Home - Vegetables - Honey-Lime Roasted Carrots (Sweet and Tangy)
By Karen Tedesco — Updated July 31, 2023
4.94 from 15 community reviews
Jump to RecipeHow to makeSave recipe
Did you know you can easily save your favorite recipes? Create an account or log in to get started.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
A simple recipe for tangy, sweet roasted carrots that celebrates a humble, affordable vegetable! Tossed with olive oil, honey, spices, fresh lime, herbs and crumbled soft feta cheese, this is a back-pocket recipe you’ll make over and over.
My technique for roasted carrots makes tender, sweet carrots with the best combination of sweet and tangy flavors. It’s the best way to elevate everyday, humble carrots — I hope they’ll become one of your favorite vegetable recipes.
It’s no secret that carrots are one of the most affordable vegetables you can buy, and they’re available in just about every grocery store. Even in kitchens where little actual cooking goes on, you’ll probably find some carrots forgotten in the back of the fridge.
Next to stovetop-cooked glazed carrots, roasting baby carrots wih olive oil, spices and a bright hit of lime juice is the perfect way to enhance their natural sweetness.
Ingredients you need
- Carrots: Bunches of carrots with their fresh greens attached are ideal if you can find them. Bagged carrots without the tops are fine too, but I highly recommend seeking out the freshest ones possible. That means carrots that don’t have visible cracks and/or hairy roots growing on them, which is a sign they’ve been in storage for a while.
- Spices: I use basic pantry spices to perk up the flavor of roasted carrots. They’re naturally-sweet taste pairs beautifully with cumin, smoked paprika and coriander.
- Honey: Use a bit of honey, or maple syrup to complement the carrots.
- Lime: Fresh lime juice add that pop of acidity to contrast with the sugars in the carrots and honey.
How to roast carrots:
These whole roasted carrots couldn’t be simpler to throw together. Here are the basic steps:
- The trick to the achieving the best texture in roasted carrots is to cover them with foil for half the roasting time. This helps them steam and soften so they don’t burn on the outside before they’re tender all the way through.
- Test the carrots for doneness by gently poking with a skewer or point of a small knife — they should be tender at the center.
During roasting, the natural sugars in carrots concentrate. That sweetness pairs so perfectly with bright fresh lime and honey.
Fun fact: While raw carrots make a crunchy, nutritious snack, they’re actually more nutritious cooked. Cooking breaks down the cellulose in vegetables so they are a bit more digestible, but the healthybeta-carotene in carrots also needs fat in order to be absorbed.
Honey-Lime Roasted Carrots (Sweet and Tangy)
Karen Tedesco
A simple recipe for tangy, sweet roasted carrots that celebrates a humble, affordable vegetable! Tossed with olive oil, honey, spices, fresh lime, herbs and crumbled soft feta cheese, this is a back-pocket recipe you'll make over and over.
PrintPinSave
4.94 from 15 community reviews
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course Vegetables
Cuisine Vegetarian
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (680 g) carrots, peeled and trimmed
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon paprika, smoked or plain
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey, or maple syrup
- 1 lime, sliced in half
Serving garnishes
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil or parsley
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese, optional
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Heat oven to 400 (200 C) degrees.Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper for easier clean up.
Trim the leafy tops off the carrots if you like (you can use them to make pesto if you enjoy their flavor). Slice the tapered, slimmer ends off the carrots. Slice the larger top part of the carrots in half lengthwise so they roast evenly.
Drizzle the olive oil over the carrots and sprinkle evenly with the salt and spices. Add the honey and toss the carrots around to coat them in the seasonings. Put the lime halves on the pan, cut side down.
Cover the baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil.
Roast 15 minutes. Remove the foil and give the carrots a quick stir. Continue roasting 10-15 minutes, until they're are just tender when poked with the tip of a small knife and the edges are golden brown. Squeeze the roasted limes over the carrots and scrape up any caramelized juices.
To serve, transfer the carrots and pan juices to a serving plate. Sprinkle the green onions, herbs and feta cheese over the top.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The trick to the achieving the best texture in roasted carrots is to cover them with foil for half the roasting time. This helps them steam and soften so they don’t burn on the outside before they’re tender all the way through.
- If your carrots are larger than 2-inches in diameter, be sure slice them in half vertically so all the pieces roast evenly.
- Test the carrots for doneness by gently poking with a skewer or point of a small knife — they should be tender at the center.
Nutrition
Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 647mg | Potassium: 773mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 38116IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe? Search @Familystylefood or tag #familystylefood on Pinterest
- Gluten Free
- Spring
- Vegetables
- Vegetarian and Vegan
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
