Perfectly roasted carrots with a creamy, tangy, flavorful orange-ginger sauce. This easy-to-prepare side dish is going to be a staple in your home!
Let’s talk about the latest object of my affection: These Orange-Ginger Roasted Carrots.
Back story (it’s short, I promise): I’ve confessed in the past that one of my go-to meal options for when I’m feeling extra hungry and extra not into cooking is to go to the Whole Foods salad bar and.just.rage. One of my favorite options at said salad bar lately is Ginger Sesame Roasted Carrots. It’s not often I’m tempted dive into the mind, body, and soul of a roasted carrot, but in this situation, I couldn’t not because they are just that delicious.
Case in point: I reverse engineered a Whole Foods salad bar item, and am presenting it to you so that you can make it your new favorite side dish as well.
Eat it alongside your favorite entree, eat it like it’s an entree, put it on top of a salad, you name it! As odd as the combination may sound, I enjoyed the roasted carrots with lamb chops and pesto smashed potatoes. The meal was one of those mind-blowing all-the-flavors situations.
You can absolutely use heirloom or rainbow carrots for this recipe, and you can also leave the carrots whole rather than slicing them.
You’ll end up with more orange-ginger sauce than you need, which means you can put this recipe on repeat multiple times, or you can use the sauce for other endeavors, like other types of roasted veg or as a sauce for your bowls.
You’ll notice there are plenty of options for adapting this recipe to fit your personal taste and/or the ingredients you already have on-hand in your pantry. My preference for the sauce is sunflower seed butter, rice vinegar, and orange juice, but feel free to make it your own!
Meal Prep:
- The sauce can be prepared up to 5 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The carrots can be roasted up to 3 days in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Roast them carrots!
Orange-Ginger Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
Roasted Carrots:
- 2 pounds carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 pinch sea salt
Orange-Ginger Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon sunflower butter see note*
- 1/2 cup avocado oil see note**
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup orange juice or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 2-inch nub fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup optional, see note***
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spread the sliced carrots over a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until well-coated. Roast 25 to 30 minutes, turning after 20 minutes, or until carrots are golden-brown and cooked through.
- While the carrots are roasting, prepare the sauce. Add the ingredients for the sauce to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth.
- Toss carrots in desired amount of dressing and serve alongside your favorite entrée. Note: You’ll end up with more sauce than you need. Store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use it for dressing salads, roasted vegetables, and bowls.
I always love scouring the internet, looking for new recipes on side veggies we love to eat. I know there’s not TOO much you can do with roasted carrots, but then I came across this recipe. I realized I only lacked a couple of ingredients and could whip this dressing up rather easily! OH!! WOW!! It truly is so easy to make and so so delicious!! I love that it can be used with these carrots, salads, or anything else you want to use it on! Thank you for a GREAT dressing recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the recipe, Celine! I agree, it can be difficult to find unique side dishes to change things up. The sauce is so fun and versatile – I’m thrilled you enjoy it too! xo
you list 1/4 cup orange juice and lemon juice. is this 1/4 cup orange juice and lemon juice combined or 1/4 cup of orange juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice? thank you
I’m so glad you caught that, Leah! I meant to write “or” – you can use either orange juice or lemon juice. Both work marvelously! Hope you enjoy the carrots!
The orange-ginger sauce is very interesting! I’m not really into carrots so I would love to try the sauce with my salad, I’m sure it will be a great mix xD
Yaaaaaas, the orange-ginger sauce is AMAZING as a sauce/dressing for bowls or for salads. Hope you enjoy! xo
Pesto smashed potatoes sound amazing! How do you make them?
Here you go, girl!: https://www.theroastedroot.net/pesto-smashed-potatoes/ Hope you enjoy. xo
Thank you!! These look AMAZING!
You’re very welcome!! I hope you enjoy! xo