Roasted Air Fryer Carrots

These Roasted Air Fryer Carrots are simple, delicious and the perfect side dish for so many different meals. A fantastic staple recipe to have in your repertoire.

Why roast carrots in an air fryer instead of an oven?

Air fryers have been around for quite a few years now but have become hugely popular in the last year.

Air fryers are smaller than ovens so you’re not heating up a full-sized oven but instead a smaller air fryer. This means they use less energy because you’re heating up a smaller appliance and therefore costing less to run.

Air frying carrots is super easy and quicker than it usually takes to roast them in the oven. They are able to achieve a similar flavour than if they were roasted in the oven, but in less time.

how to prepare the carrots

Depending on which carrots you are using you may choose not to peel your carrots. Sometimes a good scrub is all they need. I think this is particularly true for heritage carrots or chantenay carrots.

I tend to use standard carrots most of the time. I do choose to peel these and then cut each carrot in half. I then cut each half into batons.

You can cut your carrots into whatever shape you like. I think slicing the carrots on the diagonal would also make them look nice.

However you choose to cut them, you may need to adjust the cooking time depending on how thick you have cut the carrots. I would recommend not cutting them too thinly as they might get a bit too crisp.

You may also want to check out my Air Fryer Chantenay & Baby Carrot recipes.

Adding extra flavours to your air fryer carrots

I have deliberately kept the flavours of these roasted air fryer carrots really simple. It is not only how I prefer to eat them, but intentional too.

Once you know how to cook this simple version, you can get as creative as you like and add more flavours.

Some flavours that you might like to try:

• Honey or maple syrup
• Cumin
• Za’atar
• Orange
• Rosemary or thyme
• Garlic

If you are using honey or maple syrup you will probably want to add it towards the end of the cooking time as the high sugar content would increase the risk of it burning.

do you need to preheat an air fryer?

That depends on your air fryer, some require preheating whilst others don’t. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker and I have never preheated mine.

If your air fryer does require preheating, check the carrots a few minutes sooner than the recipe states. If your air fryer is warm, food is likely to cook a few minutes faster.

Do you need to par boil the carrots?

For these air fryer carrots, I don’t think it is needed to par boil them first unlike with my Air Fryer Roast Potatoes.

You can of course par boil the carrots if you would like before putting them in the air fryer to reduce their cook time. Par boil them until they are just tender and make sure they steam dry before adding the oil and seasonings and transferring them to your air fryer.

can you use an air fryer liner?

Air fryer liners are a great time saving addition because they are usually easier to wash than the basket of your air fryer.

Most reusable air fryer liners are silicone and although they are handy to have, I wouldn’t recommend using them for all recipes. For these roasted carrots you should be fine to use a liner, but they might take a little longer to cook.

I’ve written a whole post on whether you should use an air fryer liner, check it out for more information.

what to serve with these roasted air fryer carrots

These carrots are the perfect side dish to so many meals as they are so versatile.

One of my favourite ways to enjoy them is as part of a roast dinner along with the following recipes:

• Air Fryer Roast Beef
• Air Fryer Gammon Joint
• Simple Air Fryer Whole Roast Chicken
• Air Fryer Sausage Meat Stuffing
• Air Fryer Roast Potatoes
• Air Fryer Pigs in Blankets
• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Roasted Air Fryer Parsnips

You could use this recipe to roast the carrots to use in my Za’atar Chicken & Couscous Salad – or to add to any salad.

These carrots would make a great side dish to meals such as my Chicken & Chorizo Filo Pie, Chicken & Ham Hock Pie and Pork Fillet Stroganoff as well as many others.

how to keep & reheat the carrots

These Roasted Air Fryer Carrots will keep in an air tight container in the fridge for up to three days.

You can of course eat them cold, but most people would prefer to reheat them again. This can be done quickly in the microwave or you can add them back to the air fryer.

In the microwave they will be soft and tender, whereas if you reheat them in the air fryer they will crisp up slightly. They shouldn’t take more than two minutes in the microwave or more then 5-7 minutes in the air fryer.

This is a great option if you are making this carrots as part of a Sunday roast or for Thanksgiving or Christmas because you can get ahead and reheat them on the day.

Other recipes you might like

• Air Fryer Chantenay Carrots
• Air Fryer Baby Carrots
• Air Fryer Parmesan Tenderstem Broccoli
• Bubble & Squeak
• Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables

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