Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots with Carrot Greens Chimichurri
These Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots are incredibly tender, bursting with flavour and are topped with a delectable Carrot Greens Chimichurri. They make a perfect side dish to any meal!
I think it’s safe to say that the happiest part of my Saturdays are going to the farmer’s market. I love the new, organic, imperfect finds, and I think they are pretty symbolic of life itself: beauty in the flaws. These carrots were among my last farmer’s market’s finds and when combined with the glorious combination of garlic, maple syrup, coconut oil and thyme, produced the most fork tender, flavourful and divine roasted carrots I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. The real star of this recipe? The carrot greens chimichurri. Mind. Blown.
It was a bittersweet moment cooking these carrots. They were sitting pretty in my fridge, given the top shelf glory spot, speckled in various shades of orange and purple for only two days before I remembered that they weren’t actually decoration. Some people might dislike the bumps, bruises and odd shapes but that’s exactly what drew me to them. I knew that I wanted to make a dish that was simple so as to preserve them in their natural state but to completely enhance their flavour. Roasting vegetables is kind of a no-brainer when it comes to that.
A few cloves of garlic and a mix of maple syrup, coconut oil and thyme later, these roasted carrots were born. Out came a sweet and savoury, completely fork tender piping hot bite of heaven. They are lit pieces of candy. Then came the carrot greens chimichurri which I have been putting on every. single. thing.
I have been a fan of chimichurri for a few years and knew it would pair perfectly with these carrots. I thought it would be nice to try and utilise the entire carrot. After all, it’s all entirely edible. Carrot greens resemble parsley and cilantro and are like their thinner cousin. I washed them like I would any other herb, mixed in some chimichurri-esque ingredients (red onion, vinegar, garlic cloves, olive oil, lime and red pepper flakes) and left it to set. In case you’re wondering YES, the Mr. and I DO go through about 3 heads of garlic per week minimum. Sometimes I think my blog should be called Garlic in the Kitchen.
This carrot greens chimichurri has probably been one of the best spreads I have ever tried. I am a lover of all things brine-y, and it captures everything that is a classic chimichurri. You wouldn’t even know it wasn’t parsley or cilantro. Two hours after I made it it tasted even better after the flavours got some time to marry, and the next day significantly more divine. I would recommend making the chimichurri first so that it’s at its max potential when it’s smothered on your carrots. P.S. – put it on everything. I had a carrot greens and vegan goat cheese naan bread pizza for dinner, I’ve been putting it on homemade bread, crackers, eating it with a spoon…you name it. It’s divine with a capital D.
Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots with Carrot Greens Chimichurri
Ingredients
Carrot Greens Chimichurri
- 3 cups carrot greens, washed, dried and finely chopped (feel free to sub equal parts parsley and cilantro)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup red onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or any vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Maple Garlic Roasted Carrots
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, or agave
- 3 sprigs thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pound carrots, washed, dried and cut in half
- For topping: vegan feta and chopped parsley, if not using the Chimichurri
Instructions
Carrot Green Chimichurri
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to allow the flavours to marry.
Maple Garlic Roasted Carrots
- Preheat oven to 425℉/218℃. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or greased foil. Set aside.
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together except the carrots. Add the carrots and mix the ingredients into the carrots by rubbing them in.
- Place the carrots on baking sheet and top with any of the seasonings still left back in the bowl.
- Roast for 15-18 minutes in the oven, watching to ensure they don't burn.
- Remove and allow to cool slightly. Season with salt if necessary.
- Top with the chimichurri. Or top with vegan feta and chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I love going to farmer’s markets, too! Unfortunately, they won’t be around where I live until at least May, but that’s ok. These carrots look gorgeous! I love the maple and garlic flavor. Perfection!
Thanks Gayle!!
Hi Jessica, always a pleasure to pop over to see what you’re up to in the kitchen.
These carrots look delicious. I really enjoy your food styling and photography. Very inspiring.
