41 Best Carrot Recipes - Love and Lemons (2024)

Looking for new ways to cook carrots? These easy carrot recipes can help! They include fresh salads, cozy soups, the moistest carrot cake, and more.

What are your favorite carrot recipes? If you said classic carrot cake or baby carrots and dip, you’re probably not alone.

But I’m sharing 40+ of my best carrot recipes here in the hopes that you’ll try cooking this bright orange vegetable in a new way. They might seem humble, but carrots are insanely versatile. Roasted carrots make a wonderful side dish, for example, and carrot ginger soup is the perfect cozy meal for a cold day. Tangy pickled carrots are great for snacking, while a fresh carrot salad could be the star of your next picnic.

Below, you’ll find all these carrot recipes and more. Have fun looking through them! They go way beyond plain old carrot sticks. I hope you find some new ideas you love.

My Top 5 Carrot Recipes

If you try just one of the recipes in this post, make it one of these! They’re the Love & Lemons carrot essentials, ranging from vibrant side dishes to the simplest soup to our best-ever carrot cake.

Roasted Carrots

Roasting carrots intensifies their natural sweetness and gives them a mouthwatering tender texture. Quick and flavorful, they’re a perfect side dish for a weeknight dinner or holiday meal.

Healthy Carrot Cake

Moist, tender, and warmly spiced, this whole wheat carrot cake is perfect for any celebration! Don’t forget the tangy cream cheese frosting on top.

Carrot Ginger Soup

You won’t find any nuts or dairy in this creamy carrot soup. The carrots themselves create its luscious texture! Serve it with crusty bread for a soothing, comforting meal.

Carrot Salad

You only need 5 ingredients + a simple homemade dressing to whip up this refreshing (and surprisingly addictive!) shredded carrot salad.

Quick Pickled Carrots

These crunchy, tangy pickled carrots give the best dill pickles a run for their money. They’re delicious as a snack or in salads, sandwiches, and more.

Salad and Side Dish Carrot Recipes

Make one to add a pop of color to your dinner table!

Roasted Rainbow Carrots

Don’t toss those carrot tops! In this recipe, you’ll use them to make a zesty gremolata to sprinkle over the roasted roots. Bursty pomegrante seeds and drizzles of tahini sauce round out this stunning side dish.

Creamy Coleslaw

Tossed in a homemade coleslaw dressing, this creamy, tangy slaw is a big hit at cookouts and BBQs.

Grilled Carrots

These easy grilled carrots are sweet, smoky, and perfectly tender. Serve them over a swoosh of whipped ricotta with farro, pistachios, chimichurri, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Avocado Salad

This pretty spring salad features crisp watercress, creamy avocado, and colorful roasted root vegetables. I like to roast the veggies the day before so that I can quickly assemble the salad right before serving.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Topped with a fragrant sage oil, these tender, caramelized vegetables will be a sleeper hit at any fall meal…Thanksgiving included!

Cabbage Salad

Julienned carrots mingle with red bell peppers and crunchy cabbage in this festive summer salad. A nutty sesame dressing ties it all together.

Kale Salad

My favorite part of this rainbow kale salad? The carrot ginger dressing! Made with just 6 ingredients, it’s zingy and refreshing.

Grain Bowls

Carrots are a great addition to grain bowls like these! Left raw, they add a bright shock of color and crunch. Roasted or sautéed, they’re softer and sweeter. Either way, they add variety and complexity to a simple combination of fresh ingredients.

Bibimbap

Spicy gochujang sauce amps up the flavor in this vegetarian riff on Korean bibimbap.

Best Buddha Bowl

I peel carrots into crisp, curly ribbons for this nourishing grain bowl. They have a fun, fresh look and satisfying crunch!

Adzuki Bean Bowls

Adzuki beans add a unique sweet, nutty flavor to this wholesome grain bowl, but if you can’t find them, don’t worry! Black beans and roasted chickpeas work here too.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Kimchi, ginger, and fresh lime juice addso much flavorto this one-pan meal. Top it with a fried egg for extra staying power.

Carrot-y Soups

When I’m cooking a soup or stew, I almost always toss in a carrot or two (and often more!). They add wonderful depth of flavor, and, in the case of blended soups, they create a lovely creamy texture without any cream.

