Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
on Apr 04, 2025
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Tossed with carrot top pesto, these roasted rainbow carrots are a colorful and easy vegetable side dish. They are approachable for a weeknight dinner while also being exciting enough for a holiday meal. I quickly marinate the carrots with honey, cumin and olive oil before roasting them. While the carrots are in the oven, I make the pesto with a handful of the leafy carrot tops plus parsley, pistachios and parmesan.
For another simple veggie side, try these parmesan roasted carrots.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s a low effort side dish that’s big on flavor. Carrots are super simple to roast, and at this point, it is safe to say that my pesto obsession runs deep. This no-cook sauce can be whipped up in minutes in a food processor. It’s nutty, garlicky and herby and total perfection for roasted vegetables.
Carrots are a three-season vegetable that take you from fall to winter to spring. That makes this side dish great for meals for multiple moments and occasions such as Thanksgiving, Easter and a normal dinner.
You can repurpose the leftovers into something new that you’ll look forward to eating. Of course you can reheat the carrots and eat them like you did the first time, but I have something better. Chop the carrots and toss them with greens and cooked grains. Add a little vinegar and oil to the pesto to turn it into vinaigrette. Or combine the carrots and pesto with pasta.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Carrots: Do they have to be rainbow carrots? No, you can use regular carrots, but if you can find rainbow ones, the color is beautiful. Fresh carrots should be firm and not limp. In the past few years, rainbow carrots have gone from a farmers market find to regularly available at many grocery stores.
- Honey adds a sweet touch to the marinade and goes really well with carrots. To make it vegan, use maple syrup.
- Cumin, kosher salt and black pepper season the carrot marinade. You also add salt and pepper to the pesto.
- Parsley: In addition to the carrot tops, I include fresh parsley leaves in the pesto. This balances out the grassy flavor of the carrot greens. Instead of parsley, you can use fresh basil, cilantro, baby spinach or arugula.
- Pistachios: I prefer lightly salted or unsalted roasted pistachios. You can substitute with walnuts, pine nuts or almonds.
- Parmesan: Taking inspiration from classic basil pesto, I include grated parmesan cheese. You can leave it out if you want the recipe to be vegan or use a plant-based, dairy-free cheese.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds a nice zesty brightness to the pesto.
- Garlic: I include a garlic clove in the pesto. If you are big on garlic, you can go with 2.
- Olive oil: For the best taste, use high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
How To Make Roasted Rainbow Carrots & Carrot Top Pesto
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. Prep the carrots. Cut off the leafy tops and peel the carrots. Save a generous half cup of the carrot tops (without the tough stems). Rinse them with cold water. Then you can use them in the pesto.
2. Marinate the carrots. Whisk the oil, honey, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss the carrots in the marinade.
3. Spread the carrots across the prepared pan.
4. Roast the carrots. Give them 25-30 minutes to lightly brown on the outside and become tender in the middle. Flip them over halfway through roasting.
5. Make the pesto. You can do this while the carrots are in the oven. Chop the pesto ingredients including the garlic, carrot tops, parsley, pistachios, parmesan, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. With the food processor running, drizzle the oil through the feeder tube until combined.
6. Toss the roasted carrots with half the pesto. As you arrange the carrots on a serving platter, spoon on more pesto as desired. Then sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
Serving
As mentioned, carrots are in-season during fall, winter and spring. Before you reach for another root vegetable, like sweet potatoes, give carrots a chance. They are packed with nutrition and flavor. This recipe is great for a weeknight dinner with roasted chicken or salmon, and it is holiday-worthy for Thanksgiving or Christmas with my roasted turkey breast recipe.
I love turning sides into vegan/vegetarian main dishes. After you roast the carrots, you can chop them and serve them stirred into cooked grains like farro, barley or brown rice. You can add leafy greens and turn this into a hearty grain salad, eating at room temperature or cold.
Leftovers & Storage
You can save the roasted carrots in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Store the pesto in a separate jar. Reheat the carrots in the microwave or in a 300-degree F oven. You can also chop the carrots and eat them cold in a salad with arugula or spinach. Let the pesto sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes, so the oil can turn to liquid again. Give it a good stir.
If you have leftover pesto, you can toss it with pasta. I like to take splash of the starchy pasta water from the pot to help the pesto coat the noodles when you stir everything together.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse off the carrot tops before you make the pesto. As a root vegetable, they tend to pick up a lot of grit and dirt that would be unpleasant to eat.
- Trim any fine strings from the bottom of the carrots. They tend to burn in the oven because they are so skinny and delicate.
- You can make the recipe vegan. Swap out the honey and use maple syrup. Also, leave out the parmesan in the pesto or use a plant-based, dairy-free cheese.
- If you can’t find carrots with tops, you can use traditional pesto. That can be homemade basil pesto or store-bought.
- I find that bunches of carrots with the green tops are usual more slender than the really thick ones in the bags. If you do end up with some carrots that are noticeably wider in diameter than others, slice them in half lengthwise.
More Carrot Recipes
Roasted Carrot Soup
Baked Carrot Fries
Carrot Ginger Soup
Tomato Carrot Lentil Soup
Roasted Root Vegetables
Parmesan Garlic Roasted Carrots
Roasted Carrot Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
Roasted Carrots, Chickpeas & Halloumi
Carrot Chickpea Farro
Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
For carrots
- 2 bunches rainbow carrots (with leafy green tops)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For pesto
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- 1/2 cup packed carrot tops (discard the tough stems)
- 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup roasted pistachios (unsalted or lightly salted), plus more chopped for serving
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To prep the carrots, cut off the leafy tops and peel them. Rinse a generous 1/2 cup of the tops, tough stems discarded, to use in the pesto.
- In large bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Toss the carrots in the marinade. Then arrange them in a single layer on the prepared pan.
- Roast the carrots for 25-30 minutes, turning over halfway through roasting until tender in the middle and lightly browned.
- While the carrots are in the oven, make the pesto. Combine the garlic, carrot top leaves, parsley, pistachios, parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and lemon juice in a food processor. Finely chop the ingredients. Then with the food processor running, drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil through the feeder tube until combined.
- On the sheet pan, toss the roasted carrots with half the pesto.
- Arrange the carrots on a serving platter, spooning on more pesto as desired. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How clever to use the carrot greens for pesto; I will remember this tip! It always did seem like such a waste, even to compost them. Thanks!