Carrots: Vegan Cooking Guide
Carrots are one of the most versatile root vegetables in vegan cooking - sweet, earthly flavoured, and inexpensive. Roasted, they caramelise beautifully; slow-cooked, they melt into stews; raw, they add crunch to slaws and salads. Their natural sweetness provides balance in savoury dishes and depth in stocks.
How to Use Carrots
Dice uniformly so they cook evenly. Sweat in a little oil with onion and celery as a soffritto base for soups and stews. Roast whole or in batons at 200°C until edges caramelise. Grate raw into salads and coleslaws.
Nutrition
Exceptional source of beta-carotene (provitamin A); also provide vitamin K, potassium and fibre.
Chef's Tips
- Always cook carrots with a little fat - beta-carotene is fat-soluble and only absorbed properly with oil present.
- Never boil carrots in lots of water - most of the nutrients leach out. Steam or roast instead.
- Carrot tops are edible and can be blitzed into pesto or used as a herb - don't throw them away.
→ Find the best substitutes for carrots
Vegan Recipes Using Carrots
Learn to cook with carrots on video
Our Cook Like A Pro course covers vegan cooking techniques including how to get the most from plant-based proteins, flavour bases and dairy alternatives. Watch step-by-step with chefs Rupert Worden and Lisa Hinze.
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