Purple carrots contain anthocyanins, which serve as potent antioxidants that can protect against heart disease, cognitive decline and some forms of cancer.
Purple Carrot recipes tend to focus heavily on whole foods and are ideal for vegetarian and vegan diets alike. Expect dishes like delicious grain bowls, vegan chili and West African peanut stew.
Roasted Purple Carrots
Purple carrots add an eye-catching splash of color to any plate, from raw salads to roasting them as an easy side dish that is both flavorful and filling.
Roasting brings out their natural nutty sweetness, which pairs beautifully with sweet flavors such as maple syrup or orange juice. Incorporating spices and herbs during roasting reveals their earthy, slightly peppery notes.
If using whole carrots, trim their ends and peel if desired; otherwise just wash and cut into quarters lengthwise before tossing with olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper for roasting in your oven for approximately one hour until the edges have browning spots.
This easy recipe is an effective way to introduce new veggies to both children and adults alike! Enjoy this dish alongside creamy mushroom polenta, potato leek soup or another comforting dish for a deliciously cozy dinner experience. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
Carrot Cake
Carrot cake is an iconic dessert, yet this unique version uses purple carrots to elevate its flavors. While its taste remains the same as orange carrot cakes, its distinct hue adds something special that sets this recipe apart.
This recipe produces a moist and flavorful cake. The oil helps keep the cake from crusting on a counter, and adds a pleasant neutral flavor that complements both sugar and spices nicely. Brown sugar adds depth of flavor that simply cannot be achieved using just regular granulated sugar alone; eggs also play a pivotal role here by holding together and providing more moisture to the mix.
This cake can be customized to your family’s taste with whatever toppings you like: toasted pecans, coconut and raisins are great additions! Enjoy an easy yet flavorful recipe that will become a family classic!
Braised Purple Carrots
Purple carrots pair perfectly with many ingredients and cooking methods, from roasting and sauteing to steaming or boiling. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness while sauteing and steaming preserve their color and nutrition.
Cooked beans hold their shape well and make an appealing accompaniment to savory dishes, be it salads, grain bowls, vegetable appetizer plates or soups and stews.
Purple carrots boast the vibrant hue and delicious flavor that make them the ideal partner to rich dishes like risotto, soups and stews. When combined with kale they create an irresistibly satisfying main course dish sure to please the entire family.
Southwestern Purple Carrots
Purple carrots can be prepared similarly to other varieties, yet have more of an earthy vegetative taste with notes of parsley and celery. They make delicious additions to soups and stews or can even be lightly steamed before eating!
Like their orange counterparts, purple carrots boast many essential vitamins and minerals like fiber, potassium, vitamin A & C as well as manganese (1). What sets purple carrots apart is their higher content of anthocyanins as antioxidants (2).
Polyphenols found in purple carrot recipes provide numerous health benefits, including anti-aging, cancer prevention, heart disease protection and inflammation reduction (3). Anthocyanins also serve to protect the body against oxidative stress – the imbalance between reactive molecules and antioxidants which contributes to diseases like cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline (4). So give these delicious purple carrot recipes a try today for your next meal and you won’t be disappointed!