If you’ve never roasted carrots in the air fryer, you’ve got to give it a try! These air fryer carrots make a super easy side dish that pairs perfectly with almost any main course from everyday dinners to holiday meals. And by using bagged baby carrots, there’s absolutely no peeling or chopping involved!
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Roasting baby carrots in the air fryer is my favorite way to cook them!
In fact, I think it's my new favorite method for cooking all my veggies like this air fryer summer squash, air fryer fresh green beans, air fryer roasted asparagus and air fryer roasted broccoli.
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Why you'll love these air fried carrots
- Roasting the carrots brings out their natural sweetness and enhances their flavor.
- Air frying the carrots requires less oil than oven-roasting and it's a great way to use leftover carrots.
- By using the air fryer, there's no preheating the oven and no heating up house! The carrots also take less time to cook than in the oven.
- Using pre-cut baby carrots means no peeling or chopping!
- Ready in 15-20 minutes!
- These air fried carrots are the perfect complement to your favorite mains. Try them with our ranch chickpea burgers, sweet potato and black bean burgers, barbecue tofu or easy tempeh.
- They also make a great side dish for the holidays too such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
- Air fryer carrots are a low-calorie side dish, simple recipe that's an easy way to get more veggies and vitamin C into your diet!
Ingredients you'll need for air fryer roasted carrots
- Baby Carrots - By using baby carrots, you'll ensure that all of the carrots are similar in size and thickness plus you won't have to peel or chop anything!
- Avocado Oil - You can substitute with olive oil if you prefer.
- Sea Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Lemon Wedges (for squirting on freshly squeezed lemon juice)
- Fresh Thyme Leaves (for garnish)
How to air fry carrots
Add carrots to a mixing bowl.
Add oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
If your air fryer has a separate elevated crisping tray or plate, be sure to insert it.
For example, my Ninja air fryer comes with a crisper plate that fits right into the basket.
Lightly grease the crisper plate or bottom of air fryer basket with avocado (or olive) oil or a non-aerosol, propellant-free spray.
Add the carrots to the air fryer and be sure to spread out evenly in a single layer.
Air fry at 400°F for 15 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.
The carrots are done when they are easily pierced with a fork.
They should be tender but not mushy.
If you would like them a little softer, continue to cook for up to 5 additional minutes.
Season with additional salt if desired.
Garnish with freshly squeezed lemon juice and thyme leaves.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can reheat the carrots in the air fryer at 350° for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until warmed throughout.
You can also microwave them, but they will lose their crispiness.
Tips for making baby carrots in an air fryer
- Be sure the carrots are dry before you toss them with the oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes there’s water in the bag so be sure to drain off any excess water and pat the carrots dry if necessary.
- If you are using a spray to grease the air fryer, note that avocado oil or olive oil should be the ONLY ingredient. There should be no no additives. You can also use a spritzer bottle and fill it with your own oil. Propellants and additives can ruin the non-stick finish on your air fryer.
- The total cooking time will depend on the thickness of your carrots. If your carrots are on the smaller side, such as the petite baby carrots, you may only need to cook them for 10-15 minutes.
Substitutions and variations
- Use dried thyme leaves if you don’t have any fresh on hand.
- If you’re not a fan of thyme or don’t have any, try garnishing with other fresh or dried herbs such as parsley, rosemary, or chives.
- Leave off the lemon if you prefer or drizzle with a balsamic glaze, agave, honey, or maple syrup instead.
- Try changing up the flavor by tossing with ¼-½ teaspoon garlic powder or onion powder or ⅛-¼ teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Try topping off the carrots with some vegan butter and/or vegan Parmesan cheese (or dairy-based if not vegan or dairy-free) after cooking.
- Omit the thyme and lemon and serve the carrots with vegan honey mustard or maple mustard dipping sauce.
- For a change, try using larger carrots or whole carrots that you've chopped down to similar sizes, or a fun alternative is using rainbow carrots. They always bring a nice pop of color to your dinner table that the whole family will love.
Can you air fry frozen carrots?
Using frozen vegetables is a great option for the perfect quick side dish for any main.
I recommend that you preheat the air fryer before trying to fry them using this delicious recipe.
My only hesitancy is that frozen vegetables may retain a lot of moisture and this may take away from having nice crispy carrots in the end.
Be sure to wipe and pat the carrots with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture that may be retained on the carrots while freezing or in the bag of baby carrots before adding them to the air-fryer basket or crisper plate.
Frozen carrots may require a few extra minutes of cook time.
Check the carrots once they've finished in the air fryer and adjust as necessary.
Air Fryer Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 lb bag of baby carrots
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil (plus more or a non-aerosol, propellant-free spray for greasing the air fryer; can sub olive oil instead)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste after cooking, if desired)
- ⅛-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (depending on preference)
- 1-2 lemon wedges, for serving (optional - see notes below for variations)
- fresh thyme leaves, for garnish (optional - see notes below for variations)
Instructions
- Add *carrots to a mixing bowl. Add oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- If your air fryer has a separate elevated crisping tray or plate, be sure to insert it. Lightly grease the crisper plate or bottom of the air fryer basket with avocado (or olive) oil or a **non-aerosol, propellant-free spray. Add the carrots to the air fryer and spread out evenly.
- Air fry the carrots at 400°F for 15 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes. The carrots are done when they are easily pierced with a fork. They should be tender but not mushy. If you would like them a little softer, continue to cook for up to 5 additional minutes.
- Season with additional salt if desired. Garnish with freshly squeezed lemon juice and thyme leaves, if using.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
You can reheat the carrots in the air fryer at 350° for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until warmed throughout. You can also microwave them, but they will lose their crispiness. Variations
- Use dried thyme leaves if you don’t have any fresh on hand.
- If you’re not a fan of thyme or don’t have any, try garnishing with other fresh or dried herbs such as parsley, rosemary or chives.
- Leave off the lemon if you prefer or drizzle with a balsamic glaze, agave, honey or maple syrup instead.
- Try changing up the flavor by tossing with ¼-½ teaspoon garlic powder or onion powder or ⅛-¼ teaspoon smoked paprika.
- Try topping off the carrots with some vegan butter and/or vegan Parmesan cheese (or dairy-based if not vegan or dairy-free) after cooking.
- Omit the thyme and lemon and serve the carrots with vegan honey mustard or maple mustard dipping sauce.
Nutrition
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