Oven Roasted Carrots with Tahini Sauce and Cilantro

Easy oven roasted carrots with Middle Eastern flavors! The tahini sauce with maple syrup, lemon, and a little cayenne makes this a perfect side dish for fall. Bonus: it's a vegan recipe, so everyone can enjoy!

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I make roasted vegetables a lot during the week. And they are great, and flavorful, and enjoyable just as they are. But sometimes, you want to jazz them up a bit.

That's where these oven roasted carrots come in. Who would've thought carrots could be so interesting? Middle Eastern flavors are the key! Cumin, tahini, lemon—yum! Don't skip the cilantro. It lends a wonderful light, brightness that you don't want to miss.

Try these on a weeknight and see what happens! Your routine just might be transformed! It's also perfect if you're looking for vegan Thanksgiving sides. And it has so much flavor that you'll want to make it all the time, no matter what is - or isn't - in it.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips
• FAQs
• Related Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

With just a handful of ingredients, these roasted carrots are also quite simple to make. Very little chopping, a quick stir of the sauce and you're done!

• Carrots: Choose carrots that are firm, not limp. They should snap, not bend. You can use plain old orange ones or multi-colored carrots.
• Olive oil: For roasting.
• Cumin: Because carrots love cumin and cumin loves carrots.
• Tahini: Tahini is a paste made of sesame seeds. You only need 2 tablespoons, but it keeps well in the fridge and once you have some on hand, you'll find more recipes to use it in! Trader Joe's has a good, affordable organic tahini.
• Lemon juice and zest: This gives our sauce some tartness and tang, and a wonderful aroma.
• Real maple syrup: Provides sweetness to complement the carrots and temper the lemon juice. You need the real stuff here, not the fake kind.
• Cayenne pepper: Just enough to add a bit of smoke and a bit of bite. It's just hanging out in the background giving you that little somethin' somethin'.
• Cilantro: More than a garnish! It gives a bright, flavorful finish.

Instructions

Adapted from NYTCooking, from Adeena Sussman’s cookbook Sababa.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Zest and juice the lemon and set aside.

Peel the carrots with a vegetable peeler, and trim both ends.

With a good long chef's knife, slice the carrots in half lengthwise. If you have some carrots that are a lot thicker than the others, cut them into fourths lengthwise.

Coat the carrots with olive oil and cumin and season with salt. Divide the carrots between two sheet pans, laying them cut-side down.

Roast for 20 minutes, until carrots begin to get brown and caramelized. Flip the carrots over and put back in the oven, rotating the pans from top rack to bottom rack.

Roast for 5 more minutes, or until carrots are cooked all the way through and browned to your liking.

While the carrots are roasting, combine the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.

Tahini sometimes looks like its curdling when you mix in other liquids, but don't worry. Just keep going and it will smooth out.

When the carrots are done, transfer them to a serving plate, drizzle with the tahini sauce and sprinkle the lemon zest and cilantro on top. Add sea salt such as Maldon to taste. Serve the remaining sauce on the side at the table.

Tips

• Try to use carrots that are similar in length and width. If you have some that are a lot thicker than others, just cut them into fourths so everything will cook evenly. 
• When you first begin to whisk the tahini sauce ingredients together, it can look like it's curdling. Just keep going, it will smooth out.
• This tahini sauce is weeknight flavor savior! Use it on all kinds of roasted vegetables, or to jazz up a salad or a grain bowl.

FAQs

• Do you have to peel carrots before roasting? Technically, no. The peel on a carrot is edible. But sometimes the outer skin of the carrot can be a bit tough when roasted. If you choose to leave the peel on, look for small, delicate heirloom carrots, which have a more tender skin, and be sure to scrub them thoroughly before cooking.
• What vitamins are in carrots? Carrots are full of beta carotene, fiber, potassium and phytonutrients. Roasting carrots actually makes the nutrients easier to absorb.

Related Recipes

Everyone at the table will be all in for these vegan side dishes.

• Since you're here for the cumin, Fresh Green Bean Salad with Red Peppers, Capers, and Herbs are bathed in a cumin dressing and you had me at capers and herbs. SO. MUCH. FLAVOR.
• If you like the idea of tahini with roasted vegetables, try Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Onion, Tahini, and Za'atar. This sauce is a bit different, no maple syrup and added garlic makes it more savory.
• Save those squash seeds and make them part of the dish with this Harissa Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Toasted Squash Seeds.
• Don't throw away the beet tops! Make Sautéed Beet Greens with Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper.

Recipe