Carrot Coconut Soup

This soup only improves as its flavors mix and mingle in the fridge, so it’s a great recipe to make ahead. Serve it cold, like gazpacho, for a soothing summer meal, or warm it up if you’re craving something cozier.

Minestrone Soup

Serve it with crusty bread for sopping up the flavorful tomato broth.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This creamy, cheesy soup is comfort in a bowl! I use julienned carrots here because they remind me of grated cheese, which makes the soup look extra-cheesy and fun. But for a shortcut, diced carrots work too.

Tomato Soup

Carrots add sweetness and enhance the creamy texture. A grilled cheese for serving is optional, but highly recommended.

Pasta e fa*gioli

Aromatic veggies like onion, fennel, and carrots add depth of flavor to these brothy beans and pasta.

Kale Soup

Top this hearty, comforting soup with homemade garlic croutons for crunch.

Lentil Soup

This soup freezes perfectly! I love to keep a stash in my freezer for an easy meal on a winter night.

Handheld Carrot Recipes

Who says carrots can’t be fun? These hands-only recipes will prove them wrong!

Fresh Spring Rolls

Peanut sauce for dipping makes these fresh rolls a 10/10 meal.

Banh Mi Sandwich

A vegan riff on the classic Vietnamese sandwich! Pickled carrots and daikon radish add sweet and tangy flavor.

Vegan Hot Dogs

Uhhhh, yes. These are carrots in hot dog buns. The concept might sound crazy, but I promise it’s delicious! I steam and marinate the carrots before grilling so that they soak up tons of smoky, savory flavor. Top them with all the fixings, and you won’t miss the meat one bit.

Steamed Bao Buns

Hoisin-glazed tempeh, avocado, crisp veggies, and fresh herbs make a satisfying filling for these pillowy bao buns.

Noodle and Pasta Carrot Recipes

Want to turn a bunch of carrots into a quick and easy meal? These carrot recipes are a great way to do it.

Peanut Noodles

You could add almost any vegetable to this noodle bowl, but julienned carrots and cucumber are my favorites. I love the way they mix and mingle with the noodles, so you get a little veggie in every bite.

Lentil Pasta

If you love low effort, high reward recipes (who doesn’t?!), then this weeknight pasta is for you. The flavorful sauce cooks up in right around 15 minutes, which gives you just enough time to boil water and cook the pasta.

Cashew Broccoli Soba Noodles

I’m never not in the mood for these gooey, nutty soba noodles. Tossed with steamed broccoli, carrots, and baked tofu, they’re a yummy weeknight dinner or healthy lunch.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

This easy, toss-together pasta is a simple, delicious summer meal. Feel free to swap in whatever veggies you have on hand!

Bok Choy Stir Fry

No noodles? No problem! Skip them, and serve this tasty stir fry over a bed of cooked rice.

Carrot Recipes for Breakfast

Trust me on this one.

Carrot Muffins

They’re insanely moist, perfectly spiced, and studded with tender raisins and crunchy walnuts. If you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely reach for a second.

Vegan Carrot Waffles

Wish you could eat carrot cake for breakfast? Well, now you can! These crisp, fluffy waffles are flecked with grated carrots and warmly spiced with cinnamon.

Vegan Carrot Lox

Break out the bagels! These roasted and marinated carrot ribbons taste surprisingly similar to regular lox, but they’re 100% plant-based.

Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

Quinoa adds fiber and plant-based protein to these hearty vegan and gluten-free breakfast cookies.

Farmers Market Breakfast Bowl

I love to eat this veggie-packed breakfast bowl after a morning trip to the farmers market. An herbed yogurt sauce and a jammy soft-boiled egg make it filling and flavorful.

Almost-Raw Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

Another carrot cake-inspired breakfast treat! Made with coconut, dates, and sunflower seeds, these sweet, chewy little balls are gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan!

Carrot Recipes for Dessert

Just add cream cheese frosting to take these carrot recipes over the top!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

They’re seriously delicious and seriously cute—sure to be a hit at your next party!

Vegan Carrot Cake

We love this plant-based carrot cake, and readers do too. It has over 150 5-star reviews. Try it to see why!

Carrot Cake Cookies

Carrot cake, but in cookie form! Made with oat flour, almond flour, and pure maple syrup, these cookies are fairly wholesome. Skip the glaze and enjoy them as a snack (or even breakfast!), or layer it on for a more decadent treat.