Orange-Honey Roasted Carrots with Pistachios

Heirloom rainbow carrots roasted in an orange and honey glaze are a citrusy sweet delight. Topped with tart pomegranate seeds and crunchy, salty pistachios these carrots are an easy vegetable side dish that will make any weeknight dinner feel like a special occasion!

For even more light and healthy recipe ideas, you might enjoy:

Snow Pea Salad with Artichokes and Hearts of Palm
Easy Chicken Salad
Summer Squash Bruschetta Boats

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It’s time for roasted carrots to reclaim their rightful place in the vegetable side dish hierarchy. We’ve let brussel sprouts have their time to shine, we all went crazy turning cauliflower into things it never wanted to be, and we’ve made our peace with potatoes (there’s no need to be afraid of potatoes, I promise).

But alas, where has the humble carrot been hiding? Let me tell you, if there is a roasted carrot on a dinner menu, I am ordering it. So I set out to create a restaurant-worthy side dish of citrusy sweet, salty and crunchy, slightly tart roasted rainbow carrots. These carrots are just perfect for nights when you want to throw something together that looks and tastes fancy, but without a lot of fuss.

How Far In Advance Can You Make Roasted Carrots?

You can 100% make these roasted carrots the day before you’re ready to serve them. I don’t think they’ll taste quite as delicious if you make them more than 1 day in advance though. The best way to prepare them is really just before you plan on serving them, which is a breeze because these orange-honey glazed roasted carrots are so easy to make!

You can also prep the orange-honey glaze in advance and toss the carrots in it just before you’re ready to start roasting them.

How Long Will Roasted Carrots Keep In The Fridge?

Once cooked and prepared, this carrot recipe will last 3-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. But I dare you to make them and if they last that long! In our house, these carrots last max 2 days, because we eat them as a side dish with dinner and then end up munching on them as snacks or using them as salad toppings the next day – then poof, they are gone!

Tips and Variations

Double-glazing: I like my roasted carrots extra saucy, so I double-glaze the carrots. This probably sounds fancier than it is. It just means I toss the carrots in the glaze before roasting them, let them roast in the oven for 20 minutes, then pull them out and brush or drizzle them with more glaze, and pop them back in the oven to finish roasting for another 20 minutes.

Add cheese: This recipe would be delicious with some feta cheese or goat cheese crumbled on top before serving.

Change the nuts: Don’t have pistachios on hand or just don’t like them? Try toasted hazelnuts or pecans instead. Either would be delicious!

Use freshly squeezed orange juice: There’s nothing like freshly squeezed OJ, so if you can juice two oranges yourself instead of using the store-bought stuff.

Add fresh herbs: This recipe uses thyme and rosemary, but you could also use fresh mint, basil or dill, depending on your preferences.

Recipe Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 1 lb rainbow carrots (you can use regular carrots as well!)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (you can sub store-bought but I don’t recommend it!)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 cup pistachio meat (I like raw, but you can use roasted as well)
• Salt to taste
• Fresh herbs to garnish (you can use rosemary, thyme, mint or dill – but not all at once! Pick one!)

Recipe Instructions

Start by pre-heating the oven to 425 degrees.

Peel the carrots. You can slice or chop them, but I prefer to keep them whole and cut them for serving if needed. You can also keep the tops on as well, but I prefer to slice the tops off. Set aside in a large bowl.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, honey, olive oil and salt to taste. Toss the carrots in the 3/4 of the glaze to coat really well, and then spread out the carrots on a lined baking sheet or pan. I like to use a brush to make sure the carrots are evenly coated.

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, then pull them out and add more of the glaze with the brush, roast again for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven once carrots are crisp-tender and slightly browned at the edges.

Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and pistachios over the carrots, garnish with rosemary and thyme (or other fresh herb of choice).

Serve and enjoy!

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Have you tried these orange-honey glazed roasted carrots? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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