Simple Roasted Carrots with Cumin, Honey & Ricotta

This simple recipe combines carrots with the unique flavors of cumin, honey and ricotta for a slightly sweet, amazing tasting side dish!

Want to up your side dish game? These simple roasted carrots combine the interesting flavors of honey, cumin and ricotta to give you an easy fall side dish that can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes.  The contrast of the smokey cumin, creamy ricotta and sweet honey in this dish will just blow you away! 

I used to spend a lot of time in San Francisco for work, and I grew up in the Bay Area, so whenever I’m out there I always like to explore new restaurants.   On a trip a few years ago, I met up with a friend for dinner and she took me to a place called Pizzeria Delfina in the Pacific Heights neighborhood.   It’s a farm-to-table restaurant that creates Neapolitan-inspired pizza and other seasonal dishes.  Their pizza is amazing but I was blown away by these honey-roasted carrots served atop creamy ricotta cheese that we had as a starter.   As I often do, I went home and created my version that I’ve been dying to share in a blog post!

Tips for Roasting Carrots?

• Be sure carrots are clean and dry.  Excess moisture can result in somewhat mushy vegetables.
• If you are using larger carrots I recommend peeling them as the skin can be a little better.  If you use the smaller baby carrots, not the kind in the bag but those with the tops on, you don’t need to peel them first.  Just be sure to scrub them well.
• Arrange the carrots in a single layer on your baking sheet.  You want to give them room to roast and want to be sure the heat can circulate.
• Make sure the carrots are evenly coated with oil.  Enough to keep them from sticking to the pan and give them flavor but not so much that you are drowning the carrots.

Additional notes from the kitchen

• As I mentioned above, smaller or baby carrots of this size don’t necessarily require peeling. If you look at the image below you’ll see that the carrots look a little shriveled, that’s what happens if you don’t peel them. They are fine to eat but if you want them to be more aesthetically pleasing, carefully peel them before you roast them.
• If you want to give this dish an extra pop of flavor try using wildflower honey. You’ll find it at many high-end grocery stores as well as specialty food shops or maybe your local farmer’s market. Regular honey works just fine too!
• Because of the ease of this dish and the unique flavors, it works as well for a weeknight side as it does for a dinner party or holiday meal.
• Looking for other fantastic side dishes? Check out this Miso Glazed Roasted Cauliflower or these Parmesan Truffle Mashed Potatoes.

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things you might want for this recipe

Rimmed Baking Sheet – This rimmed pan is ideal for just about any type of roasting or baking task. The edges allow you to roast things using oil, juice or sauce without making a mess in your oven and they still work perfectly for baking cookies too!

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