Do you love roasted vegetables? Or are you trying to love vegetables? Either way, this recipe is for you. Broccoli, bell pepper, red onion and carrots roast…
Do you love roasted vegetables? Or are you trying to love vegetables? Either way, this recipe is for you. Broccoli, bell pepper, red onion and carrots roast to golden perfection on one sheet pan. This roasted vegetable recipe is the perfect side dish for everyday dinners. It’s plenty festive for holidays, too.
You could call this recipe a roasted vegetable medley. Or a mélange (one of my favorite words!). Or just your everyday roasted vegetables recipe. The range of colors make this simple roasted side dish quite enticing. Just wait until you try my simple seasonings—they really take these veggies to the next level.
I’m obsessed with roasting vegetables because the high heat of the oven transforms standard veggies into something so much better. Roasted vegetables offer deep, complex flavor. They’re tender and irresistible, hearty and just wonderful.
You’ll find a full collection of perfected roasted vegetable recipes on this website, and this one wins the award for most colorful! It’s also perhaps the most versatile. Please give it a try.
Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my kitchen drawers, lies a sushi rolling mat. I have used it once, perhaps five years ago, during my first and last attempt at rolling sushi at home. I made some lumpy rolls that day. Sushi is an art form, and it’s not a picture I can paint.
Homemade sushi bowls are the answer to my sushi-at-home conundrum. There’s no rolling involved, which means they’re much easier to make. You can get quite creative with your ingredients, too, since we’re simply piling them on top rather than rolling them up. Best of all, these fresh but hearty bowls keep me fueled for hours.
Wondering what to do with carrot tops? Make pesto! If you’ve made it before and thought “Hmm, that’s resourceful, but I wouldn’t make it again,” we urge you to give this version a try! Thanks to a little help from fresh basil, it̵…
Wondering what to do with carrot tops? Make pesto! If you’ve made it before and thought “Hmm, that’s resourceful, but I wouldn’t make it again,” we urge you to give this version a try! Thanks to a little help from fresh basil, it’s just mildly earthy and worthy of saving in your recipe box!
It adds an herby brightness to pasta, quinoa, roasted carrots, potatoes, chicken, and much more. Bonus? It’s dairy-free and comes together in just 5 minutes in a food processor or blender.
Start your day with Morning Glory muffins! This recipe is packed with goodness: carrots, raisins, nuts, and warm spices.
Looking for a cozy breakfast or snack? Try these Morning Glory Muffins! This 1970’s muffin recipe is everything it’s cracked up to be. Each one is moist and warm-spiced, studded with carrots, pineapple, raisins and pecans. There’s a bit of whole wheat flour for nutty body and a hint of coconut sprinkles as a topping. It’s like a combination of carrot cake and applesauce cake, in muffin form! Here’s how to whip up a batch.
Why are they called Morning Glory muffins?
Turns out, this famous flavor was born in the 1970’s in Nantucket. Chef Pam McKinstry created the muffin recipe for her restaurant, the Morning Glory Café, in 1978. They quickly became popular and the recipe was published in Gourmet Magazine in 1981.
The original Morning Glory muffins recipe was a straightforward muffin. The batter featured all-purpose flour and cinnamon, and it was stuffed with raisins, carrots, apple, pineapple, pecans, and coconut.
Many riffs on the original have popped up in restaurants around the country, and the muffin started to take on a vaguely “health food” vibe, sometimes including either bran or whole wheat flour.