Have a great weekend.
Lisa
Pinning this. And only 3 heads of garlic a week 😉 Ha! Garlic is a must at our house too!
Thanks Kristen! Haha I need to start investing in it!
Garlic and maple…I have no double these roasted carrots would be a hit in our house!
They definitely would be Angie!
I’ve been roasting rainbow carrots so much lately — we can’t get enough! These are so gorgeous and I love that you used the carrot tops for chimichurri!
Thanks so much Marcie!!
Stumbled across this blog when I was looking for carrot green recipes. Is there a reason maple syrup isn’t listed in the ingredients? Would love to try the recipe but I don’t think it’s going to turn out as posted, thanks!
Hi Sarah,
I just fixed the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out. I hope you enjoy!! 🙂
Hi Jessica, would apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar work here in place of the white wine vinegar? Thanks!
Hi MK,
Yes for sure!! Enjoy!
Made these for Thanksgiving: HUGE HIT!! Made a double batch of the carrots on Thursday, kept the proportions of the chimmichurri (I used one cup parsley, one cup cilantro, one cup carrot greens, and apple cider vinegar rather than white wine, and it was perfect! I wasn’t sure about using all carrot greens but I loved the texture and flavor they brought!) and it was more than enough. Saved the leftover carrots and chimmichurri for Friday for Thanksgiving part 2 with my partner’s family. The carrots reheated just fine in a low oven for a few minutes, and honestly the chimmichurri was WAY better the second day after sitting over night! The flavors got the extra time to “marry.” Even still had a little bit leftover afterwards and ate it with corn chips for a snack! SO GOOD!
I will say that even for one batch of carrots, I found that there was not enough maple dressing for all of them so I just made more. It was easy enough. Perhaps I just had big carrots, but I probably ended up mixing 3-4 times more than the original recipe called for just to cover 2.5 pounds of carrots, and even then there were maybe five drips to drizzle on when they were all laid out and ready to go.
If anyone is also planning on making a double batch of the carrots using more than one baking sheet, if I were to do this again, next time rather than have one on the top rack and one on the bottom, I would try to keep them side by side, or cook them one at a time. The batch on the lower rack of my oven cooked more and the sugary sauce burned a little bit, even taking both trays out at the same time. The one on top was perfect so I know they weren’t overcooked, just maybe a little too exposed to the heat on the bottom rack of the oven.
I’ll also add that I was nervous because your recipe didn’t call for peeling the carrots, but I found that you really couldn’t even tell they weren’t peeled when they were cooked! I made sure to clean them well and it was refreshing to see that peeling was not necessary. The trimmed green tops were very attractive and I’m glad that I left them on.
These were a wonderful addition to not one but TWO Thanksgiving dinners and I’m so glad that I made them!!
This is amazing thank you for such an honest and in depth comment and suggestion. We’re happy that this recipe worked well for you MK. We will think about increasing the amount of maple dressing to accommodate all sizes of carrots. We try to be precise to eliminate food waste at all times but your suggestion really does help us to refine our process even more. Once again thank you and we’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed this recipe for thanksgiving!
Oh! Forgot to add: I also included some dried sage in the rub for the carrots and I’m really glad I did, it complemented the maple and thyme very well. Thanks so much Jessica!! I wish I took more pictures!
AMAZING!! The flavors blended perfectly. Thank you!!
Thanks so much Debbie! We really appreciate your comment!
I received my carrots with gorgeous tops attached to them and had no idea what to do with them until I stumbled upon this recipe! The carrot greens chimichurri is delicious on EVERYTHING. My fave combo avo toast, tomato + carrot greens chimichurri. Don’t waste your carrot tops! Try this recipe!!!
What gorgeous photos! This recipe sounds amazing. I will be making it once I harvest our own organic carrots this fall. I cannot wait!
Thanks so much Joan! We hope your harvest is amazing!