Looking for the easiest and most elegant vegetarian side dish? If so, you're in luck. My roasted asparagus and carrots side dish is bursting with flavor and made in just 7 minutes. Yes, you read that right. You can have a restaurant-worthy side that's easy to prep and is made in little time.
If you love asparagus, this is a great dish to serve during the Spring and Summer months when asparagus is at its peak of ripeness and the flavor shines through.
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Food Pairing
This recipe pairs amazingly well with:
Ingredients
This easy and versatile side dish only requires a few key ingredients.
- Asparagus
- Carrots
- Avocado oil
- Kosher salt
Basil Vinaigrette
- Fresh basil
- Avocado oil
- White wine vinegar
- Fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Fresh garlic clove
- Kosher salt
Notes
I would say that asparagus has an acquired taste that some may not like, but if you're lucky enough to taste asparagus that has been cooked perfectly, you'll be hooked.
Asparagus: When picking asparagus from the grocery store, look for stalks without any bruises or wrinkles. I recommend checking out my post on "How Long Does Asparagus Last for helpful tips on storing. If you love this delicate vegetable, you might enjoy my Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta (No Cream) recipe.
Carrots: Select carrots that are firm and also do not have bruises. Before roasting, use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel away the outer skin. Use the paring knife the same way you would a vegetable peeler.
Cooking oil: Use either avocado oil, olive oil, or grapeseed oil to drizzle over the vegetables before roasting to prevent them from drying out in the oven.
Same size: When cutting the carrots, make sure they're roughly the same thickness as the asparagus, so they're done at the same time.
How to Cook Roasted Asparagus and Carrots
Whether it's cooked on top of the stove, in the oven or grilled, it literally cooks within minutes. The beauty of this vegetable is that it's very versatile.
- Remove the woody ends of the asparagus and discard.
- Peel away the outer skin of the carrots.
- Rinse under cold water and dry the vegetables with paper towels.
- Cut the carrots the same width as the asparagus.
- Arrange the prepared asparagus and carrots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Drizzle with avocado oil and season with kosher salt.
- When done, remove from the oven.
- Immediately place on a serving tray and drizzle with your basil vinaigrette.
Top Tips
- The most important tip is to NOT overcook your asparagus or the carrots. You want the end result to be tender crisp vegetables with a slight bite. If not, you'll be left with soft and mushy vegetables what are unpleasant to eat.
- Cut your carrots so that they are the same width as your asparagus, so they're done at the same time.
- Remove the woody ends of the asparagus as they are hard to eat and digest.
- Peel away the outer skin of the carrots as it can cause your carrots to taste bitter.
- Choose the best looking asparagus and carrots that you possibly can so for the freshest tasting side dish.
- Season with kosher salt for optimal flavor.
- The size of your asparagus and carrots will determine cooking time. Use the size in the photos as a guide. Set a timer if needed to prevent overcooking. Under cooking is far better than overcooking taste test if needed.
FAQ
Asparagus can be cooked by sauteing on the stove-top, grilling, blanching or roasting in the oven. The best and easiest way to cook asparagus is roasting in the oven as in this recipe. It requires very minimal effort and has a cooking time of 7 minutes.
Other Serving Suggestions
Served alongside your favorite protein:
- Best Charcoal Grilled Chicken Wings
- Best Healthy Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast
- Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings (Baking Powder)
- Grilled Ribeye Steak
- Cajun Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
More Side Dishes
📖 Recipe
Roasted Asparagus and Carrots
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Chef's knife
- Vegetable peeler or paring knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 2 carrots
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (Between ½ to 1 tablespoon cooking oil)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
Basil Vinaigrette
- 1 cup fresh basil (packed)
- ½ clove fresh garlic (or 1 small garlic clove)
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil (extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil)
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- lemon juice (a splash of fresh lemon juice)
- 1 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)
Instructions
Basil Vinaigrette
- Place fresh basil, garlic clove, avocado oil, white wine vinegar, and splash of fresh lemon juice in an immersion blender, nuti bullet, or blender and process until ingredients are combined and season to taste with kosher salt. Set aside
Roasting
- Preheat oven to 415 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Hold one spear of asparagus and bend it until it breaks. Discard the woody end. With the other end, line that one asparagus up against the other asparagus and trim them so that they are the SAME length as the pre-cut stalk. Set aside.
- Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel away the outer layer of the carrots. Then, rinse the carrots and cut asparagus under cool water. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut the carrots, so they are the same width as the asparagus.
- Arrange the asparagus and carrots on the prepared baking sheet into a single layer. Drizzle with cooking oil and massage the vegetable until they are all coated. Season with kosher salt. Place in oven and roast for 7 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and immediately place on a serving tray. Then, drizzle with basil vinaigrette (optional) but so tasty.
Notes
- The most important tip is to NOT overcook your asparagus or the carrots. You want the end result to be tender crisp vegetables with a slight bite. If not, you'll be left with soft and mushy vegetables what are unpleasant to eat.
- Cut your carrots so that they are the same width as your asparagus, so they're done at the same time.
- Remove the woody ends of the asparagus as they are hard to eat and digest.
- Peel away the outer skin of the carrots as it can cause your carrots to taste bitter.
- Choose the best looking asparagus and carrots that you possibly can so for the freshest tasting side dish.
- Season with kosher salt for optimal flavor.
- The size of your asparagus and carrots will determine cooking time. Use the size in the photos as a guide. Set a timer if needed to prevent overcooking. Under cooking is far better than overcooking taste test if needed.
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