Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Pecans

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Every year I make a to do list of items I want to bake or cook throughout the year.  This year one of those items is making more vegetable side dishes.   As a sub category I wanted to make vegetable side dishes with carrots, eggplant, or zucchini because those are vegetables readily available and that we like but I don’t cook with them nearly enough.

So when I received a box of produce in the mail and it contained three of the biggest carrots I’ve ever seen in my life I decided that was the push I needed to make a delicious carrot side dish. However, when I went looking for recipes so many of them were full of butter and sugar which isn’t what I was looking for.  So instead of going with a tried and true recipe I decided to just wing it.

In my mind I started putting ingredients together and what I came up with was a roasted carrot dish mixed with goat cheese and pecans.   I roasted the carrots with just a little bit of butter and a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar then lots of salt, pepper, and garlic.  I like the lightly sweetened but yet savory side dishes as my husband and I aren’t big on the heavily sweetened vegetables.

I used Millican Pecan pecan halves in the carrots and I just tossed them in along with the carrots so they got roasted as well.  While they were totally delicious I think next time I would toast them separately and then mix them into the carrots at the end.  The goat cheese is added as soon as the carrots come out of the oven so it just starts to melt into the dish.

The end result are carrots that are soft but not mushy, are lightly sweetened, and almost caramelized from the brown sugar.   The pecans add a delicious flavor and crunch while the goat cheese adds creaminess and a tangy flavor.  My husband and I were both pleasantly surprised by how well this thrown together side dish turned out!

Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Pecans

Roasted caramelized carrots tossed with toasted pecans and creamy goat cheese.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

• 2 lb. carrots cut into 3 or 4 inch long pieces that are 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick
• 2 Tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 c. pecan halves toasted
• 4 oz. goat cheese crumbled

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the carrots on a medium baking sheet. Place the cut up butter pieces all over top of the carrots. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
• Sprinkle the carrots with half of the salt, the pepper, and the garlic.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and toss to coat the carrots with the buttery sauce. Sprinkle with remaining salt.
• Roast carrots for 20 more minutes.
• Remove the carrots from the oven and toss with toasted pecans and goat cheese.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe

Holiday Side Dish Recipes:

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• Creamed Corn by Savory Experiments
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