When I’m out of new ideas for dinner I always make a one-pan meal. This easy tray bake with carrots and chickpeas is one of my favorites just due to its simplicity. It’s spicy, sweet, lemony, bright, and complex, despite being one of the easier meals to make! See the recipe video here.
Sheet pan dinners came into my life just a few years ago and I have to say, my life has changed. They’re easy to make, easy to clean up, and an easy way to get a nutritious meal at the end of a long day! You can put together any random ingredients, roast them on a tray and get a great result. When I need inspiration, I often go to the Eating Well website. This time my food blogger friend Angie, inspired me that I should roast the carrots and chickpeas. I had homemade harissa in the fridge, but I thought to change things up a little bit and jazzed up with dry spices instead. It turned out to be even more delicious than I imagined. In my eyes, this recipe is a winner winner healthy weeknight dinner.
The carrots are roasted in a dead simple (but super flavorful) mix of lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup. This trio is my go-to for roasting most vegetables. The best thing about this recipe is that it uses the carrot tops as well as the carrots themselves. The tops are used to make a quick “gremolata” adding lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. After the carrots have been roasted in the trio for 15 minutes, I tip canned (or boiled) chickpeas to the tray and toss everything with spices to roast for another 15-20 minutes.
Serve it warm with gremolata, whipped yogurt, and a side of grains such as rice or quinoa.
I enjoy connecting with my readers and if you try this roasted spiced carrots and chickpeas Tray Bake recipe or anything else on the blog then I’d love to hear what you think. You can leave a comment at the bottom of the post below or comment on social media where you can also stay up to date by hitting the follow button: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.
Ingredients
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and dried on a cloth
- 330 g (10) carrots with tops
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 1 tsp dried coriander powder (divided)
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin powder (divided)
- 3/4 tsp smoked paprika (divided)
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Approx 30 g carrot top leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1/2 Thai chili pepper
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 3/4 cup thick (hung or Greek) Yogurt
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Chop the tops off the carrots, leaving just a small tuft of green at the top.
- Wash the carrots then dry and slightly scrape (just to make it clean).
- Place carrots in a single layer onto a foil or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over carrots. Combine 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and maple syrup.
- Drizzle over top. Use your hands to roll the carrots around the tray, making sure they’re well coated.
- Place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes. The carrots should be slightly caramelized.
- Remove the carrots from the oven, flip them over and push to one side to make room for the chickpeas.
- Tumble the chickpeas onto the other side of the roasting tray, then return back to the oven for a further 20 minutes until everything is looking golden and slightly caramelized.
- While the carrots and chickpeas roast, make whipped yogurt and gremolata.
- Take thick yogurt in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whip.
- For Gremolata, Add garlic clove and thai chili to a chopper.
- Pulse to chop. Add washed carrot leaves and salt.
- Grind until it chops.
- Transfer in a bowl. Add olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice (if you find it bitter)
- Once the carrots and chickpeas are finished roasting, arrange them on a platter.
- Spread whipped yogurt on a serving plate, top with roasted carrots and chickpeas. Sprinkle with gremolata. Serve immediately.
Judee
This looks wonderful. I love the idea of roasted carrots with maple syrup and the chickpeas. I mad something similar this week too.
angiesrecipes
That looks healthful and filling too.
marcela
This combination looks so so so so GOOD!…is healthy and tasty!….I love the idea of the gremolata with the carrots top leaves…….Abrazotes, Marcela