Healthy Mashed Carrots
Healthy mashed carrots make a great low carb substitute for mashed potatoes. Creamy, velvety texture that is full of flavor & low in calories.
Our Christmas trip to Mexico is now officially 1 month away! But there’s a small problem. Do you know how many starchy, sugary, carby foods are going to be served up between now and then!? Between Thanksgiving next week, and many holiday parties in December, I’m not sure how great Shawn and I are going to be looking in our swim suits by the end of December. It’s like temptation central!
In order to combat this, we are currently off sugar, and trying to avoid carbs. That way, when we indulge at Thanksgiving and holiday parties we won’t feel so guilty. It’s all about balance, right?
For dinners we’ve been eating lots of lean protein and vegetables. One of my favorite side dishes are these healthy mashed carrots! Extremely low carb, and sugar free. They’re a great substitute for mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes. I’ve made mashed cauliflower in the past, and while they taste great and certainly look like mashed potatoes, the texture has never been the smooth and velvety texture of mashed potatoes. Solution? Mashed carrots. You cook them exactly like you would mashed potatoes, and by using an immersion blender they get perfectly smooth and creamy. Just the texture you want.
Unlike bland potatoes, carrots already have a ton of flavor. I just season them with a little butter, chicken stock, salt and pepper and they taste amazing. Plus, you don’t even need to peel the carrots, which was my least favorite part of making mashed potatoes. Just give the carrots a good scrub under the sink, and they’re good to go.
Healthy Mashed Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots, about 12 large carrots, scrubbed
- 4 tablespoons butter, or more to taste (substitute Earth Balance for vegan)
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, substitute vegetable stock for vegan
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Chop the carrots into even sizes, about 1" pieces. Boil in the water for about 15-20 minutes, or until a knife can easily be inserted and removed from the carrots. Drain the water, and add the carrots back to the pot. Add in the butter, chicken stock, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mash the carrots using a hand masher until evenly mixed. To get the carrots extra smooth, puree the carrots using an immersion blender or food processor. Taste to see if they need more butter or salt. Serve warm.
47 Comments on “Healthy Mashed Carrots”
Hi there! Could you make this ahead of time, day of? And how would you reheat if you can make it ahead of time! Thank you!!!!
I’m gonna add sweet potatoes to this recipe. I think that will be fantastic combo!
I thought it good but too seasoned. Less butter and garlic powder for me for sure. Thanks for the idea and basics how to do it though! I’ll just adjust seasoning but the technique worked well.
Why not cook them in the chicken broth like I do my cabbage ? Then your not throwing away all that good vitamin water and flavor.
Hi all, has anyone used frozen carrots for this recipe and if so did it work out ok?
They would work great! Same amount needed.
I’m not generally a fan of veggies. I just eat them because they are good for me. But these were fantastic! I topped them with some garlicky homemade hummus for extra flavor and the combo was perfect. My only regret is that I didn’t make more.
Love to hear this, Greg! The hummus topping sounds absolutely delicious!
These were really good, I added a little chipotle chili powder but besides that, followed the recipe to a T.
Thanks for an awesome side dish recipe!
Thank you, Liz! So glad to hear you liked this recipe!
Made it and loved it.
Thanks, Angela! So glad to hear this!
Hi am gonna try this for thanksgiving- do you think steaming instead of boiling the carrots will work?
Absolutely! Steaming would work as well!
So i fucking hate carrots, like goddamn do I. BUT THIS IS A GOOD WAY AND I LIKE THEM THANK YOU.
I’m so happy you liked them! Yay!
I’m (seriously) late to this recipe! But, I just discovered it. Since it’s just me, I halved everything, used vegetable broth and vegan butter, a decent helping of salt and pepper, basil, and paprika. I scrubbed the carrots, cut just the tops off, cut them into chunks, boiled them for 20 minutes, used tongs to take them out of the water, and placed them directly into the large cup for my Bullet. I used it a cracker dip so wanted a smoother texture than just mashing would provide. I put the ingredients over the carrots and let it sit for a while since extra steam in a Bullet can mean a loud POP and a big mess when you take the mixing lid off! Delicious. Definitely saving this recipe for future use. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Becki! Thank you! I loved reading the ways you made this recipe work for you! It sounds like it turned out amazing! Love Love Love!
I am a vegan so altered the mashed carrots accordingly. Basically, I made them the same way I make mashed potatoes. This is during COVID-19 and I had just made black bean zucchini patties and really wanted mashed potatoes and gravy to go with them BUT was out of potatoes. Luckily, I chanced upon your recipe for these divine mashed/puréed carrots. They were delicious with vegan gravy, my veggie patties, and peas :)
I give this FIVE stars but not sure the stars indicator is working.
I am so happy you liked my mashed carrots Katherine. I absolutely love that you were able to veganize them! They are such a healthy side dish. Your dinner sounds absolutely delicious!
I love carrot so much, I can eat it daily. And what a great Idea to make mashed carrots. Can’t wait to try this healthy dish.
You’re going to love it! Thanks!
I added a tablespoon of pureed fresh ginger and it tasted great
How many calories does this contain
Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables, so I know I would love these mashed carrots. And with melty butter on top? Oh yes! Yay for Mexico! A prefect place to go in the winter. And it sounds like you’ve got a game plan to be bikini ready. :)
What a fun alternative to mashed potatoes or yams!! Carrots have so much flavor, they can definitely hold their own on the thanksgiving table!! Love this!
These carrots look marvelous and I am so jealous that you have a trip to Mexico planned :)