Ingredients in Morning Glory muffins
For this Morning Glory muffins recipe, we wanted to stay true to the original character of the muffins while also celebrating its vaguely “healthy” history. We took inspiration from this Epicurious source and former head of Tartine Bakery, who likes to add whole wheat flour and brown sugar to the mix to add that signature “brown” muffin texture. Here’s what you’ll need for this Morning Glory muffins recipe:
All-purpose and whole wheat flour
Granulated and light brown sugar
Cinnamon and allspice
Baking powder and salt
Canned pineapple
Grated carrots
Raisins
Pecans
Eggs
Applesauce
Vegetable oil
Milk
Vanilla extract
Mix-ins and variations
Morning Glory muffins have a variety of mix-in options, depending on the chef. If you’re used to this type of muffin, you may want to add one of the following:
Walnuts: use chopped walnuts instead of pecans
Coconut: add ¼ to ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
Apples: add ½ cup peeled and diced apples
Orange zest: add 1 teaspoon orange zest for a beautifully zingy flavor
Tips for these Morning Glory Muffins
This Morning Glory muffin recipe comes together quickly and simply: just mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and combine! Here are a few tips to making these muffins a success:
Resist the urge to overmix. Overmixing muffin batter can cause holes in the crumb and a denser texture. Mix just until the streaks of flour disappear.
Chop the pineapple finely. You don’t want huge chunks of pineapple here.
The muffin cups will be full to the brim. This is intentional: it makes for a hefty muffin with a generous muffin top.
Baking at 400°F makes a taller muffin. This temperature makes a taller muffin and it’s quicker to bake, versus 350°F which is standard.
Storage info
These Morning Glory muffins are even better the next day! Store them at room temperature overnight, and they become even more moist and delicious. Here are a few pointers:
Store up to 4 days at room temperature. Store in a sealed container and they become even more moist over time.
Store refrigerated for 1 week or more. Store refrigerated up to 1 week or more. Make sure to allow to come to room temperature before serving, otherwise they are very dense.
Frozen: Freeze the muffins in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
And that’s it! Let us know if you try these Morning Glory muffins and what you think.
More muffin recipes
Want to try more classic muffin flavors? Here are a few to try?
1 cup canned pineapple (in juice), drained and chopped into small pieces
1 cup peeled andgrated carrots (2 medium)
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pecans, plus more for topping
2 eggs
½ cupapplesauce
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk (or orange juice*)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: Coconut flakes, for topping
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or add muffin cup papers.
In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, and kosher salt. Stir in the pineapple, carrots, raisins and chopped pecans.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the applesauce, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula until a thick, smooth batter forms.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups: the cups will be full to the top. Sprinkle the tops with more chopped pecans and if desired, coconut flakes.
Bake the muffins for 20 to 23 minutes, until puffed and golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool fully, about 1 hour. Eat immediately or they taste even better the next day after storage in a sealed container at room temperature. Store up to 4 days in a sealed container at room temperature, refrigerated up to 1 week or more (allow to come to room temperature before serving), or frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
*Adding 1 teaspoon orange zest also brightens the flavor! Other mix in ideas: add ½ cup shredded coconut, use walnuts instead of pecans, or golden raisins instead of raisins.
I realize that sharing a new recipe for a carrot cake the day after Easter is about as useful as a new latke recipe the day after Hanukkah ends or a perfect buche de noel on December 26th. I’d intended to share this a week ago and —…
I realize that sharing a new recipe for a carrot cake the day after Easter is about as useful as a new latke recipe the day after Hanukkah ends or a perfect buche de noel on December 26th. I’d intended to share this a week ago and — hubris alert! — I was patting myself on my back for my own cleverness, the first sign things are going to head south. What could be more perfect for a week that contained both Easter and Passover, while also saving so many people the work of having to adapt a gluten- or dairy-full cake to not include them? Nothing! But I was unraveled by dual forces: first, some confusion about whether or not baking powder, a leavener, is allowed on Passover, a holiday that prohibits leavened breads [turns out it is!] and also by our own Seder preparations [we had 16 people here on Wednesday night; I’m criminally bad at outsourcing so I cooked for 3.5 days straight]. And that brings us up to today. A lovely thing about having a 16 year-old for a cooking blog, however, is that even poorly-timed arrivals tend to find their rightful place in the archives. When you come looking for a flourless carrot cake, be it today, next week, or next April holiday season, this will be here, seemingly right on time.
