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Here are the best sauteed carrots you’ll ever have! The perfect easy side dish, they’re made with just 3 ingredients and done in 10 minutes. As cookbook authors, this is a method we turn to again and again!
Why we love this recipe
Maybe “sauteed carrots” doesn’t sound like an impressive recipe. But believe me, these really are the perfect sauteed carrots! When Alex first made these for me, and I could not believe the flavor. “What is IN these?” I kept asking.
Turns out they’re very simple. These are the most tender, buttery, savory, coins, with a hint of herbaceous fresh thyme and chives. They taste like the best carrots you’ve ever had: but they only have 3 ingredients and take 10 minutes! As two cookbook authors who have made thousands of recipes, these stand out as a fast favorite.
Ingredients to make sauteed carrots
All you need is a handful of ingredients and you’ll have the best sauteed carrots you’ve tasted! We might give up on our roasted carrots altogether, because these carrots are so fast and taste just as good—or better. Here’s what you need:
- Carrots: we used medium sized carrots from a large bag, but of course you can use fancy rainbow carrots too! (More about carrots here.)
- Olive oil: All you need is olive oil for great carrots—surprisingly, they come out tasting buttery!
- Fresh herbs: Fresh thyme is perfect with carrots. We recommend finding fresh herbs for the flavor and beautiful green color against the orange!
- Salt: Like every recipe, you’ll also need kosher salt (so it’s 3 ingredients, without the salt).
Tips for how to make sauteed carrots—perfectly
Sauteed carrots are quick and simple; here’s what to do:
- Peel and slice the carrots. We like slicing them on the bias (diagonally) for a nice look.
- Cover and cook for 4 minutes: no stirring! This is the step that’s different from other sauteed vegetables. For carrots, you’ll cover and cook first. This helps to keep moisture inside the pan and has an effect of steaming while you’re sauteing.
- Uncover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring. Sauté comes from the French word “to jump,” so you keep the food moving as much as possible. Add the salt and fresh herbs, and you’re done!
Herbs that pair well with carrots
This sauteed carrots recipe is full of flavor from the fresh herbs, which taste much more vibrant versus dried herbs. You can truly taste a difference! The pop of the green herbs against the bright orange also looks stunning. You can usually find fresh herbs in the refrigerated section in your grocery, or if it’s the season herbs are easy to grow! You can use various fresh herbs in this recipe: here’s what we’d recommend:
- Thyme: Thyme pairs well with carrots, so this is our top choice for herbs.
- Chives: Chives are also a fantastic flavor combination with carrots. We happened to have some in our garden, so we used a combination of fresh thyme and chives for this recipe.
- Basil: Peppery basil would also work.
- Oregano: Oregano is similar to thyme, and also pairs well with carrots.
- Dill: Dill has a more distinctive flavor, but it’s often paired with carrots since they’re part of the same plant family.
A few variations on sauteed carrots
The flavors of these sauteed carrots are distinctly Mediterranean. If you’d like to change them up to fit well with another cuisine, you can try:
- Cumin and lime. Add ¼ teaspoon cumin and spritz with lime juice, and they work with Mexican style meals.
- Soy and sesame. Swap the salt for a few shakes of soy sauce, and top with toasted sesame seeds and these carrots work with Asian style meals.
- Greek seasoning. Add a few shakes of Greek seasoning instead of the herbs.
Ways to serve sauteed carrots
These sauteed carrots work well as a healthy side dish for lots of different mains! What’s nice is that they’re made on the stovetop, so you can keep the oven free for baking or roasting. Here’s what we’d pair with this tasty vegetable recipe:
- Salmon. These would be great with Baked Salmon or Lemon Dill Salmon, especially since they leave the oven free.
- Shrimp. Try with Baked Shrimp, Sauteed Shrimp, or Garlic Butter Shrimp.
- Chicken. Add these alongside Baked Chicken Breast, Pan Seared Chicken, or Parmesan Crusted Chicken.
- Pasta. Add alongside Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, Stuffed Shells, Lasagna Roll Ups, or Broccoli Mac and Cheese.
Dietary notes
This sauteed carrots recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
While the recipe may call for a specific type, feel free to use your favorite variety. Rainbow carrots add a beautiful pop of color.
Peeling is optional, but we prefer peeling carrots for visual appeal.
The carrots should be tender-crisp when pierced with a fork. They’ll continue to soften slightly as they cool.
While best served immediately, you can reheat leftover sauteed carrots gently in a pan or microwave.
Perfect Sauteed Carrots
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Here are the best sauteed carrots you’ll ever have! The perfect easy side dish, they’re made with just 3 ingredients and done in 10 minutes. As two cookbook authors, this is a method we turn to again and again!
Ingredients
- 8 medium carrots (1 pound)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon plus 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or other fresh herbs — we used a combination of thyme and chives)
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and slice them diagonally into rounds (on the bias).
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the carrots and cover. Cook for 4 minutes without stirring.
- Remove the lid, stir, and add the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Continue to saute uncovered 3 to 4 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs and a few more pinches kosher salt to taste. Serve immediately. Leftovers store up to 4 days refrigerated; reheat gently on the stovetop.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Sauteed
- Cuisine: Vegetables
- Diet: Vegan
More healthy side dish recipes
This sauteed carrots recipe is one in our collection of easy side dish recipes and vegan side dishes! Here are a few more you might enjoy:
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts Wow, are these tasty! They’re roasted until blackened and caramelized, then tossed with a tangy sweet balsamic sauce.
- Sauteed Rainbow Chard or Best Ever Sauteed Kale cook up in just a few minutes!
- Peas with Lemon Cooking frozen peas with garlic and lemon makes them taste incredible. It’s an easy side dish everyone will love!
- Roasted Okra The best roasted okra around! Baking it might be the best way to cook this vegetable.
- Best Ever Sauteed Mushrooms or Roasted Mushrooms Yes, these really are the best mushrooms EVER, full of flavor using fresh herbs (much like these carrots).
- Roasted Frozen Broccoli Did you know you can roast broccoli right from frozen? This trick makes for easy freezer meals.
- Homemade Sauerkraut A surprisingly tasty side filled with probiotics!
Thank you so much. These are the best carrots I’ve ever had. Made them for a dinner party and they all boasted about them. So quick and easy.
Great way to make them, can always make minor adjustments if needed
These carrots were incredible! The best I’ve ever had. We had the perfect browning using a stainless steel pan. I love that I finally found a good recipe for carrots that doesn’t require butter or sugar. I followed the recipe to a T and it was perfect.
So glad you enjoyed!
The carrots were perfect, just as you describe. They actually browned, which made them the best I’ve ever made. Everyone loved them. This recipe is now the new norm. Thank you very much.
These were excellent! Thank you for such a delicious recipe. I eat mostly a plant-based diet and always on the lookout for new and fresh recipes. These are great! I cooked mine at a lower temperature so it took longer (both lid on and off). I did not have any fresh herbs on hand, so used dried thyme, a no-salt all-purpose seasoning, and a sprinkling of cumin. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper too, of course. Perfect! I might add some fresh minced garlic next time :)
I’m wondering if these can be made ahead of time and reheated slowly and or microwaved. This is for an after dinner graduation there won’t be much time before dinner! Thank you so much.
Yes, you can reheat in the skillet.
I love it perfect for lunch
Fun Carrots!!!
Very good. I would suggest letting the carrots sit in the pan maybe five minutes after tossing with the final seasoning. They soften further and absorb the flavors.
These are the best carrots we’ve ever had. I used fresh chives and basil and I’ll make them this way from now on. I would definitely serve them to company.
Thanks for making!