Air Fryer Recipe
Rosemary Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots
A delicious and easy-to-make rosemary and honey-glazed roasted carrots recipe, perfect for air frying.
Ingredients
- 500g carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Peel and cut carrots into sticks of uniform size.
- Preheat air fryer to 200°C (approximately 400°F).
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together honey, olive oil, and chopped rosemary. Add salt and pepper.
- Toss carrot sticks in the glaze until evenly coated.
- Place glazed carrots in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Cook at 200°C for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
- Check carrots for tenderness; they should be soft with a crispy outer layer.
- Remove from air fryer, transfer to a serving dish, garnish with rosemary and drizzle with honey.
Why this works in an air fryer
Air-fryer convection rapidly dries the carrot surfaces while the oil helps conduct heat and carry rosemary flavour. Honey contains sugars that brown quickly, so a thin, even coating gives caramelised edges before the carrot centres overcook; uniform sticks keep water loss and tenderness consistent.
Equipment notes
Assumes a 4-6 litre basket holding 500g carrots in one loose layer; in a single-drawer fryer, use the hottest central area and shake well, while dual-zone models often run slightly cooler per drawer, so split the batch evenly and add 2-4 minutes if colour is slow.
Common pitfalls
- Carrots look wet and steamed at minute 10? The basket is overcrowded or the sticks are too thick; cook in two batches or spread them out and add 3-5 minutes.
- Honey is darkening before the carrots are tender? The glaze is too thick or sitting in puddles; toss off excess glaze, drop to 180°C and continue until a knife slides in.
- Rosemary tastes burnt and bitter? The chopped leaves were too fine or exposed on the surface; use coarser chopped rosemary next time and shake earlier to move herbs off the hottest edges.
- Pale carrots with soft centres? There is not enough surface oil or the carrots went in damp; pat them dry before glazing and finish with 2-3 minutes at 200°C after shaking.
Variations & substitutions
- Use maple syrup instead of honey for a less sticky glaze; it browns a little more evenly but gives a darker, toffee-like finish.
- Swap rosemary for thyme; the smaller leaves cling more closely, so check earlier for scorching around the basket edges.
- Add a pinch of chilli flakes; they toast in the oil, so use lightly and shake halfway to prevent hot spots of heat.
- Use parsnips with the carrots; parsnips brown faster because they are starchier, so cut them slightly thicker than the carrots.
Storage & reheating
Keep chilled in an airtight container for up to 3 days, then reheat in the air fryer at 180°C for 4-6 minutes, shaking once, until hot and lightly re-crisped.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
