Sarra Ina Garten’s roasted carrot salad is thick-cut carrots roasted at 425F until tender, tossed with maple syrup and roasted again until caramelized at the edges, then piled over baby arugula with orange-soaked cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, Marcona almonds, and a sherry vinegar-garlic vinaigrette. It serves 4 as a lunch or 6 as a side and takes about 45 minutes.
This recipe comes from Ina’s Cooking for Jeffrey cookbook (2016), and she does not hold back about how she feels about it. In the headnote, she writes “this may be my favorite salad ever,” and on barefootcontessa.com she adds that she “could eat this for lunch every day.” What she loves is that “every bite is so interesting” because each component hits a different note: “sweet caramelized carrots, peppery arugula, creamy goat cheese, and salty Marcona almonds.”
The technique that makes these carrots taste like candy instead of plain roasted vegetables is the two-stage roast. Ina cooks the carrots plain in olive oil for 20 minutes first, then adds the maple syrup and sends them back for 10 to 15 more minutes. Adding maple syrup from the start would burn it long before the carrots finish cooking. The delayed glaze means the sugar hits the carrots only after they are already tender, so it caramelizes on the edges instead of charring into bitterness.
Ina Garten Roasted Carrot Salad Recipe
Course: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes35
minutes425
kcalThe salad Ina calls her favorite ever, from her Cooking for Jeffrey cookbook. Maple-glazed carrots roasted in two stages over cranberry-soaked arugula with goat cheese and Marcona almonds. Four contrasting flavors and textures in every bite.
Ingredients
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2 pounds (900g) carrots, preferably with leafy tops
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Good olive oil
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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1/4 cup (60ml) pure Grade A maple syrup
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2/3 cup (90g) dried cranberries
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2/3 cup (160ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
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3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
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2 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane
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6 ounces (170g) baby arugula
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6 ounces (170g) goat cheese, such as Montrachet, medium-diced
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2/3 cup (90g) roasted, salted Marcona almonds
Directions
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Roast the carrots (stage one): Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Trim and scrub the carrots. If any are more than 1 inch across, cut in half lengthwise. Cut into large diagonal slices about 1 inch wide and 2 inches long. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread across two sheet pans in a single layer and roast for 20 minutes, tossing once, until tender.
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Glaze with maple (stage two): Transfer all the carrots to one sheet pan. Add the maple syrup and toss to coat. Return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the edges are caramelized. Watch carefully. Toss with a metal spatula and set aside for 10 minutes.
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Plump the cranberries: While the carrots roast, combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then set aside for 10 minutes. The cranberries will soften and absorb the juice.
- Assemble and serve: Place the arugula in a large bowl. Add the carrots, cranberries with their liquid, goat cheese, almonds, and vinaigrette. Toss with large spoons, sprinkle with salt, and serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Use two sheet pans for the first roast, not one. Crowding the carrots onto a single pan traps steam and they boil instead of roasting. You need space between the pieces for the edges to caramelize.
Ina says to watch the carrots carefully during the maple stage. The sugar can go from caramelized to burnt in under a minute at 425F.
Make ahead: prep all ingredients, cook the cranberries, and make the vinaigrette up to a day ahead. Roast the carrots and assemble the salad just before serving.
FAQs
Why does Ina add the maple syrup partway through roasting?
Maple syrup is mostly sugar, and sugar burns fast at 425F. If you toss the carrots in maple syrup before they go into the oven, the glaze would char long before the carrots are tender inside. By roasting the carrots plain for 20 minutes first, Ina gets them fully cooked and starting to brown on their own.
The maple syrup goes on for the final 10 to 15 minutes only, which is just enough time to caramelize the edges without burning. This two-stage approach gives you carrots that taste like roasted candy instead of scorched vegetables.
Why does Ina insist on two sheet pans?
Ina specifically writes that if you use just one pan, the carrots “will steam instead of roasting.” When vegetables are crowded together, the moisture they release gets trapped between the pieces and creates steam. That steam prevents the Maillard reaction, which is the browning that creates flavor.
Two pans spread the carrots out in a single layer with space between each piece, so the hot oven air hits every surface directly. After the first 20 minutes, when the carrots have already shrunk and dried out, you consolidate them onto one pan for the maple glaze stage. By that point they are small enough to fit without crowding.
Can you make roasted carrot salad ahead of time?
Ina says to prep all the ingredients, cook the cranberries, and make the vinaigrette up to a day ahead and refrigerate. Roast the carrots and assemble the salad just before serving.
The reason you cannot fully assemble it in advance is the arugula. It wilts within minutes of meeting the warm carrots and the vinaigrette. If you need to prep further ahead, roast the carrots and let them cool to room temperature, then toss everything together up to 30 minutes before serving. The salad is served at room temperature, not hot, so the carrots do not need to come straight from the oven.
What other roasted salads does Ina make?
Ina uses the same template across several salads: roasted vegetable + peppery greens + creamy cheese + crunchy nut + vinaigrette. Her Roasted Beet Salad from Foolproof (2012) follows the exact same structure with balsamic beets, arugula, Montrachet goat cheese, and Marcona almonds.
The difference between the two is the vegetable and the dressing. The beet version uses balsamic vinaigrette, which is darker and more acidic. This carrot version uses sherry vinegar with plumped cranberries and maple glaze, which is sweeter and warmer. The beet salad works year-round, while this one feels most at home in fall and winter when you want something heartier.
What should you serve roasted carrot salad with?
Ina says it is “a perfect side dish with roast chicken or fish,” and she is right. The sweet maple glaze and tangy goat cheese complement simple proteins that do not compete for attention. Roast a chicken, plate this salad alongside, and dinner is done.
For a lunch built around salads, pair this as the main alongside a lighter option. Ina’s Lemon Chicken Salad from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook works as a protein-forward counterpart: the bright lime and wasabi-free lemon dressing contrasts with the warm, sweet carrots, and both can be ready with minimal last-minute work.
