How to Prepare Carrots: A Complete Guide to Carrots

Carrots are the hidden treasure of the produce world that can be used in so many vibrant, tasty ways. This ultimate beginners guide to how to prepare carrots covers everything you need to know to maximize using carrots in your kitchen. Learn about the various types of carrots, how to store carrots, and how to slice, cook, and freeze carrots! In no time, you’ll discover how this inexpensive ingredient can shine in your plant-based, low-budget kitchen.

A Complete Guide to Carrots (Preparing, Storing, Using)

When it comes to eating plant-based on a budget, there are several staple ingredients that I love to keep on hand at all times. Along with pulses like lentils and beans and several grains, this includes cheap and nutritious vegetables like celery, potatoes, and the humble carrot! 

Not only is this simple root vegetable (‘Daucus Carota’) a great addition to any low-budget household, but carrots are packed with health benefits, and you can store them for several months (if stored properly). Plus, if you grow your own (or source carrots with the tops), you can even use the stems and leaves in other recipes! 

Best of all, carrots are super tasty. When enjoyed raw, carrots are crunchy and slightly sweet. When cooked, they become wonderfully tender. Plus, with cooking options including steaming, boiling, frying, roasting, and more, you’re unlikely to run out of new ways to enjoy this root vegetable any time soon. You can even enjoy this ingredient dried and made into chips or powder.

For more Cooking 101 guides, check out this guide to tofu, zucchini, avocado, quinoa, lentils and brown rice. 

Types of Carrots

The most common carrot found in grocery stores are orange, but there are many varieties: yellow, red, purple, black, and even white, with multiple cultivars within. These are sorted into two broad types of carrots: ‘eastern carrots’ and ‘western carrots.’ 

While the Eastern carrots include purple, red, and black varieties, Western carrots are what we know as the common carrot and are orange (or yellow/white), with four main types classified by their root shape. These types include:

• Imperator Carrots: This is a ‘classic’ orange carrot that’s long and straight, with a tapered end (usually between 8-11 inches).
• Nantes Carrots: These have more sparse foliage than imperator and a rounded end. They are also higher in sugar and have a lower shelf life. There are several cultivars. 
• Chantenay Carrots: These contain strong foliage but are much shorter than other carrot types with a tapered yet rounded tip. 
• Danvers carrots: An heirloom medium-sized carrot developed in the late 19^th century; these carrots have strong foliage with a ‘conical’ shape. 

AND

• Baby carrots (or ‘mini carrots’): These are simply carrots that have been harvested before reaching maturity, so they are much smaller than regular carrots (usually just 1-3 inches long). These differ from ‘baby-cut’ carrots, which are carrots that have been cut into smaller pieces. 

Exotic Carrots

There are several carrot color variations, including carrots with names like ‘purple dragon,’ ‘kaleidoscope,’ and ‘deep purple hybrid’. The color of the carrot impacts the exact nutrition and plant compound composition within. 

In terms of flavor, the various carrot types are similar with slight differences. Whereas orange (and red) carrots are earthy and sweet, purple carrots are sweet with a hint of peppery flavor, and yellow carrots have a milder flavor, with very little earthiness. Here is a guide to the most popular carrots for planting. 

Health Benefits of Carrots

Carrots have several well-reported health benefits, including:

• Carrots are practically fat-free: In fact, they’re made up of between 85-95% water, with around 10% carbs with very little fat and protein. In 100g raw carrots, there is approximately 0.2g of fat. 
• Carrots are fairly low on the Glycemic Index: The GI rating for carrots differs on the preparation method, with raw carrots being the lowest, cooked slightly higher, and pureed/juiced carrots on the higher end of the spectrum. 
• Excellent source of Vitamin A: The beta carotene in carrots (which gives them their color) is converted by our bodies into vitamin A. In fact, just 100g of carrots contains around 400% DV of vitamin A. Not only is vitamin A good for eye health, but it plays several functions for immune health and growth and development. 
• Carrots contain several healthful plant compounds: Carrots provide many benefits thanks to the plant compounds found in carrots, including carotenoids, polyacetylenes, and lutein. In addition, other carrot varieties contain lycopene (found in red/purple carrots) and anthocyanins (in purple/black carrots). This combination of compounds improves immune function.
• Carrots support hormone health: Carrots, especially raw, may help eliminate excess estrogen to support hormone health in women. They have also been associated with decreased breast cancer risk.

You can read more about the carrot health benefits here.

How to Store Carrots

When it comes to storing whole carrots, you can get a good few months (2-3) of shelf life when stored properly, in moist, cool environments like a fridge (best between 0- 4 °C/32-40 °F).  Below are my top tips for carrot storage for between 1-2 months. 

• When you first get the carrots, remove the carrot tops as soon as possible. If left attached, these draw the hydration from the veg and will turn them floppy sooner. Store the tops separately in a fresh glass of water for 5-7 days. 

How to use the carrot tops? You can use them sprinkled over salads or as a garnish. Alternatively, turn them into a quick and tasty pesto. 

• After removing the greens, store the carrots (unwashed and unpeeled) in a paper or plastic bag in a crisper drawer. If your fridge has a high humidity drawer, then use it. Otherwise, you can place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of the drawer with the carrots on top (in a bag with holes for circulation).

Top Tip: Store the carrots away from ethylene-producing veggies and fruits, which can increase ripening. 

Looking for how to store carrots long term? Or how to store carrots from the garden? Place unwashed carrots in a bucket between layers of moist sand, a 50/50 mix of sand and wood shavings, or soil. This way, you can store them for up to 6 months!

How to Prepare Carrots

• First, wash them: Before anything else, wash the carrots well, scrubbing away any dirt. (I do this even if I’m peeling the carrots).
• Then slice them: There are several ways you can chop the carrots, including dicing, slicing, chopping, spiralizing, shredding, and more. 

