I always want to make quick side dishes for my meals because I’m always busy. Fried or roasted carrots take too long in the oven. They take about 30 minutes to get the carrots perfectly browned and tender.
Thanks to my discovery with the air fryer, I can cut that time down to 20 minutes or even less.
Air fried carrots are my go-to side dish and snacks when I’m in a pinch. They’re healthy because you only have to use a little amount of oil. Here are my favorite savory and sweet recipes of air fryer carrots.
5 Delicious Air Fryer Carrots Recipes
Recipe 1: Air Fryer Carrots And Potatoes
This recipe is my favorite side dish when serving meat dishes, like pot roasts and crispy pork chops. It’s simple, delicious, and healthy.
What You’ll Need
Air fryer: I use the Instant Vortex Air Fryer, but you can use any air fryer that you have at home.
Carrots (1/2 lb): Baby carrots work well in this recipe because they tend to be sweeter than regular carrots and you don’t need to cut them up into smaller pieces. If you only have regular carrots in your pantry, cut them thickly into pieces.
Potatoes (1/2 lb): To pair well with your baby carrots, you need those small fingerling potatoes. The flavor is quite similar to regular potatoes and they’re firm enough to hold up well to frying.
Seasonings: A tablespoon of salt and 1/2 tablespoon of pepper will do. But if you want to be fancy, consider adding a 1/2 tablespoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
Cooking oil (1 tablespoon): Cooking in an air fryer still requires a little amount of oil to make the food moist and crispy. The best cooking oils for air frying are those with a high smoke point, like grapeseed, avocado, and olive oil.
Instructions
1. In a bowl, mix a little amount of cooking oil with the seasonings.
2. Toss the vegetables with the seasoning mix.
3. Transfer the seasoned vegetables into the air fryer basket.
4. Air fry for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are browned according to your preference. I like my vegetables to be a bit soft and browned so 10 minutes is enough for me. If you like the vegetables to be firmer, cook less than 10 minutes.
5. Serve with your favorite meat dish and enjoy!
Recipe 2: Air Fryer Carrots With Brown Sugar
If you want something sweet, you can try to make these air fryer brown sugar roasted carrots. You can pair this recipe with any dishes.
What You’ll Need
Baby carrots (1 lb): Peel the carrots because I found that the skin gives them a slightly bitter taste. Use a vegetable peeler so you don’t remove much of the flesh. If you’re using regular carrots, cut them into 1-inch chunks.
Brown sugar (2 tablespoons): This will give the sweet flavor to the carrots.
Olive oil (2 tablespoons): This will give keep the carrots tender. If you want an extra flavor, use two tablespoons of melted butter as an alternative.
Bowl: Instead of putting the carrots straight into the air fryer basket, use a bowl to catch the sweet drippings.
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until the carrots are completely coated.
2. Air fry for 20-25 minutes at 380 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir halfway.
3. Serve and enjoy with any meal.
Recipe 3: Air Fryer Carrots With Other Vegetables
An air fryer is also good at roasting vegetables. You can air fry carrots with broccoli, asparagus, and zucchini. Total cooking time can last up to 30 minutes.
What You’ll Need
Vegetables (1 lb): You have a lot of options here. You can use carrots, broccoli, zucchini, and asparagus. Chop the vegetables evenly.
Cooking oil (1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. With the preheated air fryer at 360 degrees Fahrenheit, put the vegetables into the frying basket and cook for 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir the vegetables every 5-8 minutes to cook evenly. You want them to be crispy in the outside and tender on the inside.
3. Once done, enjoy it with your preferred dipping sauce.
Recipe 4: Crispy Carrot Fries
Carrot fries without the grease? Yes, it’s possible with an air fryer. Carrots have fewer calories than sweet potatoes, making them a healthier option.
What You’ll Need
Carrots: Wash the carrots and cut them into fries.
Garlic ( 1 clove): A little bit of garlic will give a nice aroma and taste to the carrot fries.
Olive oil ( 1 tablespoon)
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese (2 tablespoons): Fries tastes great with cheese. To cut down the calories and fat, use the reduced fat grated version.
Instructions
1. Crush the garlic and add a bit of salt and olive to create a paste.
2 In a bowl, mix the garlic paste with the carrots.
3. Add the grated Parmesan to the carrots.
4. Place the carrots in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
5. Cook for 15 minutes or so. Flip the carrots halfway to make sure that they’re cooked evenly. You want them to crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
6. Once cooked, serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Recipe 5: Air Fryer Whole Carrots
Another way of enjoying the carrots is to fry them whole in the air fryer.
What You’ll Need
Carrots (1 lb): You want to use larger carrots because they taste better when roasted. Baby carrots can also be a good alternative but they won’t taste similar to larger carrots.
Olive oil (2 tablespoons)
Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Paprika (1/2 teaspoon)
Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup): This will be the topping for your carrots.
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, mix the carrots with olive oil, garlic powder, and paprika.
2. Transfer them in the air fryer basket and cook for 20 minutes. Shake halfway through to cook evenly.
3. Once cooked, top with Parmesan cheese. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
PRO TIPS
Preheat the air fryer. You should preheat the air fryer before cooking to get optimum results. The food crisps up so nicely when you do this simple chore. Set the appliance at 400 degrees Fahrenheit around 3-5 minutes.
Don’t overcrowd the air fry basket. As much as you want the cooking time to be done quickly, you want to avoid overcrowding the basket. Give space to cook the food in a perfect crisp. Cook in batches if you’re cooking a lot of food.
Shake it. To make sure that your carrots are cooking evenly, shake the basket every few minutes.
Final Thought
Air fryer carrots are truly a healthy option if you want to cut down the grease. They don’t need much oil to cook evenly. For more variety, mix them up with other vegetables to make your favorite vegan dish.
If you tried any of these recipes, let us know in the comments below. Share this article if you liked it.
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