Why It Works
- Parboiling the carrots before roasting softens them and prevents them from losing too much moisture and shriveling up.
- Tossing the carrots with a combination of honey, butter, miso paste, ground ginger, and sherry vinegar before roasting creates their incredible sweet and savory flavor.
While there are countless ways to prepare carrots, one of the very best is roasting them, especially with the addition of rich butter and sticky-sweet honey. Roasting intensifies carrots’ flavor by producing caramelization, which adds complexity and draws out carrots’ natural sweetness. The challenge is getting them soft and caramelized at the same time without letting them shrivel up too much. Because nobody likes a shriveled carrot.
Luckily for us, our Birmingham, Alabama–based test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar has developed a recipe for perfectly browned and tender honey-roasted carrots that get a punchy kick from white miso paste, ground ginger, and a medley of fresh herbs—no risk of wrinkly carrots here.
For the best cooking method possible Renu turned to our time-tested method for how to roast carrots. She found that parboiling carrots in salted water tenderizes them without shrinking or shriveling them, so they don’t need to be cooked in the oven for very long. This helps keep the carrots tender and juicy and good looking without the risk of their edges drying, withering, or worse, burning.
Using smaller and similarly-sized carrots further reduces the cook time and results in carrots with a consistent texture all the way through. If you spot multicolored varieties at the farmers market in the fall or spring, grab them for a fun addition to your weeknight dinner. If they’re young carrots and you don’t mind the carrot skins, you can skip peeling, but for a more elegant meal, grab that vegetable peeler and get to work.
After the carrots are parboiled and seasoned, toss them onto an unlined rimmed baking sheet—a barrier of parchment paper would slow their browning and rob you of the golden edges and concentrated natural sweetness that comes from direct veg-on-metal action. Roasting the carrots in a hot oven ( 425°F) ensures they get nicely caramelized in just 15 minutes without the risk of those shriveled, burnt carrot edges I keep talking about.
A deep and lovely funk from miso blended with honey and butter adds complexity to the carrots, while sherry vinegar and ground ginger’s punchy zing complements the nuttiness of the miso. With a final flourish of fresh herbs—we like spring herbs such as dill, parsley, chives, and/or tarragon—these honey-roasted carrots are sure to liven up your dinner plate.
This recipe was developed by Renu Dhar; the headnote was written by Leah Colins.
Sweet and Punchy Honey-Roasted Carrots
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1 pound (453 g) small whole carrots (about 3/4 inches in diameter and 2 ounces each), peeled and halved lengthwise
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2 tablespoons (30 ml) honey
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2 tablespoons (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
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1 tablespoon white miso paste
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1 tablespoon (15 ml) sherry vinegar
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1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
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1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed tender herbs (such as dill, parsley, chives, and/or tarragon)
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Adjust oven rack to middle position, and preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add carrots to boiling water; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until carrots are just beginning to turn tender and still meet some resistance when pierced with a fork or knife, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain carrots, and pat dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel; place on a baking sheet.
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze
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In a small bowl, whisk honey, butter, miso, vinegar, ginger, and black pepper until combined. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey mixture over carrots, and toss to coat. Place carrots, cut side down, on baking sheet.
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze
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Roast carrots until edges are browned and carrots are tender, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating baking sheet from front to back halfway through cooking. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze
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Toss carrots with herbs and transfer carrots to a large serving plate. Drizzle with remaining 4 tablespoons honey mixture. Serve warm.
Special Equipment
Rimmed baking sheet
Make-Ahead and Storage
Leftover cooked carrots and be refrigerated for up to 4 days.