These air fryer baby carrots are roasted in a maple syrup glaze and tossed with crunchy roasted pecans. They're the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu. Plus, they're super easy to make and and can be on the table within 15 minutes.
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These aren't your typical mushy, boiled baby carrots. When carrots are roasted they get a lovely caramelized outer skin that brings out their natural sweetness. And, roasting baby carrots in your air fryer takes half the time it takes in your oven. Add a maple syrup glaze and some air fried pecans, and you have a side dish fit for a place on your holiday table.
Related Post: Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- Air fryer recipes come in handy when you need to save oven space for big holiday meals. Recipes like air fryer green beans and maple roasted air fryer baby carrots are the perfect side dish for a Thanksgiving or Christmas spread. They're easy to make, and they free up your oven space for your main course and a side of roasted potatoes.
- This recipe is vegan and vegetarian friendly, and it's gluten-free.
- Air frying carrots takes less time than roasting them in the oven.
🛒Ingredients
- Baby Carrots: There are 2 kinds of baby carrots. The first, the ones I used, are carrots that are harvested before they reach maturity. That's why they're smaller than full size carrots. The second kind of baby carrots are those that are cut from a regular carrot. Either kind will work in this recipe. If you can't find baby carrots, you can still cut regular carrots into smaller pieces.
- Maple Syrup: If you're wondering if maple syrup is vegan, the answer is yes! For more information, see my post "Is Maple Syrup Vegan?"
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The sweetness of maple syrup and the tartness of apple cider vinegar balance each other beautifully.
- Olive Oil: As always, I recommend using a quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Butter: The combination of butter and olive oil works perfectly in this recipe. Oil has a higher smoke point than butter, but the combination gives you the creamy texture of butter with the flavor of olive oil.
- Pecans: The sweet, buttery flavor of pecans is a great compliment to baby carrots.
- Salt & Pepper: Salt is a natural flavor enhancer, and don't skip the pepper - it adds a necessary contrast to the maple syrup and vinegar.
🩺The Health Benefits Of Carrots
Whether you pickle carrots, or add them to a stir fry, carrots always deliver a nutritional punch.
They're low in calories and a good source of fiber. Studies have shown that the fiber in carrots can increase satiation, which means they might be useful for weight loss.
Carrots are a worthy addition to your vegan grocery list for the sheer amount of antioxidants that they contain. Antioxidants have numerous health benefits, including reducing the risk of cancer, aiding in heart health and helping keep your blood pressure in check.
They're also a rich source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and beta carotene.
From a holistic standpoint, carrots are a high vibration food that can help balance energy levels. They may also help maintain the health of the sacral chakra.
👨🍳How To Make Air Fryer Baby Carrots
It's a good idea to use a parchment paper liner in the basket of your air fryer. Not only does it make clean up easier, but it prevents the pecans from falling through the holes in the insert.
- In a medium sized bowl, melt your butter in the microwave. Now, whisk all the marinade ingredients into the butter.
- Add your baby carrots to the bowl and toss until they're coated in the marinade.
- Remove the carrots from the marinade with a slotted spoon. Do not discard the marinade. Transfer the carrots to the basked of an air fryer and cook at 400° F (204° C) for 10-12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. The larger your carrots, the longer they will need to cook. Baby carrots that are cut from larger carrots are thicker and might require more cooking time.
- Add the chopped pecans to the marinade, and toss to coat.
- When there's 2 minutes left on the timer, remove the pecans from the marinade with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the air fryer.
- Remove the carrots and pecans from the air fryer using a spatula or a slotted spoon and transfer to your serving dish.
🙋Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! carrots are a fodmap free food!
Yes, you can. The air fryer will defrost and cook the carrots, but they may not be as crunchy as fresh carrots.
Craving More Easy Vegan Air Fryer Recipes?
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📖 Recipe
Maple Roasted Air Fryer Baby Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby carrots
Air Fry Baby Carrots Marinade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the microwave. In a medium sized shallow bowl, whisk the all the marinade ingredients into the butter.
- Add the carrots to the bowl and toss until they're coated in the marinade.
- Remove the carrots from the marinade with a slotted spoon. Do not discard the marinade. Transfer the carrots to the basked of an air fryer and cook at 400° F (204° C) for 10-12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. *see note 1Baby carrots that are cut from larger carrots are thicker and might require more cooking time.
- Add the chopped pecans to the marinade, and toss to coat.
- When there's 2 minutes left on the timer, remove the pecans from the marinade with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the air fryer.
- Remove the carrots and pecans from the air fryer using a spatula or a slotted spoon and transfer to your serving dish.
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