The Best Roasted Frozen Carrots Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

Should you thaw frozen carrots before roasting? ›

Your frozen carrots go directly from the freezer to the oven, without thawing. This is important! The carrots will take a brief detour as you toss them with seasonings and a few other ingredients. Then into the oven they go to roast for 20-30 minutes.

Freezing carrots is such a great way to avoid waste. It will also make cooking them a little quicker from frozen. Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture, taste, colour and nutritional value of carrots deteriorates. Make sure you blanch the veg to preserve these elements.

Undercook them, and the texture is tough and dense. Overcook them, and they're dry and wrinkled. The secret is to soften the carrots slightly by boiling them briefly before roasting. The texture will be firm-tender with just the right amount of caramelization on the outside.

Cooking instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.

"Frozen vegetables tend to release water quickly and can end up quite mushy if done improperly," says William Goldfield, director of corporate communications at Dole Food Company, Inc.

This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage.

The best way to lessen this texture change, as much as possible, is to blanch carrots prior to freezing. However, be aware that over-blanching will also result in less than stellar texture also. Just a couple of minutes in boiling water and then straight into the ice bath they go!

How to Store & Reheat Roasted Carrots. The best way to store your baked carrots is to place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge after they have cooled down. To reheat them, simply spread the carrots out on a baking sheet and warm them up in the oven at 350°F until they're heated through.

As they cook, vegetables give off moisture, and when arranged too close together it results in a soggy outcome. Follow this tip: To achieve beautiful browning and crisp, roasted perfection, vegetables need some breathing room. Arrange vegetables in a single layer and don't overcrowd the pan.

Why do my roasted carrots burn? ›

The reason this hack works is because carrots are a very dense root vegetable that doesn't have a ton of moisture. Since it has a lack of moisture, roasting it will just burn the item before the inside can cook. This is the same for things like broccoli – the top part burns before the stem can cook.

Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout.

Mixing carrots and oranges can be very dangerous. This mix has been known to cause heartburn and kidney damage.

Don't thaw frozen vegetables:

Even if you pat them dry, they'll still cook up to be soggier than if you cooked them straight from the freezer because they've absorbed a good deal of the water already.

Frozen vegetables shouldn't be defrosted because they can lose their crunchy texture. Additionally, defrosting frozen vegetables can cause them to lose the flavor and nutrients that are sealed in from their freezing process, especially if you defrost them a day or two prior to cooking.

Frozen vegetables, no matter which, can be cooked from a frozen state,” says Amidor. “Because they are small pieces (compared to a big beef or pork roast, for example) as long as they reach a minimum internal cooking temperature of about 135 degrees F they are safe to eat,” she says, meaning defrosting isn't required.

Yes, you can cook frozen carrots without defrosting them first. In fact, many recipes call for using frozen carrots directly in stir-fries, stews, and casseroles. Cooking frozen carrots without defrosting will help retain their nutrients and prevent them from becoming mushy.