I bought two five-pound bags of carrots at the health food store because who can pass up a five-pound bag of organic carrots marked down to $0.99? Not me, that’s for sure.
We ate what we could before they started going bad and then we chopped up the rest in the Vita-Mix and froze them in 1-cup baggies. And now I have two big bags full of finely chopped (almost pureed) carrots.
I figured it wouldn’t be hard to find great recipes to use them in. However, as I started searching online, I realized that maybe finding good recipes using carrots wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d originally thought.
So I’m turning to you all–my trusty advisors who rarely steer me wrong–to see what ideas you have for me to help me use these carrots? Anyone have a favorite carrot-laden recipe that is delicious and somewhat healthful? If so, I’d love to have you leave the link in the comments or email it to me. Thanks so very much!
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I have a most amazing carrot soufle recipe. It tastes like a dessert and looks like it was difficult to make, but it isn’t. I got it from Southern Living.
Put is back in the vitamix or a blender and make carrot, apple, ginger juice!
Put it in Spaghetti Sauce.
I would break off a chunk and put it in spaghetti sauce whenever I made spaghetti…other than that you could use a chunk in fruit smoothies too!
Cook them, mash them and then use them in place of pumpkin in baking. They make great pumpkin ….er I mean carrot pie. It is the spice that makes it taste so good. You can also use them in soups.
Add 1/4 cup pureed carrots to your smoothies (enough for two smoothies) when mixing in the blender. You can’t tell they’re in there and you get your veggies!
I had once read a tip to get more veggies into kids–put pureed carrots (or any kind of baby food veggies) into spaghetti sauce. It won’t change the taste or the color, but certainly adds more nutrients!
Souns like a great idea & you’ll probably never know they are their. Could use for a carrot cake or maybe just in any cake mix, mabe even in cole slaw.
I also do this with spaghetti sauce and chili. Just use the equivalent of 3-4 carrots and toss it in. I feel better giving it to my toddler. I put carrots in everything. I routinely buy 10 lb bags of carrots and I keep a 3rd whole, slice another 1/3 to make cooked carrots with cinnamon and honey (I freeze them raw in bags), and the other 1/3 I chop into carrot slices for snacking. You can throw the finely chopped carrots into soups (chicken, lentil, beef, veggie), I also saute onion, chopped carrots, bell pepper, eggplant, and tomato and throw it in with some pasta. Add a little store bought pesto and you have a tasty veggie pasta. Other than those ideas, you can do carrot bread/muffins (like a zucchini bread) or carrot cake.
Here is a link to a healthy turkey meatloaf with carrots and mushrooms that I have used. It is not your traditional meatloaf, but the whole family really enjoyed it. http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Turkey-Carrot-Mushroom-Meat-Loaf-Recipe.html
Carrot cookies, carrot raisin bread, carrot soup, carrot raisin slaw, carrot orange juice, put carrots/v-8 juice, carrots in meatloaf, put carrots in meatballs, carrots in stirfry!
What about carrot cake!!!
Puree them and put them in a vegtable soup stock.
carrot cheesecake
carrot cake
carrot muffins
carrot casserole
puree and add to different soups for a vegatable serving
carrot juice
carrot and raisin pie
and I have receipes for all the above and more
This is a link to a Carrot-Ginger Soup. I got the original one from a Cooking Light magazine but this is very similar. It’s great hot or cold which is a bonus!
http://whippedtheblog.com/2009/12/01/simple-carrot-ginger-soup/
Also, I just did this today ~ mix 2-3 finely chopped carrots, an equal amount of finely chopped broccoli florets and 1 block softened cream cheese. I used low fat but plan to use fat free the next time. I added a little seasoned salt to the recipe. The veggies were not cooked, by the way. This is sooooo good on crackers as a snack, as a veggie dip, or you can get “fancy” and make sandwiches out of it for a “tea party”… we had it at a bday party a couple of weeks ago and my daughter has been begging me to make it ever since. After making it today, I’m pretty sure it will stay in rotation
How about making carrot cake muffins and then freezing them to pull out for later? Makes a GREAT surprise for the mailman when he/she delivers your mail OR take to some neighbors or even your child’s teacher; if you have small children…GOOD LUCK
ALSO…I just remembered the “If you give a Mom a Muffin poem”…you could make up muffins, include the poem and share w/some Moms?
