This recipe for Curried Baked Carrot Chips makes an easy, portable, healthy snack that packs a punch of flavor and nutrition.
Carrots for Days
Last weekend, I harvested carrots.
Lots of carrots.
Tiny carrots.
I always have problems with vanishing seedlings when I try seeding directly in my raised beds, so last fall I thought I'd be smart and sow a ton of carrot seeds and then pull the extra seedlings out when I was sure they were big enough to survive any attacks from small animals or insects. But then it got cold and I got busy and I never thinned out the seedlings. So when I was preparing my raised beds for spring last weekend, I pulled out about 50 bitty carrots.
They might be small and okay, they're a little bit pale too. But I grew them! And they were perfect small carrots. I was kind of excited about my wee carrots, but Chris made fun of them and thought I should throw them in with the compost, to which I responded:
"I'm going to blog about this!"
(That's my new response anytime he says or does something I don't like, by the way.)
About the Recipe
My carrots may have been too small to use for much, but after I harvested them, I started coming up with ideas for carrot recipes and I was just itching to try them out. So I bought some normal sized carrots and got to work. Dara from Generation Y Foodie mentioned carrot chips to me a few weeks ago and making a curried version was at the top of my list.
I've never had carrot chips before, curried or otherwise, but I'm completely enamored with these Curried Baked Carrot Chips now. Carrots aren't exactly my favorite vegetable, so I figured I'd eat a few of these and give the rest to Chris. But no! These are really, really good—so good that I didn't want to share. (And maybe I shouldn't have after he so cruelly mocked the wee carrots I grew!) If you're not a fan of curry, you can make these with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you like. All you need is a large carrot, a vegetable peeler, a little bit of olive oil, and in a few minutes, you have delicate, crispy oven-baked carrot chips.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot peeled
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ –1 tsp sweet curry powder stick with ½ teaspoon for milder chips
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil mister or cooking spray.
- Holding onto the small end of the carrot, use a Y-shaped peeler to peel paper thin carrot strips. Try your best to make them uniform in thickness. You'll have some carrot leftover when it gets too thin to peel. Either eat it or throw it in your vegetable scrap bag to make broth with later.
- Place carrot strips in large bowl. Toss with olive oil, curry powder, salt and pepper. Transfer strips to baking sheet in a single layer; the edges can be touching, as they'll shrink when they bake, but don't overlap them.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes or until chips are just starting to brown. Place baking sheet on a wire rack and cool until chips are crisp, about 3 minutes. Carefully remove chips from baking sheet (they are thin and will break easily!); eat right away or store in airtight container for up to 5 days.
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I would be over the moon if I had all of those carrots to harvest. I was watching the Barefoot Contessa the other day and was so jealous of her wee carrots with a little green still attached at the top. These look awesome!
Karen says
This is such a great idea! I know I still have hidden carrots in my garden, and I need to pull them and use them before spring planting starts. 🙂
Grace @ FoodFitnessFreshAir says
What an awesome idea! Just made pickled carrots, and will definitely be giving this a try next. My friends always kid me about all the carrots I eat, just straight up raw. Garden grown ones are seriously the best though. So much flavor!
Kiersten says
Ooh, I should try pickling all those little carrots--that would be perfect!
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
Carrot chips are completely genius, Kiersten. I love this!
Caitlin says
i can't wait to make these! i often make carrot fries, but they can get kind of boring. but thinly peeled carrot fries i can totally get behind! woo!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Such a fabulous idea! Love that you didn't have to break out a mandolin and how crispy they look like they got!
Katherine says
Yum! What about salt-n-vinegar carrot chips? Would that be work?
Kiersten says
That would work too! I have no idea how much vinegar you'd add (maybe a teaspoon?), but I'd probably whisk it into the oil before tossing the carrots in it...
Mary Beth Elderton says
These sound delicious!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
Yum!! Carrots are an obsession of mine. I love the idea of making them into chips, and the added curry seasoning sounds amazing. I feel like this is a recipe that I really NEED to try!
dixya@food, pleasure, and health says
you are so lucky to be able to harvest own veggies. I love carrots and using them in this form is even better 🙂 thanks friend you are just awesome
janet @ the taste space says
I wasn't able to grow carrots at all, so you are way beyond me. I love your idea of peeling the carrots to make chips! Fun!
