Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Roasted potatoes are always tasty and roasted carrots make them even better. Why not change up your usual roasted potato routine? Carrots give you a lovely, subtle sweetness and another texture to go with the crisp edges and fluffy insides of the potatoes.

The is a colorful and healthy side dish. Especially during fall and winter, I often find that meals don’t have the variety of color (and nutrition) that seem so effortless during the spring and summer months. Carrots are a great source of vitamin A and beta carotene.

The prep for this side is easy. All you have to do is halve the potatoes and peel and cut the carrots. Then you stir them in a mix of olive oil, honey and dried spices that you might already have in your pantry before they go on a sheet pan and into the oven.

Best Potatoes for Roasting

For this recipe, I use baby potatoes because their small size makes it single slice prep. As mentioned, you just have to cut them in half, which keeps the work minimal. Baby potatoes have thin skins and more waxy flesh, and both make them great for roasting. They come in purple, yellow and red varieties. 

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Potatoes: Often you will see bags of baby potatoes at the grocery that are all yellow, all red or a mix including purple. I look for a bag where the potatoes are around the same size, generally 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Shopping at a farmers market with bins of potatoes make this easy because you can pick them out individually.
• Carrots: As you can see from the photos, I love using rainbow carrots if possible. During fall and winter, you’re more likely to spot bags of multi-colored carrots in the produce department at the grocery. Of course, you can use all orange carrots. 
• Spices include cumin, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, kosher salt and black pepper. This mix gives you a nice balance of earthy flavors with a touch of garlic and onion. These potatoes have personality, but they are a side dish that can go with lots of different mains.
• Honey or maple syrup lightly sweetens the seasoned oil mixture. It’s nothing overwhelming. It just rounds everything out. Go with maple syrup if you want the recipe to be vegan.
• Olive oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
• Parsley: I like to finish roasted vegetable dishes with fresh herbs. Here I sprinkle on chopped parsley.

Optional Additions

You can also toss the roasted veggies with one of the following:

• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Toasted walnuts 

How To Make Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Combine the olive oil, honey and seasonings in a large bowl. You need the bowl to be big enough for the carrots and potatoes.

2. Stir the potatoes and carrots into the oil mixture. Make sure they are all well coated. You can use a spoon or put your hands right in the bowl to toss them around.

3. Spread the potatoes and carrots across a baking sheet. Flip over the potatoes, so they are cut side down. The vegetables should be in a single layer and not overlapping. The more contact they make with the pan, the better they will brown.

4. Roast the vegetables. Give them 30-35 minutes. The potatoes should be browned and crisp on the outside. The carrots should be slightly wrinkled and tender. Then sprinkle them with chopped parsley.

Serving

Roasted carrots and potatoes go with almost any main dish. They are easy enough to make for a weeknight meal like roast chicken or salmon, but they are definitely worthy of a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas with Dry Rubbed Turkey.

You can also turn this side dish into an entree salad. Just use hearty greens like kale. You can take inspiration from this Roasted Sweet Potato Chickpea Kale Salad or Roasted Fingerling Potato Kale Salad.

Leftovers & Storage

Roasted potatoes and carrots are best served warm immediately after they finish roasting. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. You can warm them in a 350-degree F oven, but keep in mind that the potatoes won’t be quite as crispy on the outside as when you first make them.

You can also use leftovers in egg dishes like frittatas, scrambles and omelettes. Dice them into bite-sized pieces, so they warm quickly in the skillet with a little oil before you add eggs.

Recipe Tips

Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise. Not all baby potatoes will be perfectly round. Carrots usually cook faster, so it’s important that you halve the potatoes lengthwise rather than crosswise, so they aren’t as thick. 

Don’t line the pan with parchment paper or foil. The oil in the marinade will keep them from sticking. The potatoes and carrots will brown better if they make direct contact with the hot metal.

Don’t crowd the sheet pan. If you have too many vegetables on the pan, they will steam instead of roast, and they won’t brown. They can be close together with some touching, but they shouldn’t be overlapping.

More Roasted Potato Recipes

Smashed Roasted Potatoes
Garlic Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Roasted Corn Red Potato Salad
Roasted Tomato Potato Salad