Air Fryer Baby Carrots are a fantastic, delicious low-calorie side dish. They have no real prep time, cook in 14 minutes and can be seasoned in so many different ways! It's a delicious recipe to pair with any main course. Zero Weight Watchers points too!
Everyone loves baby carrots for their size, shape and frankly convenience. Unlike whole carrots, they come peeled and ready to cook or snack on out of the bag.
They are perfect to make air fryer carrots! It's an easy side dish with only 14 minutes cook time. This simple recipe is a great option for adding a perfect quick side dish to the dinner table.
It's also a perfect side dish for holiday meals and you can change up the flavors in so many different ways.
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What makes this skinny?
The recipe is just carrots with a few spays of olive oil spray to allow the seasonings to stick to the carrots and so they can develop a nice exterior. This also keeps the calories from using less oil.
Cooking in an air fryer uses hot air convection cooking so again no oil is needed for a great result!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Baby carrots. You'll use 16-ounces of baby carrots. This is usually 1 small size bag. You can use regular carrots (baby size) or rainbow carrots as we have used here. Baby carrots are regular carrots ground down into the 'baby' shape.
If using rainbow carrots a bag of baby carrots is usually 12 ounces instead of 16 ounces with regular orange carrots. Buy two bags and use leftover carrots for snacking.
Italian seasoning. One teaspoon of Italian seasoning or our Italian seasoning replacement are used. There are lots of options to change up the spices in the Variations section below too.
Kosher salt. We recommend this type of salt because it is a less salty tasting salt.
Black pepper. Always use freshly ground black pepper is possible for the best flavor.
Olive oil spray. This adds very little oil to the savory air fryer baby carrots. Just enough to get the seasonings to stick and form a nice outer crust.
Fresh herbs for garnishing. Use pieces of thyme sprigs or thyme leaves, chopped fresh parsley or other herbs that compliment the seasonings on the air fryer baby carrots recipe.
How to make Air Fryer Baby Carrots
Printable recipe card at the end of the post.
STEP 1. Preparation
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Most air fryers have a preheat setting and it takes about 5 minutes.
While the air fryer is preheating lay the baby carrots out on two layers of paper towel to absorb any excess water from the package (photo 1).
STEP 2. Season
Place carrots in a medium bowl. Spritz with olive oil spray, toss and spritz again to moisten all the carrots (photo 2).
Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper (photo 3). Toss to coat all the carrots (photo 4).
STEP 3. Cook
Place the carrots in the preheated air-fryer basket in a single layer (photo 5). Cook on 400 degrees for 14 minutes.
Halfway through cooking (the 7 minute mark) shake the carrots and spritz with olive oil spray again (no need to toss).
STEP 4. Serve
When the cooking is done check for doneness (photo 6). If you want softer carrots add a few extra minutes cooking time. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve immediately.
Variations
Like some spicy heat? Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the seasonings or sprinkle on some crushed red chili flakes and toss before serving.
Use different spices. Whether you use a spice blend like Herbes de Provence or individual spices, there is no limit to how you can change this up. As a rule of thumb start with ½ teaspoon especially with stronger spices. If combining you may only need ¼ teaspoon. Here are some ideas:
- Garlic powder or onion powder
- Mexican seasoning. Add some cinnamon along with this too.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg or cardamon. The last two can quickly overpower a dish so only use ⅛-1/4 teaspoon.
- Ground ginger
- Cumin, coriander and smoked paprika. This gives an earthy delicious flavor great to pair with Mexican or Indian dishes. You can enhance the sweetness of the carrots by adding in come cinnamon, allspice or ginger too.
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Expert tips
Why to use dried herbs. As much as we love fresh herbs when cooking at higher temperatures in an air fryer the herbs risk burning. Garlic is a classic example of this. Using dried spices or garlic powder delivers the flavors without the risk of becoming bitter (garlic) or burned. Garnishing with fresh herbs when serving provides that aromatic flavor instead.
Use similar size carrots. Because baby carrots are manufactured from a regular carrot you'll notice the size can vary in a big. Try to use similar size baby carrots so they cook evenly, and don't overcook (for very small carrots) or undercook (for larger carrots).
Air fryer cooking. Each brand, type and size of air fryer cooks slightly differently. It's important to monitor food cooking in your air fryer model for best results. Exact cooking time is likely to vary slightly for each machine. This recipe was developed and tested in a Cosori 5.8 quart XL Air Fryer which is a 1700 watt machine (higher wattage). This size recipe should be able to cook in most air fryers in a single batch. If needed cook in batches.
How to store
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can. Follow the recipe as written and add 3 extra minutes cooking time for frozen carrots or as needed to cook the carrots through.
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Recipe
Air Fryer Baby Carrots
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces baby carrots usually this is the amount in one bag
- olive oil spray
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- While the air fryer is preheating place the baby carrots on two layers of paper towels to absorb any excess water from the package. Pat dry.16 ounces baby carrots
- Add the carrots to a medium bowl. Spritz with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Toss to coat the carrots with the seasonings.olive oil spray, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Place the carrots in the air fryer basket of the preheat air fryer in a single layer. Cook for 14 minutes stopping halfway through to shake the basket and spritz the carrots again with olive oil spray (no need to toss them again).
- Test for desired doneness at 14 minutes. Either serve hot or for softer carrots cook an additional few mintues.Garnish with fresh herbs when serving.
Notes
- Use dry herbs for seasoning when cooking and garnish with fresh herbs.
- Use similar size carrots to ensure even cooking.
- Air fryer cooking. Each brand, type and size of air fryer cooks slightly differently. It's important to monitor food cooking in your air fryer model for best results. Exact cooking time is likely to vary slightly for each machine. This recipe was developed and tested in a Cosori 5.8 quart XL Air Fryer which is a 1700 watt machine (higher wattage).
wilhelmina says
This is my new favorite way to roast carrots! This is going to ree up so much cooking space on Thanksgiving also!
Stephanie says
My daughter loves these! She's a huge fan of carrots and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare them. Thank you!
Gina says
Carrots are one of my favorites and this is another win for the air fryer. Love how they cook up! A quick and easy side dish is always a win!
Kali Alexandria says
Thanks for this recipe. I use my air fryer constantly!
Paula K says
All of my kids loved these!! Even the picky one 🙂 Thank you!
Nennie says
My husband loved these cooked carrots and cooking them in the air fryer makes them fast and easy.
Jen Vinuya says
Such an amazing side dish!! My kids loved it! Thanks for this easy to follow recipe!