The air fryer is a wonderful tool for roasting vegetables quickly. One of my favorites to cook in there is carrots. They come out soft right through, and lightly caramelized on the outside, in just 10 minutes. Isn’t that crazy?
I like my carrots to be just lightly browned so 10 minutes in the air fryer is perfect, but if you like them even browner, you can put them in for a bit longer. If you’ve been on the fence about getting an air fryer, don’t wait any longer. It will change your life. Now let’s get cooking!
Video: Making Veggies In The Air Fryer
Preheat The Air Fryer
Get the air fryer preheating to 400°F. It doesn’t take long to preheat, but note you’ll likely be ready to add your carrots to the air fryer before it’s done preheating. That’s totally fine. Get those carrots in there as quickly as you can so that you can move onto something else.
What Kind Of Carrots Should You Use?
I use baby carrots for this — the ones you buy already peeled and in mini carrot shapes. The only problem with these is that they tend to be very wet. So the first step is to blot that water off. Why? Because if you leave them wet, the tiny bit of oil you’re adding won’t get to the carrots and then the carrots will steam in water instead of toasting in oil.
So, first, put some paper towel on the counter. Add the carrots on top, and then roll them around a bit.
Can you peel and cut up regular carrots? Absolutely, I just like the convenience and time saving that the baby carrots provide.
Prepare The Carrots
Put the carrots into a bowl and toss them with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. If you want to add additional seasonings, go right ahead.
Note that you could do this right in the air fryer basket instead of dirtying a bowl. However, I find that some of the oil and seasonings drops straight through the holes in the basket when I add it directly to the basket. Using a bowl ensures more of it adheres to the carrots. But this is really not a super big deal. I’m just a perfectionist sometimes.
How To Cook Carrots In The Air Fryer
Transfer the carrots to the basket of your air fryer. Toss them around a bit to get them into a single layer, or as much of a single layer as you can.
Slide the basket into the fryer. Cook for 10 minutes. No need to toss them or anything after they start.
After 10 minutes the carrots will be fully cooked (use a fork to poke through one to make sure it’s soft all the way through). They’ll also be slightly browned, like in this picture:
If you want them browner, or softer, you can put them in for 5 more minutes. Then they should look like this:
Transfer the carrots from the basket of the air fryer to a serving plate. Eat with your favorite meal!
More Air Fryer Veggies
The air fryer is so great for quickly cooking all sorts of vegetables.
Podcast Episode: Air Frying Carrots
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly how to make these Air Fryer Carrots, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Air Fryer Carrots Recipe
The air fryer is a wonderful tool for roasting vegetables quickly. One of my favorites to cook in there is carrots. They come out soft right through, and lightly caramelized on the outside, in just 10 minutes. Isn’t that crazy?
- Prep Time: 1 Minute
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 11 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb. baby carrots
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Start air fryer preheating to 400°F. Blot the carrots with paper towel so they’re not damp.
- Put the carrots into a medium-sized bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Put carrots into air fryer even if it isn’t fully preheated. Toss so they’re in a single layer in the basket.
- Cook for 10 minutes. At this point they will be softened all the way through and slightly browned. You can eat them now. Or put them in for another 5 minutes to get them even softer and browner.
- Remove carrots from air fryer basket.
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