Best Air Fryer Carrots (Quick & Easy!)
Smothered in butter and honey, these Air Fryer Carrots are so easy to make! Ready in less than 30 minutes, they are a quick and simple healthy side dish or snack that you can whip up during the week, or even on special occasions or holidays without taking up room in the oven. This easy vegetable side dish is naturally gluten-free, and can easily be made vegan, paleo, whole30, and low carb.
This post was originally published on April 7th, 2021.
🥕 Best Carrots in Air Fryer
These Air Fryer Carrots are so delicious! Prep time takes just 10 minutes to throw them together and then the air fryer does the hard work so you can concentrate on the rest of dinner. I love making vegetables in the air fryer because it cooks them perfectly, and this simple recipe tastes just like roasted carrots without taking up extra space in the oven.
These easy Air Fried Carrots can be altered for a few different diets. Paleo and Whole30 followers can substitute the butter for ghee (yes, please!) or olive oil, and of course, Whole30 can skip the honey. Vegan? Make sure you use dairy-free butter and maple syrup instead of honey. My low-carb friends will probably also want to skip the honey as that is essentially pure sugar which = carbs, unfortunately. However, they come in at about 13.5g net carbs per serving, so you might be able to squeeze them into your day if you’re not super low carb or keto.
Air-frying carrots is perfect for dinner, of course, but I do love to snack on them as well. If I’m just making them for myself, I’ll half the recipe, or make the full recipe and store half in the fridge for later. Hint: they taste incredible dipped in hummus!
🗝️ Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Just 5 simple ingredients:
Carrots: Regular carrots or baby carrots are perfect for this Air Fryer Carrots recipe.
Honey: If you’re vegan, feel free to switch the honey to maple syrup. Doing whole30? Skip the honey or syrup altogether for a more savory flavor. Brown sugar can also be used in a pinch but I tend to avoid it.
Butter: I used salted butter, but if you’re on a paleo diet switch it out for ghee or olive oil. Olive oil or even avocado oil is perfect for whole30 as well. Vegans can use dairy-free butter.
Seasoning: Simple salt and black pepper are great in this recipe. You could also add a little paprika or chili powder to turn the heat up a notch.
🥣 How to Make Air Fryer Carrots
1. Preheat the air fryer to 390°F/200°C.
2. Slice the whole carrots into carrot fries, sticks, or circles.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix honey and butter together. I used a large bowl for this step.
4. Add pepper and salt.
5. Toss carrots with butter and honey.
6. Place all the carrots in the air fryer basket in a single layer so they cook evenly. Cook carrots for 15 minutes at 390°F/200°C, shaking the carrots halfway through. The carrots will be golden brown and a little crispy when they’re finished.
7. Check the roasted air fryer carrots to see if they’re tender inside after 15 minutes. If they need a little longer, air fry them for 1-2 minutes at a time.
8. Garnish the air fryer carrot fries with parsley, if desired.
🫙 Storage Instructions
Store any leftover air-fried carrots in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat roasted carrots in the air fryer or microwave until piping hot. It takes about 5 minutes in the air fryer basket.
Freeze leftover cooked carrots in a zip lock bag in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
🪄 Recipe Notes & Tips
Frozen carrots: You can absolutely use frozen carrots for this air fryer roasted carrots recipe. Frozen carrots tend to be cooked and then frozen, so the timings used for regular roasted carrots in this recipe are fine for frozen too. Just follow the recipe as it’s written.
Seasoned carrots: Nothing tastes better than perfectly seasoned carrots. I love this recipe as it is but sometimes I like to add a little something extra. I like to add other spices like a pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, chili flakes or powder, and/or dried rosemary to amp up the flavor. Try 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of 3 different herbs/spices to begin with. You can also sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on the air fryer roasted carrots before serving.
Air Fry Baby Carrots: Baby carrots work well in the air fryer as well. I recommend slicing the baby carrots in half so that they cook through and aren’t hard.
Peel carrots: Confession: I never peel vegetables. So much good nutrition is lost when you peel them so I just leave the skin on but make sure to give it a good wash. Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are the same! Feel free to peel them if desired.
Cook time: Small carrots will cook faster than big carrots so check the carrots when you’re shaking halfway through for their doneness.
🤔 How do I make Air Fryer Roasted Carrots paleo, whole30, or vegan?
Paleo
For paleo air fryer carrots, switch the butter for ghee or oil like olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
Whole30
For a Whole30 version, stick to the paleo guidelines but skip the honey.
Vegan
To make these carrots vegan, use dairy-free butter or oil, and switch the honey for maple syrup.
🍽️ What can I serve with Air Fryer roasted carrots?
Roasted Carrots in the air fryer are a great healthy alternative to traditional roasted carrots because they use far less oil. They are a great side dish for weeknights, holiday dinners, or Sunday lunch.
At Christmas, we serve these Air Fryer roast carrots with Christmas roast beef and our other favorite side dishes like Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, or parsnip puree.
For Thanksgiving, we switch the centerpiece to a delightful roasted turkey and add some turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed rutabaga, green bean casserole, and stuffing.
We also love making carrots in the air fryer for Easter (of course!). The Easter Bunny needs their carrots! We serve the air-fried carrots with roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with bacon.
For Sunday lunch, we often make a pork tenderloin or Air Fryer Pork Loin to go with these air fryer carrot fries. While the meat rests, it’s the perfect time to make carrots in the air fryer!
😋 More air fryer recipes you will love
- Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Rice Paper Dumplings
- Air Fryer Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
- Air Fryer Toasted Walnuts
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Carrots Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g 17.6oz/1.1lb carrots (See notes 2 & 3 for frozen carrots and baby carrots)
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup skip for whole30
- 1 tbsp butter dairy or plant-based, or ghee/olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste (see note 4 for more seasoning ideas)
- Parsley to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 390°F/200°C.
- Slice carrots into sticks or circles.
- In a mixing bowl, mix honey and butter together.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix carrots with butter and honey.
- Place all the carrots in the air fryer basket in a single layer so they cook evenly. Cook carrots for 15 minutes, shaking the carrots halfway through. The carrots will be golden brown and a little crispy when they're finished.
- Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Notes
- If you don't have time to preheat the air fryer, cook the carrots at 350°F/180°C for 20 minutes.
- Frozen carrots: You can absolutely use frozen carrots for this air fryer roasted carrots recipe. Frozen carrots tend to be cooked and then frozen, so the timings used for regular roasted carrots in this recipe are fine for frozen too. Just follow the recipe as it's written.
- Air Fry Baby Carrots: Baby carrots work well in the air fryer as well. I recommend slicing the baby carrots in half so that they cook through and aren't hard.
- Seasoned carrots: Nothing tastes better than perfectly seasoned carrots. I love this recipe as it is but sometimes I like to add a little something extra. I like to add other spices like a pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, chili flakes or powder, and/or dried rosemary to amp up the flavor. Try 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of 3 different herbs/spices to begin with. You can also sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on the air fryer roasted carrots before serving.
- Peel carrots: Confession: I almost never peel vegetables. So much good nutrition is lost when you peel them so I just leave the skin on but make sure to give it a good wash. Feel free to peel them if desired.