Waste tip: I like to leave the peels on to save a step and add extra nutrients. However, if you peel the carrots, save the peels in a bag in the freezer to make vegetable stock OR turn them into chips/ vegan bacon. 

• Use them: After slicing, you can either use the raw carrots as-is, cook them, or store them for later.

How to Cook Carrots

There are many ways to use or cook carrots, including:

• Boiled/Steamed Carrots: Both of these methods can cook wonderfully tender carrots. You can cook them alone or ‘boil’ them as part of a large dish, such as within soups and stews.
• Roasted/Air Fried Carrots: Roasting carrots helps to slightly caramelize the sugars within, for even sweeter results. You can get the same results in an air fryer in even less time!
• Pan-Fried Carrots: Adding shredded, ribboned, and thinly sliced carrots to stir-fries and similar dishes is a great way to enjoy them slightly tender and yet still with a bit of bite. 
• Use Raw Carrots: There are tons of ways to enjoy carrots raw. For example, add shredded/thinly sliced carrots to slaws, salads, and cold pasta/noodle dishes, serve batons/sticks with dips, use spiralized carrots as a noodle alternative raw, etc. 

How to Store Cut Carrots

• In water: This method is best for carrot sticks and larger carrot pieces. First, fill a container (we like to use a large mason jar) with fresh, filtered water. Then submerge the carrots beneath the water and close the lid. Store in the fridge, changing the water every day for up to a week. 
• With damp towels/cloth: Wrap the chopped carrots (no matter how they’re chopped) in damp paper towels (or a damp cloth) before placing them into a Stasher bag or airtight container. They should last 5-7 days. Alternatively, you could store them in a stasher bag with a teaspoon or so of water.
• Blanched: Blanching chopped carrots can help to double their shelf life. Use this method for carrot sticks and large slices, etc. Add the carrots to boiling water and cook for two minutes before transferring to an ice bath. Then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. 
• How to Freeze Carrots: You can dice/chop/shred the carrots and place them in a freezer bag. That way, they can be stored for 2-3 months and added to dishes from frozen. If you blanch the carrots first, they’ll last between 6-8 months in the freezer. Frozen carrots are best used within soups, stews, and other cooked dishes (no need to thaw first). 

How to Revive Dry Carrots

Like the above storage methods, reviving dry carrots is all about introducing moisture back in to them.

• For chopped and baby carrots, submerge them in fresh, cold, filtered water.
• For whole carrots, you can submerge them in water too; however, you could alternatively fill a large mason jar with several inches of cold, filtered water (enough to cover all but about an inch of the carrots) and place the carrots in. 

The amount of time it takes to rehydrate the carrots will depend on their beginning state. It can take as little as 5 minutes or even overnight. Once rehydrated, you can remove the carrots from the water, pat them dry, and store them in a bag in the fridge. 

How to Use Carrots

The options for enjoying carrots are practically endless. You can enjoy carrots raw, cooked, juiced, dehydrated, etc. Here are just a few easy carrot recipes and uses that I love!

• Carrot Sticks in Dips: Use as a crudites for dips like Hummus, White Bean Dip, or Vegan Caesar Dressing.
• Carrot Salads: Julienne, grate, or ribbon carrots into salads like leafy green salads, Raw Carrot Salad, Carrot Cucumber Salad, Crunchy Salad with Peanut Dressing, or The Perfect Pasta Salad.
• Carrot Slaw: Turn into a simple Slaw or Rainbow Coleslaw salad with Avocado Mayo.
• Carrot Soups and Stews: Like Spicy Carrot Soup, Matzo Ball Soup, Hearty Kale and Bean Soup, Jackfruit “Chicken” Noodle Soup, and Veggie-Packed Potato Leek Soup OR use to create a Mirepoix (a base for soups and stews).
• Carrot in Curries or Chilis: Try Yellow Tofu Curry, Roasted Carrot Curry Noodle Soup, or One-Pot Pumpkin Chili.
• Baked and Roasted Carrots: Like these healthy Carrot Fries, Thyme Roasted Vegetables,
• Cook Carrots on the Stove: Like these Glazed Carrots, Simple Sauteed Carrots,
• Carrots in Pasta and Grain Dishes: Like this Black Bean and Onion Pilaf, Easy Sweet Potato Lasagna, or Hearty Lentil Bolognese.
• Asian-Inspired Carrot Dishes: Such as Vegan Sushi Bowl, Crispy Tofu & Rainbow Veg Sushi, Crispy Wontons, Fried Rice, and Bánh Mì Chay

More Creative Uses for Carrots

• Carrot Cake and Bakes: Add to Carrot Cake, Carrot Cupcakes, Carrot Cake Muffins or Carrot Cake Cookies.
• Carrots for Breakfast: Try these delicious Carrot Cake Pancakes, Carrot Cake Oats, and Carrot Cake Baked Oats.
• Carrot Juice or Drinks: Turn into carrot juice or add to smoothies
• Blend into Sauces: Like Japanese Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing, Easy Carrot Pasta Sauce, or even Nacho Cheese.
• Pickled Carrots: Try these tasty Pickled Carrots & Daikon Radish (Do Chua).
• Clever Uses for Carrots: Transform carrots into Mushroom Stuffing, Chickpea Quinoa Burgers, Thai Pizza, and even Carrot Lox!

You might also like to browse through my entire collection of plant-based carrot recipes!

Hope this complete guide on how to prepare carrots helped inspire you to bring carrots into your kitchen in new ways! We’d love to hear what you learned and what recipes you tried. Leave a comment sharing your favorite carrot recipe!