Add to jarred spaghetti sauce for extra veggies and sweetness.
This may sound wacky, but steam, puree, and then mix it with peanut butter to stretch and health-ify (yep, just created a verb that should never have been created) your peanut butter. Looks wierd, tastes the same. My husband’s trick.
When I saw your post I laughed at how many of us mothers are alike in so many ways without even knowing each other. Enjoy my take on the same situation. God Bless, Mary
http://myloveforideas.blogspot.com/2011/05/carrot-crazy.html
I’d be preparing some in boiling water, Steamed I guess you call it till tender then drain the water add butter & salt and eat up! Also make a few carrot cakes.You could make a few and freeze what you can’t eat right away for a healthy dessert or snacky type food.Don’t forget to add cream cheese icing,to die for!!! And a dear friend of mine who passed away last January used to make a carrot salad.It was good but pretty sweet.
In france we eat pureed vegetables pretty regularly…you can steam them and purree them just like you would for mashed potatoes add a drizzle of cream or butter and some salt and pepper… you can also take the steamed vegetable (carrots, broccoli, fennel, whatever…) and add it in with mashed potatoes which gives for a more hearty texture, changes up the flavors and makes the mashed potatoes a little less caloric and more nutritional…plus my kids LOVE getting their vegetables this way….but my kids like vegetables in general… the other option is to do pretty much the same thing but thin it down with broth or milk to make a creamy soup…you can add in other vegetables (and less potatoes) if you go this route.
just wanted to add…if you “mix” your vegetables this way you need either a hand-held soup blender or a food processor…it won’t work good doing it with beaters like a lot of americans do for mixing up mashed potatoes.
Do you have a juicer? Put your carrots into the juicer along with other veggies and fruits such as celery, beets (adds a robust flavor) cut-up apples, etc. Makes a healthy, delicious drink full of vitamins and minerals. If you’ve never had this before, you’ll be surprised how sweet the carrot juice tastes.
You can use it in applesauce cake or muffins. Use one half carrot puree and one half applesauce. Add some honey or sugar for sweetness.
Could you make some baby food with it and give to a friend who is in that stage at the moment?
I add carrots,broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onions, etc to the ricotta cheese, or creamcheese/cottage cheese part in a veggie lasagna for added veggies and a thicker heavier lasagna to fill you up faster.
Here’s a recipe you might be able to use – http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/08/our-carrot-tomato-soup.html
I use them in meatloaf, cake and muffin recipes (instead of applesauce), I also make a carrot soup (instead of butternut squash) I cook in Chicken broth with onion, potatoes, celery, and parsley, puree add a little fat free half and half at the end. I serve with home made corn muffins.
I also add them to my spaghetti sauce to increase the veggie consumption.
Carrot Souffle recipe originally from Piccadilly Restaurant: http://www.food.com/recipe/piccadillys-carrot-souffle-149667
It’s delicious!
That’s a lot of carrots!! You might be able to add some to smoothies? My kids don’t like it, but carrot soup is an option. You can whip up some carrot cake or muffins, Emerald has a recipe for So Good Morning Muffins that call for carrots but don’t seem too carrot-y. Also, you can throw some in spaghetti sauce or lasanga. For lasanga, we saute 2 small zucchinis and cook up 2-3 carrots, then we add these to half a pound of ground turkey and mix in a jar of spahghetti sauce. Good luck!
Carrot Cake, Carrot Juice, or Carrot Bread
you could mix some up in your spaghetti sauce for added vitamins.
Use them for cakes,casseroles,soup,salads,muffins,and cupcakes.
When I make tacos using ground turkey instead of beef I stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of pureed carrots. It adds moisture and sweetness to the mix. It’s the same color as the taco seasoning so my daughter has no idea it’s in there.
Also works for turkey meatloaf or meatballs.
I have two secrets to tell you:
1. My husband doesn’t like vegetables. I see this as a character issue but he sees it as a taste issue. I love my husband and want him to live a long healthy life with me so:
2. I sneak carrots into a lot of foods. Everytime I make chili, spaghetti, smoothies, and a few other things that I can’t remember off the top of my head my husband is actually eating carrots. I do this by blending them to smithereens in my blender. It is so easy to hide them in anything with tomato sauce. They just blend right in.