Kiersten says
This is the most carrots I've ever gotten! In the past, I've had some luck with Parisienne carrots though--they're short little stumpy things, so they're pretty easy to grow. 🙂
New South Food Co. says
That's awesome! You found an opportunity to write a great article! I was going to plant some carrots this year for the first time. So you have a lot of problems with animals enjoying the carrots?
Kiersten says
I don't know what it is! I suspect it's slugs, but I'm not sure. They're really methodical about it, too. Every morning I'll go out to check and there will be another seedling gone until there aren't any left. Same thing happens to beets. I hope you have better luck!
New South Food Co. says
Great I just planted a whole bed of beets! We have a lot of rabbit, chipmunks and of course squirrels. You living in NC might be the same issue? Have you tried putting up any barriers? Stalking in the bushes all night long with night vision goggles?
Kiersten says
We're a few houses away from the woods, so I'm sure we have all of those, but I never see them! I think the construction we have in the neighborhood scares them off.
Melanie says
Yum! I make these sometimes from just the leftover carrot peelings when I make a huge batches of soup. I usually just sprinkle them with salt and dried chilli flakes but curry flavour sounds great as well!
Kiersten says
I'm going to have to try chili flakes on mine next time!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love carrots, what a great snack idea!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
What a brilliant idea! I must try it too.
gillian says
how could anyone make fun of those lil beauties?!! those chips look divine, i'm gonna give these a go.
Kiersten says
I know, they are adorable, aren't they?! I hope you enjoy the chips!
Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says
You always come up with the most unique delicious recipes!! I am so excited to try these chips and are envious that you are harvesting your own carrots already!
Kiersten says
Well actually, they were the carrots I planted last fall--ha! 🙂 I think their growth was stunted because I never thinned them out. I need to get my spring seeds planted really soon...
Viswa says
Wow!! Carrot Chips?? Wow
Anna {Herbivore Triathlete} says
Oh my goodness those are the cutest little carrots ever! I can't wait until Spring arrives and I can get my gardens ready.
Kiersten says
Yeah, I was so excited to have that nice day last weekend to get out in the garden! Unfortunately, I still have a lot of work to do and this weekend is looking like it's going to be chilly. Wish the weather would cooperate with my plans! 🙂
Lisa @ Greek Vegetarian says
What a fantastic idea – I love it!! And that bucket of freshly picked carrots really puts a smile on my face. It makes me long for my own veggie garden even more.. one day!! Your photos are just beautiful, as always! 🙂
Kiersten says
You can grow carrots in containers! They have to be deep containers, but it does work. 🙂
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
Yes, you grew them so it is something very special, as well as the recipe 🙂
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Oh, I love making carrot chips like these, with different spices and seasonings! They taste so good!
Liz @ I Spy Plum Pie says
I had an overload of carrots from my veggie box recently and made carrot dip with them which was delicious, but these chips look great! Will have to give them a try the next time I find myself with lots of carrots (which is rare considering I love just snacking on them!)
How much better are things straight from the garden - no matter what they look like, it's so nice to know you grew it yourself!
Kiersten says
Yes, I get so excited when I harvest something from the garden. Even herbs! 🙂 It's such a satisfying feeling.
Maria Tadic says
I can't believe you already have real carrots growing! That was fast! When we had our garden, we'd be so excited even if we only harvested 1 tomato! I miss it! Good luck with the rest of your carrots!
Kiersten says
Well, I kind of cheated because these were the carrots I planted last fall--ha!
Natalie @ Once Upon a Cutting Board says
Such a fantastic idea! I'm weird about carrots .. I eat the baby ones all the time but the large ones seem to be hit or miss .. This would be the perfect way to use up carrots that I don't want to eat on their own .. and I love that they bake so quickly!
Kiersten says
Yeah, I'm not a big carrot eater either. They're pretty inoffensive, so I'm not sure why! But I can't get enough of these chips. 🙂