Trisha Yearwood's Buttery Roasted Carrots

Trisha Yearwood's Buttery Roasted Carrots are one of my favorite side dishes to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas. This dish an be made with butter, vegan butter, or Ghee. Or try mixing it up and adding some parsnips in.

I want to start you off with a story. This story takes place on this blog in 2013. And goes like this -

"I have been on a search. A journey. An expedition to find something very common, yet way too rare.

Carrots.

Yes I said carrots.

What is so hard about finding carrots? It's not so much the carrot, then it is the color.

I am a sucker for carrots that look like a package of Skittles. It's how I like to taste the rainbow! I just love the subtle, yet divine difference in the flavors of different types of carrots.

The ones I tried to grow myself didn't pan out as I missed getting them in the ground early enough. No one was really growing them at the farmer's market.

The store I found them at last summer, never had any during any of my visits.

Finally I was saved by a guy named Joe (he is a trader!). I bought up 3 bags of multi colored carrots.

I got them ready to use in a Thanksgiving recipe that I never got done in time for Thanksgiving, but you might still need some Christmas dinner ideas! From Trisha Yearwood's Thanksgiving show, I bring to your attention these Buttery Roasted Carrots."

Rainbow Carrots Now Easier to Find

Fast forward to 2016. The landscape changed!

No longer are multi-colored carrots hard to come by.

You can pretty much find "rainbow carrots" in most major grocery stores nation wide.

Making Trisha's Roasted Carrots

Back to the recipe. This recipe I got from an episode of Trisha Yearwood's show back in 2013 has become a staple in our house. I have even tried it with other vegetables as well (works really well with fresh snap peas from the garden).

It's pretty simple - you are roasting carrots in butter. Not quite low fat, however if Thanksgiving is about anything else but the turkey it would be the butter (I do have vegan recommendation below as well).

My Cooking Notes

This is what I thought of Trisha's recipe. The full recipe with her ingredients, written in my words is found below.

1. Of course you can just use orange carrots, but I prefer my carrots of many colors. Peel them and slice them on the bias.

2. One whole stick of butter may seem like a lot, that is because it is. These are buttery carrots, not fat free, so get over it. They are more yummy this way. If you want to use the best butter try Kerrygold Irish Butter.

3. For even butter distribution, I like to place the carrots into a large mixing bowl, pour the butter all over them, then place them onto my sheet pan.

4. She suggests 25-30 minutes with a good stir at the half way point. I prefer to go just a wee bit longer to get some nice color on the carrots - another 5 minutes or so. They won't get as brown as they would without the added butter.

5. Some fresh herbs on top is a nice addition. Dill goes really well together as they should as they in the same family - Apiaceae.

How to Make this Recipe Vegan

A lot of vegans I know and even some not-Vegans are huge fans of the Earth Balance products.

I would recommend trying their Vegan Buttery Sticks to make this a vegan side dish. Just substitute one stick of that for the stick of butter the recipe calls for.

Try This Recipe with Ghee

You know what would be really fun? 

Making these roasted carrots with ghee?

What is ghee? Ghee is clarified butter, that is butter that has been simmered and strained to remove water and impurities. It is stronger than regular butter, with a richer, more caramelized taste.

Since the milk solids are removed during the ghee making process, those that have dairy sensitives may be able to enjoy it. Lactose is pretty much gone, although may remain in really, really small amounts. 

You can make it yourself, buy it on Amazon, or Thrive Market - they offer a great selection of ghee including their own brand for a cheaper price. Get an extra 25% OFF your first order + a 30 day free trial membership when you sign up at Thrive Market! (Valid on orders $49+, max $20 discount)

Parsnip Variation

I decided to try this recipe replacing half of the carrots with parsnips. the parsnips were amazing. Best I ever had. the contrasting flavors of the carrots and parsnips making side dish even better.

For real contrasting colors, I used my Black Nebula carrots that I grew in my garden in 2019. Yes I have gotten better at growing carrots!

You could also try this recipe with 100% parsnips. I have found that the parsnips may take a few minutes less to cook as they to be drier than the carrots.

Final Thoughts on this Recipe

These carrots are super yummy. When I tried it with my much sought after colored carrots, even better. Very simple side dish that is very rewarding.

The butter starts to brown and just coat the carrots in goodness. They are perfectly cooked this way. I am glad butter isn't super cheap or I might be making these all the time. A special occasion or two will suffice.

More Recipes to Try

We have a couple other carrots recipes on the blog that you should try out as well.

• Honey Tarragon Carrots
• Sous Vide Frozen Green Beans and Carrots
• Sous Vide Butter Poached Carrots
• Quinoa with Diced Carrots

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