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These Maple Sesame Roast Carrots are as easy to make as they are delicious. Yes, they require a few steps but these are important to ensure maximum flavour and texture.
The recipe starts with a quick-and-easy Maple Sesame sauce. It consists of only a few ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen. We’re talking avocado oil, garlic, coconut aminos (which is becoming more and more available these days), maple syrup, and sesame oil. It’s as simple as gently heating the oil and garlic and then adding the remaining ingredients to form the sauce.
Once your Maple Sesame sauce is ready, you can toss the carrots in it to coat. Transfer the veggies to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan (it makes for easier clean up and less sticking), and roast in a 400F oven for around 20 minutes.
Side Note: Since your oven is already running, I would sneak in an Emergency Roast Chicken if I were you. This might increase the total cooking time of the carrots and chicken, but I think it’s great to maximize oven space whenever possible. Just note that my Emergency Roast Chicken recipe calls for roasting the bird at 425F vs. the 400F for the carrots. You should therefore allocate a few extra minutes to compensate for the lower temperature of cooking at 400F.
I like to leave half of the sauce in the sauté pan and reduce it further so that I can spoon it overtop of the roasted carrots once they’re out of the oven. This way the sauce doesn’t all burn in the sheet pan from the dry heat of the oven.
The natural sugars in the carrots, coconut aminos and maple syrup start to caramelize and get super tasty as they roast. It’s especially nice when you get little burnt bits around the edges of each carrot! Just be sure to keep an eye on them as they roast because once they reach a certain point it’s very easy for them to burn.
As far as substitutions go, you could use coconut oil if you’d like. It will impart a bit of coconut flavour but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Personally, I like avocado oil because of its high smoking point and neutral flavour. I would avoid Extra Virgin olive oil here because I don’t think it pairs nicely with the other flavours in the sauce.
If maple syrup is unavailable, you could substitute honey or agave nectar. Both are delicious natural sweeteners that would work for these Maple Sesame Roast Carrots. Just be sure to change the name of the recipe if you do 😉
If, on the other hand, you are doing a round of Whole30, you can omit the sweetener altogether. The coconut aminos are actually quite sweet in and of themselves and that sweetness will only intensify as the liquid reduces in the oven and on the stovetop.
I like to finish the Maple Sesame Roast Carrots by dressing them up with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, some thinly sliced green onion and a pinch of flakey sea salt. Remember, we’re not using any salt during the cooking process so it’s important to season them after they’re done cooking!
Come to think of it, these would be perfect with some thinly sliced chilies for a bit of heat! But hey, you’re the boss, applesauce!
Maple Sesame Roast Carrots - Paleo
Ingredients
- 6 large carrots, about 2lbs – peeled and cut into 2” pieces on a bias
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
For Garnish:
- 2 green onions – finely sliced
- black and white sesame seeds
- flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Add avocado oil and garlic to a cold 12” stainless steel or non-stick sauté pan. Place over med-high heat and cook until garlic starts to sizzle (approximately 2-3 minutes). Add coconut aminos, maple syrup, and seseame oil. Stir to combine and cook 60 seconds. Add carrots, toss to coat and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer carrots to a parchment paper-lined rimmed sheet pan. Arrange carrots in a single layer and drizzle with half of the sauce, reserving the other half in the sauté pan.
- Transfer carrots to oven and roast 20-22 minutes or until slightly charred and soft. *Tip: You really want a bit of colour on the carrots. They taste delicious with that slight bit of char! Just be careful not to completely burn them to a crisp.
- While the carrots roast, return sauté pan to medium heat and reduce sauce by half. Set aside.
- Remove cooked carrots from oven and transfer to serving platter. Drizzle with reduced sauce and garnish with sesame seeds, green onion and flakey sea salt. Serve immediately.
About the Author
Hi, i'm Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
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