This carrot cake baked oatmeal is everyone’s favorite cake, done up for breakfast! It’s a hearty way to start the day.
Looking for a fun breakfast idea? Try carrot cake baked oatmeal! Here’s everyone’s favorite cake dressed up as a wholesome way to start the day. It’s cozy and comforting, flecked with orange carrots and flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Steel cut oats add heartiness, and it’s seriously simple to throw together and eat off a pan all week. This one’s a favorite of ours: especially in the spring! Here’s how to make it.
Ingredients in carrot cake baked oatmeal
This carrot cake baked oatmeal has a twist: it’s make with steel cut oats instead of rolled oats! It’s a spin on our favorite pumpkin pie baked oatmeal, with carrots and cozy spices instead. Best of all, it’s an idea brought to us by a reader, Heather! She let us know that she makes our pumpkin oatmeal all the time and she even created a few other “flavors”: one of which was carrot cake. We knew we needed to try it out, and it’s become a big favorite around here. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:
Carrots
Raw steel cut oats (do not use rolled oats; see below
Olive oil
Egg
2% milk
Maple syrup
Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
Baking powder and salt
Pecan pieces
Steel cut oats vs rolled oats
This carrot cake baked oatmeal uses steel cut oats, not rolled oats. What’s the difference?
Steel cut oats are whole grain oats that are cut into nubs: the grains look like brown rice or barley.
Rolled oats are oat groats that are rolled through steel rollers: this gives them a flat shape and makes them much quicker to cook. Both varieties have very similar nutritional profiles: lots of protein and fiber to start your day! See Steel Cut vs Rolled Oats.
Don’t substitute rolled oats here! The recipe is designed for steel cut oats, so the liquid quantities and bake time don’t work for rolled oats.
It takes 1 hour, but leftovers save well
This carrot cake baked oatmeal takes 1 hour start to finish, but most of the time is hands off while the oatmeal bakes. However, the leftovers save well and make for a healthy breakfast recipe that lasts throughout the week. It saves well in the refrigerator, and you can eat it cold or room temp: no reheating necessary! If you’d like, you can heat it in the oven or microwave.
More carrot recipes
Got leftover carrots? Here are some more carrot recipes to use up a bunch!
Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish.
Peel and finely grate the carrots, enough for 1 ½ cups.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, egg, milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder and kosher salt. Pour into the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Stir in the steel cut oats.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish, then mix in carrots and spread them around evenly. Cover the pan loosely with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil then sprinkle with pecans. Bake another 30 to 35 minutes until set. Serve warm, or refrigerate and eat leftovers for several days. (Note: This baked steel cut oatmeal is best warm or room temperature. Leftovers store well and can be reheated. To make it ahead, you could bake the entire pan and reheat: or prepare the wets and dries separately and refrigerate overnight, keeping the carrots in a separate container, and then mix them and bake the next morning.)
Explore these easy carrot recipes for the best creative ways to use this colorful vegetable! Try them glazed, roasted, in soups and salads, and even baked into desserts.
Looking for the best ways to eat carrots? These bright orange, healthy veggies are good for so much more than just your eyesight, like the old mantra. They’re packed full of vitamins and nutrients! Luckily: they’re also delicious. And there are so many more ways to eat them than raw carrots sticks!
Here we’ve compiled all the best carrot recipes in two groups: first, recipes where carrots are the star! Think: carrot soup, roasted carrots, carrot cake cookies. But second, and just as important: recipes where carrots play an important supporting role. What’s a good coleslaw or noodle soup without carrots? Let’s get to the recipes.
These really are the perfect sauteed carrots! Turns out they’re very simple, too! These are the most tender, buttery, savory, coins of carrots, with a hint of herbaceous fresh thyme and chives. They taste like the best carrots you’ve ever had: but they only have 3 ingredients and take 10 minutes.
