Honey Harissa Carrots
These roasted carrots have a sweet and spicy flavor from the combination of harissa and honey. This is an easy and delicious side dish for any meal!
This post was inspired by my friend Arielle, who wrote a similar recipe for me years ago. Here’s how she described these carrots:
I have a few requirements for the vegetable dishes that go on heavy rotation in our house. They have to be nutritious, obviously, but I don’t like feeling like I’m depriving myself. If I have the prospect of a bland or unsatisfying meal ahead of me, chances are high that I’m just going to order pizza instead. Which kind of negates the whole nutrition goal. So yes, I like to keep it healthy, but I’ve got to have some heartiness and plenty of flavor to keep me interested.
I love her idea of using harissa and honey to add flavor to roasted carrots. The harissa paste adds a spicy flavor and the honey keeps it mild enough that you can enjoy seconds. It also highlights the natural sweetness of the roasted carrots. I made a few tweaks to her recipe and I think you’ll love these as much as I do!
What is Harissa?
The first time I tried harissa was at CAVA and I was blown away by the complex, spicy flavor. If you’ve never tried it, it’s a chili pepper paste that is common in North African food. It’s usually made with a variety of peppers along with garlic, coriander, and saffron. There are various levels of heat, so I recommend tasting the harissa before adding it to this recipe. The harissa I bought at Whole Foods was fairly mild, but I also bought harissa at Trader Joe’s and it had a stronger kick.
The Best Carrots for Roasting
I recommend buying regular carrots instead of baby carrots. Baby carrots don’t have as much flavor, but they can work in a pinch. Slice the baby carrots in half and keep an eye on them. They’ll likely be done roasting after about 15 minutes. But if possible, I recommend buying traditional carrots. You can also use tricolor carrots in this recipe.
I had something like this at a restaurant AGES ago and I’ve been trying to figure out how to recreate it and now I know how!!
How delicious! I’ve never tried harissa with carrots before, but it sounds amazing! What a unique way to serve carrots!
Hey Arielle, this look fantastic! Not familiar with harissa paste, I have the dry spice in the cabinet, so I will have to search for it at the market. Thanks for the great recipe.
These carrots look delicious! I’ve never worked with harissa before but this looks like the perfect intro recipe!
Thanks for the guest post! I need to get me some Harissa now…
Wow! Thanks, Liz! And thanks, Arielle. You made my mouth water with this recipe…reminded me of our years living in North Africa and all the sweet and savory taste treats we enjoyed there. Harissa and honey are just a perfect balance of heat and sweet.Thanks again!
Can’t wait to try this yummy recipe…found baby carrots at the Farmer’s Market yesterday and this will be the perfect preparation for them. Happy weekend!
Love roasted carrots. I’ve never used Harissa paste before so this will be my next recipe. Thanks for sharing
I’ve never tried harissa before, but it sounds so good!
xo,
Angela
Oooh. Doing lots of cooking with honey at the moment. This might be a great recipe to try!