Roasted Whole Carrots with Honey and Feta
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A simple recipe for tangy-sweet roasted whole carrots that celebrates my favorite everyday vegetable. Tossed with olive oil, honey, ground spices, fresh citrus, herbs and crumbled soft feta cheese, this is a back-pocket recipe you’ll make over and over.
My technique for roasting whole carrots makes them tender and sweet, seasoned with a combination of sweet and tangy flavors. It’s an easy way to elevate the humble carrot!
Next to stovetop-cooked glazed carrots, roasting baby carrots with olive oil, spices and a bright hit of lime juice is the perfect way to enhance their natural sweetness.
Ingredient rundown
- Carrots: Choose smaller carrots (less than 2-inches in diameter) for the best results. 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: You’ll need a drizzle 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.
Prep and cooking steps:
1. Peel the carrots and trim off the stem ends. Keep them whole if they’re smaller than 1-inch diameter. 
2. Arrange the carrots in one layer on a baking sheet (line with parchment if you like). Toss with oil and seasonings by gently shaking the pan back and forth, or tossing with a pair of tongs. 3. Carrots roast best in a moderately hot oven, preheated to 425 degrees. Cover them with foil and bake 15 minutes, then bake uncovered until the edges are browned.
- 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.
Roasted Whole Carrots with Honey and Feta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (680 g) whole carrots, peeled, and tops and tails 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
- 2 tablespoons (30 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
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 (200 C) degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper for easier clean up.
- Slice the tapered, slimmer ends off the carrots (these tend to burn). If your carrots are thicker than 2-inches in diameter, slice them in half vertically so all the pieces 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 toss. Continue roasting, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, until they're 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.
- 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 per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
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.
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Awesome Maureen! I’m glad you liked the carrots. I’ll look for your post. Cheers!
Looks like a wonderful meal, who needs meat for this?
These look so appetizing! Cannot wait to make them for my family!
This is a fantastic recipe—simple, elegant, and healthy. Thanks!
I have this recipe pinned on Pinterest, and I even have it featured on my site in my “Healthy Eats” section.
Waiting till after the carrots are cooked then adding the lime would work better. Heat breaks down the lime flavor.
Making tonight! Love love love to roast everything! These favors got me!
This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it. Carrots are one of my favorite foods, but I usually only eat them raw. This will be a great reason to eat them cooked.
This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it. Carrots are one of my favorite foods, but I usually only eat them raw. This will be a great reason to eat them cooked. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh, wow! These carrots are amazingly gorgeous!
kudos for pointing out that beta carotene needs fat to be taken up by the body!
these look amazing! and I love how you call them “bastard child” 🙂
might have to make these soon.
I love how easy this is, and looks so pretty too! NOw I just need to track sown some smoked paprika!
Hi there,
i love your blog! I posted your carrots on my foodie page…hopefully you will come join the foodie community and check it out.
C
At first, I thought they were crab legs. The color is so vibrant!
I made these for dinner last night for my picky boyfriend who doesn’t really like carrots, and he loved them. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Nyx, wow!! That is fantastic.
Wow, beautiful carrots! I love the design of your blog! I’ll be back to see what other tasty recipes you come up with!! 🙂
I just had to come back and tell you what a smashing success these were. I cut my not-as-cute-as-yours carrots into 3-inch slender sticks and roasted them. We had them with salmon fillets simply baked with shallots and lemon on top. (In the same oven, for the last 10 minutes with carrots.) They were perfect together! This is a definite keeper. Loved them!! <3
Jess, Alyce and Lauren – thanks for stopping and your comments – so nice.
Nichole, it makes my day to hear that you made the carrots, and it sounds like you had delicious meal along with the salmon! Thanks for letting me know.
Also, I wanted to add that I found my baby carrots at Whole Foods since the farmer’s market hasn’t started here yet. It’s very possible that your own grocery store will have them, too.
I am so fiending for fresh vegetables! I have a serious case of spring fever going on; I can’t wait to see little bundles of veggies at our Farmer’s Market again. I’ve a couple of those “grand canyon” carrots in my fridge leftover from making soup earlier in the week, I think I’m going to use these flavors to see if I can’t cook them into submission. Thanks for sharing. =)
I forgot how much I love roasted carrots until I saw your gorgeous photo on Foodgawker! These look beautiful and delicious.
Thanks, Lauren. I’m glad to hear you were enticed by my carrots!
These look gorgeous, cant wait to find them at the farmers market and try this recipe out!