These baked carrot fries are a nutritious side dish for little ones, and a great way to offer carrots for baby led weaning! With only 3 simple ingredients you probably have on hand, you can whip them up easily for lunch or dinner. (includes air fryer instructions)
This post has been written and medically reviewed by Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist).
Baked Carrot Fries
While you can boil or steam carrots for babies, why not make a more exciting side dish that all of your little ones will devour? These baked carrot fries are a great side dish not only to offer to baby led weaning babies, but to share with the whole family. Since they are baked, not fried, and made with only carrots, olive oil and spices, they are a much healthier alternative to french fries or even frozen sweet potato fries. Keep things simple with minimal spices, or mix things up with several interesting flavor varieties. Your babies, toddlers, and kiddos of all ages will love them!
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Ingredients
- Carrots - Use organic if your budget allows. They taste so much better!
- Olive oil - You can also use melted coconut oil or a neutral flavored oil, such as avocado oil
- Spices - I keep things simple here with salt*, pepper and smoked paprika, but I'll give you more options in the "Tips and Recipe Variations" section.
*Omit salt for babies under 12 months and salt older kids' at the table.
Helpful Equipment: Sharp knife, baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
Step By Step Instructions
For the full printable recipe, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cut carrots into evenly sized 'fries'. (You can peel them or leave them unpeeled, but do wash them first). For fat carrots, I'd cut the top half into 8 pieces each, and the bottom half into four pieces.
- Toss the carrot sticks with oil and spices. Try to coat them all evenly.
- Spread carrots evenly in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, leaving enough room so that they don't touch.
- Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Watch carefully at the end for any skinny pieces that may want to burn.
Air Fryer Instructions
To cook carrot fries in the air fryer, follow the first two steps as above, then spread the fries in the basket of your air fryer in a single layer. Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes, then cook the carrot fries at 350 for about 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
Tips and Recipe Variations
- Try to cut the carrots in as close to uniform pieces as possible. This will help them cook evenly so you don't have burned pieces!
- Make sure the fries are spread out in a single layer with plenty of room so that they don't steam. This will ensure they get more crispy.
- Try mixing up the flavors with these other spices in place of the salt, pepper and paprika (use about 1 tsp):
- Ranch seasoning
- Ras el hanout
- Za'atar
- Crushed rosemary and parmesan
- Cinnamon sugar (for older kiddos)
Storage and Reheating
Leftover fries will keep well in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven at 400°F until warmed through, or in the air fryer on the lowest setting.
How To Serve Carrot Fries To Babies 6 Months and Up
Carrot fries are the perfect shape for little hands to grasp and bring to their mouths, so serve them whole, as-is to babies 6 months and up. Once babies develop a pincer grasp around 9 months, you can cut them into smaller pieces if you'd like, but I'd continue offering as sticks, since a variety of shapes is good practice for little eaters (and because it's less work for you!). Avoid offering commercially prepared ketchup (or tomato sauce across the pond) since it is high in sugar. Feel free to offer other dips, such as homemade no sugar ketchup, hummus, spicy mayo sauce, or basil yogurt sauce.
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Easy Baked Carrot Fries
These baked carrot fries are a nutritious side dish for little ones, and a great way to offer carrots for baby led weaning! With only 3 simple ingredients you probably have on hand, you can whip them up easily for lunch or dinner. (includes air fryer instructions)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots
- 2 tsp olive oil, or another oil such as avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- ¼ tsp each salt (see notes), pepper, smoked paprika
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Scrub and rinse carrots. Peel them if you like, or leave the peel on. Cut the carrots into uniform sticks, about ½ inch wide maximum. For fat carrots, I cut the top half into 8 sections and the bottom half into 4 sections.
- In a large bowl, toss the carrots with the oil and spices until evenly coated.
- Spread the carrots in a single layer on the baking sheet, leaving space so that they do not touch.
- Bake for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through, or until carrots are golden and edges are starting to crisp.
For the air fryer:
- Preheat air fryer at 350°F for about 5 minutes.
- Prepare carrots as instructed above. Spread them evenly in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You may need to work in batches.
- Air fry at 350°F for 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. Watch closely at the end for any skinny pieces that may start to burn.
Notes
- Omit salt for babies under 12 months if you'd like, and salt older kids' fries at the table.
- Try to cut the carrot sticks as uniformly in size as possible so that they cook evenly.
- If you are making a big batch, you may need to use two baking sheets to ensure carrots have enough space. Switch the position on the racks when you flip the fries for more even cooking.
- Switch up the flavors with other spices, such as ranch seasoning, ras el hanout, za'atar, crushed rosemary and parmesan, or cinnamon sugar (for older kiddos).
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