cozy starter, vegetarian main, and for a special holiday meal.
8. Italian carrot cake
Also called carrot–orange cake, this Italian dessert idea is an easy single–layer cake with almond flour.
This cake is light, soft, and with a moist crumb. This cake’s light Mediterranean flavor palette makes it excellent for breakfast or as a light, sweet snack with a cup of tea.
9. Carrot tomato salad
Upgrade your tomato salad with a grated carrot for a crunchy and colorful plate. Add chopped onion, celery, carrot, and basil to your sliced tomatoes.
It’s a great appetizer with bruschetta, crostini, or focaccia.
10. Vegetable soup with carrots
What’s essential when making a tasty vegetable soup is starting with a flavor base of onion, celery, and carrots gently fried in olive oil.
Add your favorite chopped veggies, canned tomatoes, white beans, and broth, and simmer until the veggies are fork-tender.
11. Carrot ginger dressing
This dressing is excellent for salads, roasted veggies, and Asian recipes.
Carrot Ginger Dressing is a simple recipe for a vegan, dairy–free, gluten–free, and egg-free salad dressing made with fresh ingredients in only a few minutes.
12. Sweet potato carrot soup
Carrots are lovely for adding sweetness and a refined flavor to soups.
Our creamy sweet potato soup is a tasty and convenient one–pot recipe you can make in 30 minutes with simple ingredients for a tangy and aromatic meatless meal.
13. Roasted carrots and broccoli
Roasted carrots and broccoli are a simple and delicious side dish you can serve for any occasion, from Thanksgiving and Holiday meals to weeknight dinners.
Those two veggies are delicious together because the sweetness of roasted carrots balances out broccoli’s slight bitterness.
14. Carrot lentil salad
In this Moroccan-inspired recipe, lentils and carrots are seasoned with a delicious cumin, lemon, and olive oil dressing.
As a result, they make a tasty vegetarian lunch idea, and theyโll make you fall in love with this simple dish.
15. Roasted potatoes and carrots
Our roasted carrots and potatoes recipe is a simple and effective vegetable side dish.
It allows you to have perfectly roasted carrots and potatoes that are buttery tender, slightly caramelized, packed with flavor, and never dry.
16. Lighter coleslaw
This easy coleslaw is a classic side dish that combines crisp cabbage, shredded carrot, and creamy, tangy, and flavorful dressing.
It’s an excellent way of pairing cabbage and carrots, and itโs a brilliant dish for potlucks, BBQs, pizza nights, picnics, or dinner with friends and family.
17. Lentil vegetable soup
You can make a big batch of this lentil vegetable soup and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze it for months.
Most ingredients for this lentil recipe are easy to find, and pantry and fridge staples, such as spinach, carrots, dried lentils, and canned tomatoes.
18. Red cabbage slaw
Our red cabbage slaw recipe is made with shredded red cabbage and carrots to add sweetness and a touch of parsley for freshness.
We add a tangy and creamy dressing made with our vegan mayo (any other mayo works) and Greek-style yogurt for a refreshing and lighter slaw.
19. Barley salad
This easy barley salad with roasted vegetables is a Mediterranean-inspired dish that is excellent for meal prep, potlucks, and a nourishing meal.
Barley is one of the oldest grains cultivated by humans; it has a satisfying chewy texture and slightly nutty flavor that works wonderfully in salads with most vegetables.
20. Creamy macaroni salad
Macaroni salad is a creamy pasta salad that never disappoints. You can make it with fresh veggies, such as bell peppers, shredded carrots, and a tangy mayo-yogurt dressing.
Serve it as a creamy summer pasta salad with other BBQ dishes, such as BBQ tofu, potato salad, or grilled tofu.
21. Curry lentil soup
Our curry lentil soup is an Indian-inspired recipe where lentils are simmered in a rich tomato sauce enriched with spices, carrots, and spinach.
Youโll love this recipe because itโs easy to make in just over 30 minutes in one pot. Itโs packed with flavor, plant-based protein, and umami.
Sauces for carrot recipes
Upgrade your carrot side dishes with these bright and delicious sauce ideas:
- Chimichurri sauce (olive oil, parsley, red pepper flakes, garlic, vinegar, etc.)
- Chili oil (olive oil, red pepper flakes).
- Chermoula (cilantro, parsley, chili, olive oil, garlic, etc.)
- Italian salsa verde (parsley, capers, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, etc.)
- Tahini dressing (tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, etc.).
- Honey mustard dressing (mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, etc.)
For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.
Easy carrot recipes
Equipment
- Immersion blender or standing blender
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch ginger grated, or more to taste
- ยผ teaspoon cumin
- โ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds carrots chopped into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 2 twists black pepper
- 3 cups vegetable broth add more if necessary
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ยผ cup coconut cream optional, swap heavy cream
- 1 handful fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large pot, add 1 large onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (chopped), 1 inch ginger (grated), ยผ teaspoon cumin, โ teaspoon red pepper flakes and cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add 2 pounds carrots (chopped), season with 1 teaspoon salt, 2 twists black pepper, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add 3 cups vegetable broth, bring to a boil, and simmer until the carrots are fork tender (about 20 – 30 minutes).
- Blend, then taste and adjust for salt. Also, add more broth if the soup is too thick. Optionally, stir in 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and ยผ cup coconut cream and simmer until hot.
- Serve in a bowl, then garnish with a drizzle of cream and 1 handful fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
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Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with vegetarian and vegan recipes.