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Why I Love These Carrots
Thanksgiving has so many traditions and, for me, most of these are food memories. Growing up, it never seemed like Thanksgiving unless we went to Grandma Alice’s house and partook in the same meal each and every year. It was exactly what you’d expect, consisting of turkey, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, dinner rolls, and pie. And it was terrific! Even if one component was different, the holiday also seemed… different.
I’ve always loved traditions, probably because, like so many, they’re so ingrained in me. As an adult, celebrating with the family has become a tradition, but the food choices have changed. Our meal still consists of those aforementioned staples, but with updates.
Thanksgiving can often become overly heavy: too many carbs, too much brown color, and nothing exciting. Thankfully, in my world, vegetable side dishes don’t need to be breaded and sauced with cheese to fit in. Instead, I like to actually taste each vegetable’s flavor and hear its crunch.
Why Roast Vegetables
Roasting vegetables is hands-down the quickest way to prepare a side dish for large meals. Two important components are needed:
- high heat
- salt and spices
Roasting provides browning to the outside of the vegetable and just cooks the interior, without overcooking it. And as a bonus, I love to roast vegetables because they’re delicious served straight from the oven or at room temperature.
These roasted carrots are influenced by so many flavors that inspire me. I find it so easy to revert to safety with spices that I know and use all the time. Especially at Thanksgiving, the meal can be so much more enjoyable when we look around the world, look outside our safe box, and see what spices can be paired together.
In American dishes, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon aren’t often used together. Cumin is often relegated to chili or salsa, but when it’s mixed with other spices, the combination is like a flavor explosion. These spices all pack intense flavor that is perfectly paired with the sweet, crisp nature of carrots.
And to make them holiday-ready, they’re garnished with chopped dates and pistachios. It’s a sweet, crunchy topping that makes these extra special.
More Side Dishes
- Potato and green bean salad
- Cranberry relish
- Ginger miso broccoli salad
- Sausage and sweet potato puffs
- Homemade ratatouille
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Roasted Carrots with Dates & Pistachios
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs carrots cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¾ tsp garlic granules
- 12 dates pitted and roughly chopped
- ½ cup roasted pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place cleaned and chopped carrots on a large sheet pan. Spread out in an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and garlic granules. Mix together, coating all the carrots, and spread out, making sure the carrots do not overlap.2 ½ lbs carrots, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp coriander, ½ tsp cumin, ¾ tsp garlic granules
- Roast in the preheated oven until the carrots brown on the exterior and are just tender in the center, 20-25 minutes.
- While the carrots are roasting, chop up the dates and pistachios.
- Remove the carrots from the oven and place on a serving dish. Top with prepared dates and pistachios. Serve hot from the oven or at room temperature.12 dates, ½ cup roasted pistachios
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
We love this even without the warming spices (allergy)! So good!
This was good! Before eating this, I would have said I’m not a date fan. I almost left them out, but am glad I didn’t. A nice change!
Thinking I might try this as a medley with parsnips and perhaps baby potatoes. Hope they’d all roast in about the same time.
I have made this three or four times since Thanksgiving – always gets rave reviews. Tonight I made it without the dates and pistachios since I was out of them – still great. Fabulous flavors! Very quick and easy and lots of flavor. Thanks for all your great recipes – love your videos on FB.
Oh my goodness I don’t think I will ever eat roasted carrots again without adding pistachios and dates! This was a big winner at Thanksgiving and I’ve made it again as a side for dinner. These are just so good and the different flavors and textures provided by the toppings made it next level. So good! Thanks Kaleb!
Came across this today and I love the combination of spices, dates & pistachios. Will be changing my carrot game this Thanksgiving. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Tried this for our family Thanksgiving dinner! So many compliments, which you got full credit for! Thank you!
Hi Kaleb, I just happen to stumble upon one of your posts several months ago. To say that your posts are one of the highlights of my day is an understatement. Your positivity is infectious, your humbleness is appreciated and your knowledge of topic from gardening to cooking to collecting leaves me speechless. You find the good in every situation. Your relationship between you and your mom is special.
My question regarding your above Roasted Carrots recipe is the addition of dates (not a fan). Do you think dried cranberries would be a good substitute? Thinking of making this for Thanksgiving. I think it would be a good replacement for sweet potatoes and healthier too.
Keep on doing you!
Hi Robby! Thanks for all of your kind words! You can definitely try dried cranberries in place of the dates. I haven’t done that, but I think it could be a great and seasonally appropriate alternative! Enjoy!
I always e joy your presentations.
Thank you..
Like everyone who watches your videos, I love them all! I am not a cook but this carrots 🥕 recipe is my first ever, it looked easy a d delicious (and because I had all the ingredients) I am so going to impress not just my family but friends too! Thank you for spreading goodness 🍸👍🏼🙌🏼