Healthy Carrot Recipes

Impress the in-laws, neighbors or any other dinner guests with this pretty dish. It's a slow-cooker chicken recipe that actually looks and tastes like it was oven-roasted. To save time, prep the vegetables a day ahead or in the morning, and then refrigerate until ready to brown the meat and start the slow cooker.

Quick sautéed vegetables, canned tomatoes, dried oregano and canned beans transform ramen noodle soup mix into this classic Italian favorite in minutes. To cut back on sodium, look for ramen varieties with less than 600 mg sodium per serving or use less of the seasoning packet.

Elevate hummus and pita by piling your plate high with cucumbers, carrots and mixed greens! Just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil is all it takes to dress it up.

Chicken satay moves from classic Thai restaurant appetizer to delicious homemade dinner with this easy meal-prep recipe. A crunchy Asian-inspired slaw serves as the satisfying low-carb base, and the bold, creamy peanut sauce brings a hint of heat to every bite.

Don't skip cooking the onions for the meatballs. This step softens the onions so they more easily add their sweet flavor to the meatball mixture. Best part? This slow-cooker meatball soup only requires 25 minutes of hands-on time.

These no-cook energy bites keep well in the fridge or freezer and are easy to grab on the go for a healthy snack.

Classic chicken noodle soup gets a healthy upgrade with low-sodium chicken broth, whole-wheat egg noodles and tons of vegetables. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients. But you're short on time, feel free to use pre-cooked chicken and start the recipe at step 2.

Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their inherent sweetness, while Parmesan and garlic give this easy side dish a flavorful savory accent.

This easy roasted butternut squash and root vegetables recipe is incredibly versatile. Pile the squash and veggies onto grain bowls, add to sandwiches, toss in soup, serve as a side dish--you name it. Roasting vegetables in the oven gives you 20 minutes of hands-off cooking time to assemble the rest of your meal.

Use red, yellow or even brown lentils to make this iconic and super-simple Middle Eastern soup. Skip green or black lentils, which won't soften enough to puree smoothly. (Recipe adapted from Zooba Restaurant.)

In this easy one-pan dinner, boneless pork loin roast is cooked over a bed of carrots and parsnips for an all-in-one dish that makes an impressive centerpiece for a holiday meal or Sunday dinner. Choose free-range heritage pork if you can--its flavor really shines with no more seasoning than a bit of thyme and a little sea salt. If you'd like, dress up the meal with a traditional Irish apple condiment--Ploughmans chutney or Bramley applesauce, which you can find in specialty stores and online.

This superfast one-dish dinner is full of classic flavor and is such a crowd pleaser that you'll want to work it into your regular weeknight dinner rotation. We call for bone-in pork chops to maximize flavor, but boneless pork chops are a fine substitution. To round out this meal a little more, serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Carrot salads are refreshing, and this one--with cucumbers, red onion and a zesty cilantro-chili vinaigrette--is sure to become a new favorite. It's excellent served with grilled fish.

This carrot and apple smoothie is creamy and has a light tropical flavor thanks to coconut milk. It's naturally sweetened from the carrots and apple, and the combination of ginger and lemon juice adds just a bit of spice and helps balance the flavor. The turmeric, fresh or dried, gives the smoothie a vibrant bright orange color.

Turnips lend an earthy flavor and a texture that is similar to potatoes--but with fewer carbs--to this rich and flavorful beef stew.

Creamy and delicate slow-cooker carrot soup is a welcome appetizer. The addition of millet--a whole grain similar to quinoa--adds body to the soup as well as protein and fiber. Garnish with additional black pepper, if desired.

Make this creamy carrot-and-parsnip casserole for your next holiday meal--everyone will beg you for the recipe! Our healthier version skips the heavy cream and butter found in most recipes--saving about 160 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat compared to a traditional version.

Smashing steamed carrots coated in curry powder then finishing them under the broiler lets the flavor set in and gives the carrots a light, crispy edge.

This peanut-tofu noodles dish is inspired by chow mein, a Chinese-American dish featuring fried noodles. Pan-crisping the noodles here mimics the crunch of the traditional dish, but limits the saturated fat. Look for Chinese noodles or lo mein noodles in the Asian or international aisle of major grocery stores.

This creamy chicken and mushroom soup is easy to make. The mix of vegetables and thyme adds richness, while the bone-in chicken flavors the broth. If you're in a hurry, you can skip the chicken breasts and add rotisserie chicken at the end instead.

This is a soup with a long history (references to it in English go back to 1784) that can now be conveniently made in a modern appliance. Although it's technically an English soup, its origins are decidedly Indian. (The name loosely means "pepper water" in the Tamil language of Southern India.) The sweetness of apple and coconut milk counterbalances the garlic, ginger, curry and cayenne.

Panko breadcrumbs make this healthy lemon-garlic chicken super-crispy on the outside, while a bit of mayonnaise amps up the juiciness of the thighs. And everything--including fingerling potatoes and carrots--cooks on one sheet pan, so this healthy dinner is super-easy to prep and clean up after too. You can swap out the potatoes and carrots for other vegetables, such as broccoli and parsnips, but just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

This type of drink tends to be pricey in the big city juice bars. Now you can make the recipe at home.

Bright and fresh, these candied carrots have just a hint of sweetness from the honey and citrus. This one-pan dish is quick and easy to make, but also has such a pretty presentation that it works both as an entertaining-worthy or weeknight side dish. Look for carrots that are similar in size so they cook evenly.