These Crispy Smashed Carrots are an easy vegetable side dish that turns simple carrots into something a little more exciting. The carrots are boiled until tender, gently smashed, then roasted with parmesan cheese, garlic powder and olive oil until golden brown with crispy edges.
Reader Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Made as a side with our burgers! Super yummy and easy to make!!"
- Danielle
If you enjoy smashed potatoes, think of these as the carrot version. Smashing the carrots creates more surface area, which helps them get crispy in the oven while still staying tender in the middle.
They're a great side dish for weeknight dinners, holiday meals or any time you're looking for a different way to serve carrots. We also love serving them with a dipping sauce as an appetizer or snack because they're hard to stop eating once they come out of the oven.
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Game Plan 📋
These crispy parmesan carrots are easier to work into a busy week than you might think. Here is what I would do to set myself up for success:
- Meal Prepping: Boil and smash the carrots up to 2 days in advance. Store them covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to season and roast.
- Quick Weeknight Dinner: Once the carrots are prepped, they only need about 25-30 minutes in the oven. Serve them alongside grilled chicken, steak, pork chops or your favorite weeknight dinner.
- Serve as an Appetizer: These carrots are just as good with a dipping sauce as they are on a dinner plate. Try serving them with ranch, garlic aioli or a yogurt-based dip for a fun appetizer or snack.
Ingredients Needed
Here's what you'll need, along with a few notes about key ingredients:
- Carrots: You will want to peel and cut carrot carrots into about 2-inch sized pieces. Baby carrots would be a great alternative to peeling and cutting regular sized carrots.
- Olive oil: You could swap the olive oil with avocado oil, coconut oil or melted butter.
- Black pepper: I prefer coarse ground pepper for this recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated parmesan cheese is going to give you the best flavor and coating. Instead of grated parmesan, try shredded.
- Garlic powder: Try using 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic or onion powder in place of the garlic powder. You could also replace the garlic powder AND salt with garlic salt.
Scroll to the recipe card below for all ingredient amounts and details.
Recipe Variations
- You could experiment with parsnips or sweet potatoes instead of carrots.
- Try a different cheese like pecorino romano or asiago.
- For additional flavor, try adding smoked paprika, chili powder or cumin to the parmesan mixture you toss the carrots in before roasting.
- Add fresh herbs after roasting for an added flavor. Some great choices would be: rosemary, thyme or oregano.
- Instead of cutting carrots into 2-inch pieces, you can cut them into ¼-inch rounds.
- Feel like this needs a dipping sauce? My Buttermilk Parmesan Dressing would be a perfect addition!
This carrot recipe has not been tested with these variations. If you give any of these a try, please let me know how it worked out in the comments below!
Equipment Needed
- Vegetable peeler: My life was seriously changed when I started using a y-peeler for my fruits, veggies and potatoes. It is such an easy task with this tool now!
- Baking sheet: I do a majority of my baking on a large baking sheet.
- Parchment paper: I love these pre cut parchment paper sheets. It is so easy to pull one of these out and have your baking sheet lined without fussing around with getting it just the right size.
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1: Place the carrots in a medium sized saucepan and cover with water. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat and allow the carrots to cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until fork tender.
STEP 2: Drain the carrots and allow them to cool slightly.
While the carrots are cooling and you are preparing them for the oven, allow the oven to preheat to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 3: In a medium sized bowl, combine the carrots, parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss well to evenly coat the carrots.
STEP 4: Transfer the carrots pieces to the prepared baking sheet, making sure to scrape anything stuck to the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and spreading carrots out in an even layer.
Using a flat bottomed glass or jar, smash each carrot.
STEP 5: Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes before flipping and roasting for an additional 15-20 minutes or until crispy and starting to caramelize.
STEP 6: Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese and flake salt, if desired.
Expert Tips
- Place the carrots under the broiler to get them extra crispy!
- If the carrots are sticking to your jar or glass when you are smashing them you can spray the bottom with cooking spray or wrap the bottom with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Allowing the carrots to cool slightly before smashing will also help.
- For the crispiest carrots, leave a little space between them on the baking sheet. Crowding the pan traps steam and prevents the edges from getting as crisp.
- Don't overcook the carrots. You want them to be fork tender after boiling, but not too tender that they fall apart.
- Cold leftover smashed carrots are great added to a salad the next day!
- Keep an eye on the carrots after you flip them. You want them crispy but not burned. All ovens vary, so it's important to stay close and keep watch!
FAQ
You can definitely prepare parts of this recipe in advance. To do this, I would boil, season and smash the carrots as the recipe instructs. Then cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until roasting. I would save the roasting for right before you plan to serve them because these are best served fresh from the oven.
For the crispiest carrots, make sure they are arranged in a single layer with space between them on the baking sheet. Overcrowding traps steam and can prevent the carrots from crisping up. Roasting until the edges are golden brown will also help create the best texture.
Yes, although whole carrots tend to give the best results. If using baby carrots, boil them until fork tender before smashing and roasting. Since they are smaller, they may cook a little faster than full-sized carrots.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store completely cooled leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Eat within 3-4 days.
Freezer: Freeze completely cooled leftovers in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight when ready to consume.
Reheating: The best way to reheat these is to roast them in the oven for a few minutes until heated through. You could also reheat, wrapped in a paper towel in the microwave.
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Recipe
Crispy Smashed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into uniform 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
Instructions
- Place carrots in a medium sized saucepan, cover with water and place over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Allow carrots to cook for about 10 minutes in boiling water or until fork tender.1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into uniform 2-inch pieces
- Drain carrots and allow to cool slightly.
- While the carrots cool, preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well to fully coat.½ cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- Transfer carrots to the prepared baking sheet and space them out so they are in an even layer and not touching. Using a flat bottomed glass or jar, smash each carrot.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip each smashed carrot and continue to roast for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and starting to caramelize.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with flake salt and extra parmesan cheese, if desired.
Video
Nutrition Information
Please note that these nutrition facts are approximations and may not be entirely precise.
Jean says
A great crunchy snack!
Danielle J says
Made as a side with our burgers! Super yummy and easy to make!!
Eileen M says
Hi. this recipe looks fabulous, but I wonder how you calculated the calories? I put the ingredients into a calorie analyzer and it came out to 109 cals/serving, not nearly 400! I bet people would gravitate to the recipe more often with a different calorie count
Ashlyn Meredith says
Hi! Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! That was significantly higher than it should be and I have fixed the issue.