Surprise! I’ve decided to do another theme week, this time featuring some of my favorite air fryer recipes. These air fryer carrots are so easy to make. All you have to do is add a little olive oil and cook them until they are tender! But there’s no need to stop there. Adding a variety of Middle Eastern-inspired toppings makes these air fried carrots extra special.
It’s time to break out the air fryer oven again! This time, I’ve decided to air fry carrots. I had some fresh carrots that were a bit limp and definitely past their prime.
They really weren’t in the best shape to enjoy fresh. Luckily, there was no need to waste them!
Since they were a bit beaten up, peeling helped give the carrots a refreshed look. (And yup, those carrot trimmings went right into a batch of vegetable stock. You know I’m all about using everything I have and helping to prevent food waste.)
After peeling, I cooked my carrots in the air fryer, and voila! A lovely side dish was born that the whole family would enjoy.
Cooking in an air fryer is incredibly simple. Most of the time, all you need to do is take the food, add a little oil, and cook until done. You need to flip air fryer foods often, so you can adjust cooking times quite easily when you air fry.
There are exceptions, of course. For example, I battered the squid rings before air frying in my air fryer calamari recipe. My air fryer coconut shrimp were crusted with coconut and pistachios prior to air frying.
Most of the time, though, recipes for air frying are pretty straightforward. To make things more interesting, each of my recipes this week will offer a twist.
With these air fryer carrots, you can channel your inner Ottolenghi (or not!)
So, you’ve chosen to air fry. That does not mean that your meals need to be boring! Even the humble carrot can be elevated to new heights if treated well.
You can choose to serve a plain roasted carrot with salt and pepper. There’s nothing wrong with keeping food simple, especially when life gets busy. On the other hand, sometimes it’s nice to go that extra mile.
Ottolenghi is a food writer who is well-known for vegetable-heavy meals with flavors from the Middle East. I’ve devoured many of his beautiful cookbooks over the years, such as Plenty and Jerusalem.
I’ve come to associate Ottolenghi recipes with the generous use of tahini, fresh herbs, and pomegranate seeds. Maybe also with a burnt eggplant and some yogurt thrown into the mix.
With these cooked carrots, I feel like I’m really calling upon my inner Ottolenghi. We’ve got a lemony tahini drizzle, fresh garden mint and parsley, as well as the scattered ruby-red pomegranate arils. A handful of tasty ingredients will go a long way here.
After you whisk the ingredients for the tahini sauce together, assembling the dish is a breeze. I made a little video below so you can see the process in action.
Ary fry cooking tends to be looked down upon, but this side dish is worthy of serving company. Bring on the air fryer cookbook deals!
Who knew a plate of easy air fry carrots could be so pretty? I rounded out the meal with a full Levantine feast, including hummus-crusted chicken and some low-oil quinoa tabouli. Get the full details in the recipe notes below!
And now for the disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let's get cooking!
Air Fryer Carrots with Herbs, Tahini, and Pomegranate Seeds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces small carrots, tops removed and peeled (about 6-7 small-medium carrots)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- ½ garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon zaatar seasoning
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- cooking oil spray of choice
Instructions
- Drizzle the peeled carrots with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Lightly mist one air fryer baking rack with the cooking spray. Spread the carrots in a single layer on the rack. (I was able to fit all of the carrots on one rack.)
- Put the rack in the oven in the top position. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes.
- Remove the carrots from the oven and flip them over. Then put the rack back in the top position of the oven and bake for 3 more minutes, or until the carrots are fork tender.
- While the carrots air fry, whisk the tahini, garlic, water, lemon juice, and zaatar together.
- Drizzle the tahini sauce over the carrots. Sprinkle the mint, parsley, and pomegranate seeds over the top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). At only 127 calories per serving, this is a relatively light side dish to add to your meals. You could always skip the carrot toppings to drop this side to under 100 calories.
I kept with the Middle Eastern cuisine theming here and served the carrots with hummus chicken and low-oil quinoa tabouli. To make the chicken, I coated chicken breasts generously with hummus and baked at 450F for 40 minutes. The quinoa tabbouleh is an Epicurious recipe, with the olive oil called for cut in half, down to ¼-cup.
Nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe.Nutrition
Have you ever tried air frying carrots? After cooking carrots, what are some of your favorite ways to top them?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Don’t forget to leave a rating if you try these air fryer carrots with herbs, tahini, and pomegranate arils!
Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you liked it!
Definitely trying this... this week
Yay! I'd love it if you'd let me know how it goes!
Made them loved them, the dressing is to die for and I’m making some for a bbq tomorrow. Thanks for this recipe it’s going to be used a lot.
I am so glad that you enjoyed them! You've made my day!!!
Fantastic way to resurrect those carrots, Summer! When most of us would've deemed them suitable for nothing but the broth pile - or worse - you recognized the perfection still awaiting its freedom.
Great way to amp things too with a dynamic combo of tangy pomegranates and rich tahini. The latter, I discovered only a few years ago, and now I'm making up for al that lost time. Quite similar, too, to Asian sesame paste, meaning the supplement adds to dishes across the breadth of Asia.
Be it a sauce for Taiwanese Pork Dumplings, or carrots recapturing their excellence. Tahini/sesame paste, you know no boundaries!
Thank you! I absolutely love to discover all of the wonderful and different ways similar ingredients are used across different cuisines. It makes sense why so many fusion dishes work well. Sometimes it only takes a small jump to merge culinary worlds that seem so disparate on the surface!