Looking for an easy side dish? Look no further than these Honey Glazed Carrots! When you’re looking for something special…what’s better than a butter and honey glaze? This recipe comes together in just 15 minutes, and the flavor is out of this world: sweet, savory, and salty, with fruity and floral notes from the honey. It’s perfect for impressing guests, or a special weeknight dinner in.
These soft and chewy cookies have all the best elements of carrot cake—the moist, spiced cake, vibrant flecks of carrot, and crunch of walnuts or pecans—condensed into bite-sized perfection! Top it all off with a drizzle of cream cheese frosting and it’s a perfect sweet treat
Good news, fry lovers: there’s a new fry in town. Carrot fries! This healthy fry recipe is full of all the nutrients of this popular vegetable: but tastes like your favorite greasy comfort food. Even better: they’re coated in ranch seasoning! This play on the standard pairing of carrots and ranch gives a savory zing to each bite. Of course, you can dip them in ranch too for double the fun. They’re baked, and there’s a little trick to give them a lightly crispy exterior. Everyone will love them!
Ready for the best carrots EVER? Don’t get us wrong: carrots are perfect raw. Carrots and hummus, carrots and ranch: we’re there for it! But if you want to dress up your carrots as a crazy delicious side dish: make these easy roasted carrots! They come out tender, lightly charred, and sweetly earthy. Roasting them with lemon wedges gives a brightness of flavor. Give that raw carrot a glamorous makeover! You’ll be glad you did.
Carrot salad might sound humble, but it’s anything but. Serve this carrot salad to your friends and family, and they’ll be singing your praises! We know because after we made this at our house, it disappeared within minutes. It’s simple and refreshing, featuring strings of carrots doused in a a tangy Mediterranean-style vinaigrette.
Here’s a bright orange puree that that tastes like sunshine: Carrot Ginger Soup! This recipe is ideal for when you’ve got a big bag of carrots to use up, or when you’re in the midst of a gray season craving sun. It’s great as a first course, or for lunch with grilled cheese. Also try: Simple Carrot Soup
Here’s a carrot recipe you need in your arsenal: carrot cake muffins! These are beautifully moist and spiced, with cozy spices interspersed with pecans and bright strands of carrots. Add a tangy cream cheese glaze to decorate the tops, and it takes them into rockstar territory.
Want to eat more carrots? Here’s a tasty way to get a healthy dose of them: this Perfect Carrot Smoothie! This vibrant puree is full of irresistible fruity flavor: it pairs this orange veggie with orange, apple, and mango. Make your daily dose of fruits and veggies sippable! We especially love how the citrus of the orange accents the sweetness of the carrot.
Here’s a festive carrot recipe: Carrot Cake Cupcakes! These little cakes are fun, easy to put together, and overwhelmingly satisfying. The moist, carrot-studded cakes have just the right warm spiced interior. Piled high with tangy cream cheese frosting, the flavor combination is out of this world good.
There’s nothing quite like the salty, tangy crunch of pickled carrots, is there? Eat them as a relish, throw them on a cheese board, add them to sandwiches…or simply inhale them right out of the jar. These quick pickled carrots are beyond simple to make at home. You don’t need any special canning equipment or expertise. Just mix up a brine, cut the carrots, and throw them in a jar. In 24 hours, you’ve got pickles!
The only thing better than roasted carrots? Roasted carrots and onions! Yes, simply adding an onion to your tray of roasted carrots makes them even more fun to eat. Add part of a red and yellow onion, and you get a beautiful variation in color and texture. The onion gets tender with charred tips, with an unbelievably sweet flavor. It’s the perfect accent to carrot coins, seasoned with garlic and thyme.
Here’s one of the best juices you can add on the daily: carrot juice! It’s full of nutrients and it tastes fantastic. Instead of drinking soda, why not sip on this glowing orange beauty? This carrot juice recipe results in juice with a beautiful fresh flavor. It’s got natural sweetness from oranges and apples, and a little tang from lemon. Even better, you don’t even need a juicer to make it! Though you can use one if you have it.
