You’ll root for root veggies even more when you try them in these carrot side dishes. Ranging from creamy soups and mashes to roasted and glazed carrot side dishes, these crowd-pleasing vegetable recipes might just steal the show from the entrée.
Spring Carrot Tart
Ideal as a showy party snack or a side dish, this carrot recipe looks like something you might score from a chic caterer. It’s surprisingly easy, though. That’s because this multi-color carrot creation starts with our easy crust recipe that calls for just 3 ingredients and involves a press-in strategy that makes the recipe worthy of its name. From there, all that’s left to do is slather the golden crust with mascarpone cheese, layer on some roasted carrots, and finish with honey and fresh thyme.
Carrot Orzotto
Risotto generally centers around arborio rice. For this hands-off remix, try orzo instead. It cooks a bit quicker—and soaks up so much flavor thanks to cooking in a mix of carrot juice and chicken broth. Just before serving, fold in lemon juice and zest for a burst of freshness and a handful of shredded carrots to really drive home the signature ingredient’s place in the spotlight.
Pan-Roasted Cabbage, Carrot, and Celery Root
If you’re sharing a table with some diners who tend to be picky eaters, don’t scroll right past! Admittedly, with shredded cabbage, chopped celery root, sliced carrots, onions, and garlic all in the mix (you need just 2 ingredients beyond that), this skillet side dish is essentially 100% vegetables. But that doesn’t mean that the carrot side dish recipe isn’t crowd-pleasing. Don’t just take our word for it; one BHG fan says, “This was SO good! Even family members who aren't crazy about vegetables said it was the dark horse of Thanksgiving dinner—and they wanted to take home my leftovers.”
Carrot and Parsnip Swirl
If you’ve made stovetop mashed potatoes before, you know that the first step is always to bring a pot of water to boil. No need to fill that pot for this easy vegetable side dish. We’re cooking them in just a bit of butter to max out the deep sweetness and earthy notes of the produce; parsnips in one pan, and carrots, potatoes, and leeks in the other. Once they’re very tender, use an immersion blender or food processor to blitz up the ingredients inside each pan, adding cream, butter, and nutmeg to dial-in the luscious creamy texture and add an enticing warm, nutty note.
Sticky Roasted Carrots with Citrus
Glazed carrots are one of the most common carrot side dishes on American dinner tables. We’ll never say “no” to a serving, but for holidays (or any day we want to taste and feel like one), we turn to this thoroughly modern riff. It only takes 40 minutes! Instead of brown sugar, these roasted carrots sweetened with a splash of maple syrup. Orange slices, chiles de árbol (or crushed red pepper), and tahini help this side stand out from its more-common culinary ancestor.
Caramelized Onion and Carrot Stuffing
Speaking of holidays, no Thanksgiving table is complete without stuffing/dressing. We have more than a dozen tested-and-perfected renditions on our site, and this one ranks right among the top for BHG editors. Fresh sage, sautéed carrots and onions, chicken broth, sourdough bread, and butter (of course) are all that’s required for this classic, craveable side dish.
Spicy Salad with Roasted Veggies
Bored by basic side dish salads? We get it. A cold bowl of leaves can get a bit repetitive day after day. So we decided to spice things up—literally—by tossing carrots, sweet potato, and delicata squash with a fiery, nutty, smoky, and savory suya spice blend before roasting. Atop a bed of escarole, and drizzled with vinaigrette, we often find ourselves going back for seconds.
Coconut Acorn Squash and Carrot Soup
Deemed “very easy, very good” by one five-star reviewer, this creamy soup gets even easier if you give the squash a head-start in the microwave rather than roasting it. Mix that tender flesh with shredded carrot, onion, ginger, and unsweetened coconut milk and you have one supremely silky and satisfying vegetarian soup.
Test Kitchen Tip: Aiming for 100% vegan? Simply use olive oil or another plant-based fat instead of butter and you’re ready to spoon this carrot side dish.
Chardonnay Glazed Carrots
When we mention honey, cinnamon, and butter in the same sentence, you’re probably imagining a dessert. But in this carrot side dish, those sweet, warm, and rich elements beautifully balance out the earthy qualities of the carrots and bay leaves and the tang of Chardonnay verjus (or a combo of white grape juice and white wine vinegar). The result is, “easy, fast and elegant,” a BHG reader confirms. (And we agree!)
Air-Fried Balsamic Glazed Carrots
The air fryer isn’t just for crisping up potatoes, chicken, or leftover pizza. This healthy carrot side dish recipe showcases the versatility—and speed—of the countertop convection oven. Toss the root veggies with olive oil and honey, air-fry for 10 minutes, then serve with a drizzle of butter-infused balsamic glaze.
Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Healthy yet “fabulously-rich,” “soul-satisfying,” and “addictive”( in the best way) are a few of countless rave reviews we’ve received about this cozy side dish soup. Recreating it is a breeze: Blend sautéed butternut squash, carrots, and leeks to act as the foundation. Add chicken broth and a splash of half-and-half or light cream to bring things to a soup consistency, and for a tasteful final touch, garnish each bowl with a swirl of crème fraîche and a spoonful of toasted pumpkin seeds.
Braised Cabbage and Carrots
This carrot side dish is one we’re grateful to have in our back pocket for the nights when we’re crunched for time and feel tempted to order delivery. Since the cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, and a few herbs and spices are braised in chicken stock all together in a Dutch oven, this is the ultimate hands-off dinner side dish. Add rotisserie chicken or your favorite protein and slice up some sourdough and you have a low-fuss, well-balanced feast.
Glazed Carrots
If you have 15 minutes, you have plenty of time to add this traditional carrot side dish recipe to your spread. You need just 4 ingredients, and two are the sources of its uniquely-refreshing flavor: ginger preserves and frozen orange juice concentrate.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you can’t find ginger preserves, mix 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger into 3 tablespoons orange marmalade to use instead.
Oven-Fried Veggies
Would you like fries with that? Always, but potatoes shouldn’t get all the glory, we believe. Toss cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, and/or carrots (definitely carrots!) with a spiced-up mix of Parmesan and panko breadcrumbs. Bake until crispy, then dunk the oven-fried delights in garlicky aïoli. No one will miss the spuds!