I know that your family actually likes vegetables (I’m a little jealous!) so I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind knowing that they are eating carrots but I think it is still a good way to give a little nutritional punch to chilis, spaghetti or anything else with a tomato sauce base.
Oh and I remembered another one… enchiladas!
and meatloaf.
Steam. puree, then add to apple sauce. Dehydrate the combo and make apple/carrot leathers. You could just steam, dehydrate and grind into a powder to add to baked goods, snack bars, and sauces. The beauty of dehydrated foods is the storage space they save. Only tiny quantities of vitamins are lost in this particular combo.
Add to chili, meatloaf, spaghetti, or smoothies. The possiblities are endless!! I also remember growing up, my mom made carrot cookies. (I know sounds gross but, it had orange glaze on top….mmmmm good!!! Nothing like carrot cake….)
WOW! 385 comments already! I’m not reading a single one. Just wanted to say that next time you have that many extra carrots, if you’ve ever tried making sweet pickles, you can pickle the carrots! We made pickled pumpkin one year, and had so much leftover brine (mostly vinegar, sugar, water and spices), we decided to pickle some extra carrots we had. They turned out great! You just have to peel and cut the carrots into pieces about the size of a small gherkin pickle, and boil them to your preferred al dente level of crunchiness, then follow typical canning procedures. The kids really liked them, too. Best wishes!
I had a recipe that I used to make a lot for carrot bread (a lot like pumpkin bread) from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I’ve also tried recipes before for banana carrot bread.
try using them in smoothies, carrots are sweet and will add flavor. try fruit, & veggies, oj and if you can find them try using chia seeds the highest consumable omega 3 food out there, they are smaller than a sesame seed and taste less. I make smoothies with banana, what ever fruit i have in the fridge, carrots, celery etc. just try it its a good breakfast loaded with vitamines.
My mom always puts carrots in her chili, and it adds a delicious sweetness and heft. There’s also an amazing roasted vegetable spread that uses carrots, that I could happily just eat with a spoon–so sweet and rich-tasting, yet so healthy! http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/special-occasions/roasted-carrot-and-herb-spread.aspx
My first thought was carrot cake or the ole stand by of glazed carrots. I also put carrots in my chicken noodle soup, veggie soup, and ham & bean soup. You can also add them to any tomatoe sauce for a natural sweetness.
Roberta
Golden Mashed Potatoes! Mix as much pureed carrot as you’d like into your mashed potatoes. You can’t taste the difference and kids think they are extra special.
I am always sneaking veggies in wherever I can…shhh! Don’t tell
I’ve added carrots (celery or broccoli) into meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes & tacos. I make sure they’re finely chopped and added only to dishes with stronger flavors. In addition to getting another serving of veggies into my kids without a fight, it also helps to stretch our food dollar!
Turkey burgers! It makes the turkey very moist and delicious!!
I always use lots of carrots in the pasta sauce I make for the freezer.
I have also used carrots, onions and green peppers in my sloppy joes.
If your family likes carrots, you can often get away with substituting up to 1/2 of the requested amount for sweet potato or squash recipes. So if you’re making mashed sweet potatoes (YUMMERS), go with 2 c sweet potatoes & 1 c. carrots. They blend well, so you don’t have to add as much sugar for this as you might for sweet potato casserole/ pie. You can also slip some in butternut squash soup, but keep the ratio a little lower (3 c butternut: 1 c carrot). Happy carrot-ing!
I always seem to buy too many carrots – never thought of freezing them though. When I have carrots that I need to use I will usually make a carrot soup. A simple base soup would be cook onion in a little butter or oil until transluscent, add carrots and stock and cook until tender and puree, salt and pepper to taste. I usually put some kind of spin on my carrot soup, additions I have used include:
Cream (a classic) and top with some fresh herbs
Apple and Ginger
Parsnips
Ginger(fresh if possible) and Garlic
Curry Powder and topped with a dollop of plain yogurt
Cardomom and Orange Zest
Coconut Milk and Garam Masala
Fresh herbs, sour cream, plain yogurt etc. all make great garnishes. I never make this soup the same way twice since I usually try to use ingredients we already have in our cupboards/fridge/patio garden – my husband has loved each and every one.
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