Looking for pancakes that won’t leave you with a sugar crash? Try these Carrot Cake Pancakes! They're just sweet enough with a healthy spin. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup, they're tender and moist from the carrots, and perfectly spiced with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Even better, top them with maple Greek yogurt and the sweet tang is magic. It’s like eating a piece of carrot cake…that’s suitable for breakfast.
Here’s a fresh, zingy drizzle for salads and bowl meals alike: Carrot Ginger Dressing! This vibrant sauce is packed with a punch of salty, savory, tangy, bright and sweet all at once. It incorporates Asian-inspired flavors like miso and rice vinegar, it’s got a twist: Mediterranean tahini brings in a creamy body to the dressing.
Here’s a cozy carrot recipe that’s like a bowlful of sunshine on a gray day: this simple carrot soup! Bold, bright flavor exudes from this orange puree, and it’s lusciously creamy with a hint of cream. It’s quick and simple to put together, with a short ingredient list: great as a first course for cozy dinner or a tasty lunch soup with a grilled cheese.
When it comes to side dishes, we’re always looking to mix things up. Here's the perfect idea: Roasted Broccoli and Carrots! The bright green florets border on savory-sweet, and mixed with the sweet orange carrot rounds, the contrast is just perfect. The variation of flavor, texture and shape is just enough to make these roasted vegetables seem like a new innovation. Use them as a healthy side dish or part of a grain bowl or main dish salad.
Here’s a tasty and healthy way to eat your veggies: steamed carrots! We know what you’re thinking. Steamed vegetables are mushy and flavorless. But cook them the right way, and they’re full of bright, fresh flavor! These steamed carrots are cooked until crisp tender, then topped with fresh herbs and a spritz of fresh lemon juice. Steaming uses less oil than sauteing, so it’s a great option for healthy eating.
If it's grilling season, you must try this grilled carrots recipe! Grilling baby carrots makes them tender and slightly charred. When they're done, toss them with lime juice, cilantro and a hint of cumin for a zesty flavor.
Want to start your day with carrot recipes? These carrot cake breakfast cookies are perfect for busy mornings. They’re hearty, tasty, and the texture is just right: pleasantly chewy, almost like a Cliff bar–but better! They’re also easily portable for traveling or breakfast on the go. Make a big batch and pull them out of the freezer when you’re running out the door!
Vitamin A / Beta Carotene: Carrots have 428% of your daily vitamin A in 1 cup! It’s present as beta-carotene, an antioxidant could help in cancer prevention. Your body converts beta carotene into Vitamin A.
Vitamins C, K and potassium: Carrots also are high in these vitamins.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or other fresh herbs — we used a combination of thyme and chives)
Instructions
Peel the carrots and slice them diagonally into rounds (on the bias).
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the carrots and cover. Cook for 4 minutes without stirring.
Remove the lid, stir, and add the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Continue to saute uncovered 3 to 4 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs and a few more pinches kosher salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Need more inspiration outside of these carrot recipes? We’ve got lots of it. Here are a few more resources for eating more vegetables:
20 Best Vegetables to Eat Today We’ve all heard, “Eat more vegetables.” But how to do it? Here are the healthiest vegetables to get into your diet, and recipes for how to eat them!
28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan Here’s a month-long vegetarian meal plan with planning ideas and a meal planning calendar with food to cook.
Plant Based Diet for Beginners Everything you need to know about eating a plant based diet, including plant based protein ideas and recipes for every meal of the day!
Move over, butternut squash! Carrots are back and ready to be the new SOUPer star in this creamy vegan carrot soup. It’s rich thanks to coconut milk and subtly spicy from red pepper flakes, making it super warming and perfect for the transition from wi…
Move over, butternut squash! Carrots are back and ready to be the new SOUPer star in this creamy vegan carrot soup. It’s rich thanks to coconut milk and subtly spicy from red pepper flakes, making it super warming and perfect for the transition from winter to spring!
The best part? It’s made in 1 pot with just 10 ingredients you may have around right now. Let us show you how it’s done!