Hot And Spicy Carrots: Easy Homestead Side Dish

Originally published in 2013 as part of a compensated #Switch2Swerve challenge. I received product and compensation for that campaign. The recipe and opinions below are my own.

If you grow carrots, buy them in bulk, or simply need another way to get a vegetable on the table, these hot and spicy carrots are worth trying.

This is one of those recipes I first made because I had an ingredient to experiment with, but it still has a place in a homestead kitchen because it is simple, flexible, and uses basic pantry ingredients.

I will also tell you something I said when I first made it: Jeff liked these better than I did.

My problem was not the flavor. I wanted the carrots softer. The first batch was cooked on the stovetop and stayed a little too crunchy for my preference. If I make them now, I either slice the carrots smaller or roast them long enough to get them properly fork-tender.

That is the beauty of cooking from scratch. A recipe does not have to be perfect the first time. You adjust it until it works for the people sitting at your table.

Why This Recipe Works For A Homestead Kitchen

Carrots are one of those vegetables that earn their place in a practical kitchen. They store well, they are easy to use in soups and stews, and they work just as well as a quick side dish.

If you grow your own, this recipe gives you another way to use a harvest besides canning, freezing, dehydrating, or tossing carrots into soup. If you buy them, it is a good way to use up a bag before the carrots start getting limp in the refrigerator.

The sweet, tangy, spicy combination also makes plain carrots a little more interesting without turning dinner into an all-day project.

For a holiday dinner, these carrots also make a flavorful side dish for my chocolate cranberry eye of round roast. The savory beef, cranberry balsamic vinegar, and warm seasoning blend pair nicely with the carrots.

Hot And Spicy Carrots Ingredients

• 1 pound baby carrots, or larger carrots cut into even pieces
• 2 teaspoons cilantro, fresh or frozen
• 1 tablespoon Thai chile olive oil
• ⅛ cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener or the sweetener you normally use
• ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chili
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Stovetop Method

1. Put the carrots in a skillet or saucepan. If you want them to cook faster and become softer, slice larger carrots into even pieces instead of leaving them whole.
2. Pour the rice vinegar over the carrots.
3. Drizzle the Thai chile olive oil over the top.
4. Add the cilantro, sweetener, chipotle, ginger, and salt.
5. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are as tender as you like them.
6. Taste before serving. If you want more heat, add a little more chipotle. If the vinegar is too sharp for you, add a touch more sweetener.

Roasted Hot And Spicy Carrots

I prefer the idea of roasting these because it gives the carrots more time to soften and lets the edges develop a little color.

Combine the ingredients in a baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 350 degrees F until the carrots are fork-tender, stirring once or twice while they cook. Whole baby carrots may take 45 minutes to an hour. Smaller pieces will cook faster, so start checking them earlier.

Use What You Have

You do not need the exact specialty ingredients I used in the original recipe to make this useful.

No Thai chile olive oil? Use regular olive oil and add a little extra chili. No Swerve? Use the sweetener that makes sense for your household. No baby carrots? Peel and cut garden carrots into similar-sized pieces so they cook evenly.

That is how I cook most of the time anyway. Homesteading teaches you very quickly to work with what you have instead of running to the store for one missing ingredient.

What I Would Do Differently

If I were making this recipe today, I would cut the carrots smaller and roast them instead of relying on the stovetop method. I like cooked carrots soft, and that would solve the biggest complaint I had with the original batch.

If your family likes carrots with more bite, the stovetop version may be exactly right for you.

Either way, this is an easy garden-to-table side dish that gives you one more way to turn a basic storage vegetable into something different.

If you are building a more self-sufficient kitchen, that matters. Learning several ways to use the same dependable ingredients keeps meals from getting boring and helps make better use of what you grow, preserve, or keep in the pantry.