Do you love grilling vegetables? I know we do! These harissa Grilled Carrots are a little different than your regular grilled vegetable recipe, in a really good way! I have a feeling that this may become one of your favorite grilled veggie recipes. I know it has become one of my family’s.
If you love to grill your vegetables and you are looking for some other ideas, why don’t you check out this great BBQ Wok Veggies recipe or maybe these delicious Grilled Brussels Sprouts!
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WHat you need for Harissa grilled carrots
I like to use heirloom carrots for this recipe. The vibrant colors of these carrots really pop when you grill them, and with the white Greek yogurt drizzle and the deep red pomegranate seeds, this dish sings.
There are a few other ingredients that you might find a little surprising in this recipe. You have to trust me; they really all go together so well.
Ingredients
- Heirloom or rainbow carrots
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Maple syrup
- Harissa paste
- Cumin
- Garlic
- Fresh ground pepper
- Greek yogurt
- Roasted, salted pistachios
- Pomegranate seeds
- Fleur de sel
How to prepare harissa grilled carrots
First, you will need to preheat the grill to medium-high heat. You are going to want your grill to be about 375 – 400 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, maple syrup (make sure you use real maple syrup), harissa paste, cumin, garlic, and fresh ground pepper. Whisk the ingredients together until they are well combined, then set the bowl aside for now.
Wash and trim the top and bottoms of your carrots. Depending upon the sizes of your carrots, you can either choose to peel the carrots or not. If they are small baby carrots, then definitely don’t peel them.
You can leave them whole if the carrots are very small. I like to slice medium and large carrots in half vertically. Once they are cut, place them in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss the carrots with Kosher salt.
Grilling the carrots
Place the carrots onto the preheated grill and cook for 5 – 6 minutes. Flip them over when they have nice dark grill marks and continue to cook for an additional 5 – 6 minutes until they are perfectly charred and fork-tender.
When the carrots are almost done, brush them generously with the harissa glaze and allow them to continue to roast. Make sure that the glaze coats the carrots completely.
Remove the cooked carrots from the grill and transfer them to a large serving platter.
Preparing to serve
Drizzle more of the harissa glaze all over the carrots on the platter. If you are not familiar with harissa, it is a north African and middle eastern paste that can be quite spicy. You can reduce the amount of harissa paste you use in the glaze or simply not use as much glaze on your finished carrots if you find it too spicy. One teaspoon doesn’t give enough heat, and 2 tablespoons make them very spicy. We have tried it all. I think 2 tsp. to 1 tbsp. is perfect for us.
Next, spoon the Greek yogurt into a small resealable plastic bag and cut off a bottom corner to create sort of a piping bag. Using a zig-zag motion, drizzle the yogurt over the platter of harissa grilled carrots.
Greek yogurt has most of the water removed, so it is creamier and thicker than regular yogurt. This creamy taste and texture help to cool the spiciness of the harissa paste used in the glaze.
Next, you need to sprinkle the coarsely chopped pistachio nuts and pomegranate seeds over the harissa grilled carrot platter. If you like, you can add a pinch or 2 of finishing salt or Fleur de Sel, and your dish is complete!
All of these finishing ingredients are super important! First, the green pistachio nuts and red pomegranate seeds add a pop of color to this great side dish. The salt really brings out the flavors of the dish! Secondly, the ingredients add a wonderful crunchy texture and flair to this carrot dish.
Carrots, not just a side dish
More and more, we see grilled veggies becoming the star of the dinner plate! Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, squash, zucchini, potato, and even asparagus are so good when you cook them on the grill.
There are so many options with veggies these days. We always do our weekly menu planning and slot in at least one vegetarian meal a week.
When cooking vegetables on the grill, you can use a grill basket or BBQ wok. This is the perfect tool for grilling small veggies like sliced onions so they don’t fall through the grates of your BBQ. It works great whether you are grilling over a charcoal grill or a gas grill. If you don’t have a BBQ wok, you can always use a foil packet to grill your veggies.
Look at that delicious bite! Don’t you just want to try it right now?!
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Harissa Grilled Carrots
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs medium rainbow carrots washed, trimmed, and cut in half lengthwise
- 2 Tbsp Olive oil plus more for drizzling
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp harissa paste use less harissa paste if you don’t want it too spicy
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 cloves garlic finely grated
- Fresh ground pepper
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup roasted salted pistachios, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- Flaky salt for sprinkling as garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to medium-hot, about 375 – 400 degrees F.
- Combine the 2 Tbsp of olive oil, maple syrup, harissa, cumin, grated garlic, and fresh ground pepper in a small bowl. Whisk to make sure everything is well blended. Set aside.
- Put the carrots in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
- Sprinkle with Kosher salt and toss to coat.
- Place the carrots on the grill and cook for 5–6 minutes, flip and continue to cook on the grill for an additional 5 – 6 minutes until fork tender and nicely charred.
- When the carrots are almost done, brush with the harissa glaze.
- Remove the carrots from the grill and transfer them to a serving platter.
- Drizzle with additional harissa glaze followed by a drizzle of Greek yogurt. (I spoon the yogurt into a small bag and clip the corner with scissors to drizzle the yogurt).
- Finish with the chopped pistachios and a pinch or two of flaky salt (fleur de sel) if using.
Just made these for the second time last night to go with a Middle Eastern Roast Chicken. These are fast becoming a favorite! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I wasn’t able to find heirloom carrots so used regular old carrots (from Canada!). Also, too cold for grilling so did them both times in my cast iron pan in the oven. I added the glaze when they were almost done. Everything else, I followed to a T. Yum! Look forward to trying them on the grill when it warms up a bit.
So glad you like them! Thanks.