I’m serving up these Oven Roasted Mexican Carrots elote style. Similar to how you’d dress grilled street corn, these delicious tender carrots are topped with lime, crumbled cheese, jalapenos and cilantro. So crazy good!
I’m trying to remember back to the first time I tried Mexican Street Corn … I can’t recall exactly when it was, but I do know that I was instantly hooked.
Grilled corn that’s slathered in a tangy cream sauce and sprinkled with chili powder, cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. Really, it’s hard for me to eat corn on the cob any other way now. I love it so much that I even made it into these Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos.
In an effort to get even more street corn flavor into my life I came up with the idea of topping roasted carrots with all those same flavors going on – chili powder, cumin, tangy lime juice, creamy cotija cheese and spicy jalapenos. And as much as I love glazed carrots, these have taken over reign in our house.
I mean, these are so good you guys!
Ingredients needed
- Carrots – I like to look for small to medium carrots, since they tend to be sweeter and more tender.
- Olive Oil
- Spices – Chili powder (or, try one of these chili powder substitutes), cumin, salt & pepper
- Lime Juice
- Jalapeno – This is optional. You can also use serrano pepper for more heat.
- Garlic
- Honey
- Fresh Cilantro
- Cotija Cheese – Or, queso fresco, parmesan or feta.
How to make Mexican carrots
- Peel the carrots and cut them in half lengthwise.
- Arrange the carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, toss with chili powder and cumin, and season with salt & pepper.
- Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, combine lime juice, jalapeno, garlic and honey in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Arrange carrots on a serving platter and drizzle with sauce.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and crumbled cheese.
- Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Note: I’m roasting these carrots in the oven, since we don’t happen to have a grill at the moment. But these would also be amazing thrown on a hot grill. They’ll get nice and smoky and caramelized.
How long do you roast carrots in the oven?
- Roast carrots 15-20 minutes at 450-degrees. When carrots are done, they will pierce easily with a fork.
How to make ahead & store
You can roast the carrots up to three days ahead of time. When you’re ready to eat, you can serve them at room temperature, or pop them in the microwave for about 1 minute. Then, top them with the sauce and cheese and enjoy!
Wine pairings
- Try a creamy, fruit forward Viognier or unoaked Chardonnay. Fruit-forward, with a bit of body to them, they stand up nicely to the spices on the carrots.
More roasted vegetable recipes
- Roasted Miso Cauliflower
- Roasted Delicata Squash
- Roasted Fennel Pasta with Ricotta
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Reduction & Cranberries
- Roasted Broccoli with Garlic & Basil Tahini Sauce
More street corn inspired recipes
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos
- Mexican Street Corn Soup
- Mexican Street Corn Salad with Pearl Couscous
- Corn Queso
Did you try these Mexican Roasted Carrots?
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Mexican Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds small to medium carrots (peeled and halved lengthwise)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 1 jalapeno (thinly sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 2 ounces cotija (queso fresco, parmesan or feta, crumbled)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
- Arrange carrots on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, toss with chili powder and cumin, and season with salt & pepper.
- Roast 15-20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, combine lime juice, jalapeno, garlic and honey in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Arrange carrots on a serving platter and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and crumbled cheese.
- Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2020. It was updated in 2023 to add new information. The elote style carrots recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Check out the Mexican carrots side dish web story here.
This combination is genius! Looks like an amazing side dish. I can’t wait to try it (especially with one of my favorite chardonnays!).
Such a yummy pairing Mary!
It’s like you’re reading my mind! I’ve been loving this seasoning I got that’s basically a Mexican street corn seasoning, so these carrots are right up my alley. The sauce sounds delicious, too! Can’t wait to try this!
I LOVE Mexican Street Corn, and I love roasted carrots! What a delicious and flavorful combination!
Delicious! Made the Carrots for dinner tonight. Next time I would use two seeded Jalapeños because they tasted so good with the carrots and toppings. I let the jalapeños marinate in the lime juice mixture while the carrots cooked. I added a little more honey to balance the lime juice.
Omgosh, just served this with dinner and we’re both so impressed and looking forward to making it again this week! I never knew carrots had such potential!
These were so easy and SO delicious! My 17 year old son’s review: “Those carrots are FIRE.”
I love comments like this. Thanks Rebecca!!!
These we really, really delicious! I could eat them every day! Yum!
These carrots were amazing! The carrots themselves were great and the sauce made them the most delicious carrots I have ever had – smokey, a tad spicy and the acid from the lime juice and the creamy tangy cheese, omg, I will make these forever.
I had a 12 oz. bag of baby carrots to use up, and found this recipe to serve alongside a healthy Mexican chicken bake and brown rice. I used freeze dried cilantro and feta because that’s what I had, and subbed cayenne pepper for the jalapeno. I baked the carrots earlier in the day, then reheated them and added the sauce and cheese as directed at dinner time. It was delicious, and even positively received by my hubby who is not a fan of cooked carrots!
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you!