This Sweet and Creamy Mashed Carrots Casserole is a delicious cross between a side dish and a souffle'-like dessert. It is an exciting change from roasted or steamed carrots. Reminiscent of sweet potato casserole, it is both sweet and savory. It is sure to be a hit at a your next family or Holiday dinner.
My family loves traditions and they especially love traditions that involve delicious food. During the Holidays, no one is usually following a diet or watching their calories.
This carrot casserole is based on my sister's sweet potato souffle' that she always makes during the Holidays. I hope I did it justice.
If you'd like to try some other recipes with carrots and other vegetables that are slightly sweeter, these are some of our favorites: Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, Maple Carrots, Sweet Chili Brussels Sprouts and Maple Butternut Squash.
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make mashed carrots:
- carrots- peeled, cut into 1" pieces
- sugar or sugar substitute
- milk or half and half
- butter
- eggs
- vanilla
- salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
How to make Mashed Carrots Casserole?
- After washing and peeling carrots, place the 1" pieces into a medium saucepan of boiling, salted water.
- Cook on medium heat for approximately 20 -30 minutes. You want the carrots to be fork tender, meaning if you press into the carrot, it breaks in half easily. Drain well.
- Then it's so easy to finish! Just place all of the ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender. Process/blend until carrots are smooth textured and all ingredients are combined.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes until set. Test with a toothpick; it should come out mostly clean. If not, bake a few minutes longer.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure the carrots are fully cooked before you blend them. If they are under done, the texture of the casserole will not be as smooth.
- You can prep and cook the carrots ahead of time and store in refrigerator until you are ready to put the rest of the casserole together.
- Fresh carrots work best in this recipe, but you can substitute frozen or canned if you like. The canned carrots won't need to be cooked, but the frozen carrots will. Be sure to drain them well before blending.
Why are my mashed carrots watery?
When you are draining the cooked carrots, drain really well. I also suggest placing them in a paper towel lined bowl so that more water is absorbed.
When you bake the carrots, you may see some liquid in the corners of the casserole dish. This is fine. Just serve with a slotted serving spoon and any liquid will drain off.
Can I freeze the carrot casserole?
Yes you can. Wrap securely in an airtight container and defrost in the refrigerator when ready to reuse. The taste will be as good but the texture may change a bit since it won't be as fluffy. You can reheat it in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes. Add a little butter on top if it seems dry.
If you tried and enjoyed this recipe, please let me know in the comments below. 😊. Some other vegetable dishes you may like:
Mashed Carrots Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sweet carrot casserole is a delicious cross between a side dish and a souffle'-like dessert. Its sweet and savory flavors make this an exciting way to cook carrots, instead of steaming or roasting them. Reminiscent of a sweet potato casserole, it is sure to be a hit at your next family or Holiday dinner!
Ingredients
- 6 large carrots- washed, peeled, cut into 1" pieces
- ¾ cup sugar or sugar substitute
- ½ cup milk or half and half
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Wash, peel and cut carrots into 1" pieces
- Place in a medium saucepan of boiling water.
- Cook on medium heat for approximatley 20 minutes or until carrots are fork tender. (able to easily break in half with fork) Drain well.
- Put cooked carrots and the rest of ingredients into a food processor or high powered blender.
- Process/blend until carrots are smooth and all ingredients are mixed together.
- Use some non stick baking spray to lightly coat a casserole dish.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.
Notes
- Make sure your carrots are completely cooked before blending to ensure a smooth texture. Carrots are a naturally grainy root vegetable so they take a bit longer to cook than others.
- You can use cup-for-cup measurement of granular sugar substitute if you prefer to make this sugar free/low carb.
- I would consider this casserole to be on the medium level of sweetness. The original recipe of sweet potatoes used more sugar. You can add another ¼-1/2 cup of sugar substitute/sugar to make it sweeter. Always taste first before adding more sugar or salt. It's always easier to add more of something than try to fix it if you added too much. 😊
Marti says
The recipe says 1/3 butter. 1/3 stick or what?
Deb Belsha says
Sorry, should be 1/3 cup or about 5 tablespoons. Hope you enjoy!
Melissa says
How do you tell it is done cooking? I was waiting to see if a knife comes out clean for testing. I burned mine a little. Thanks
Deb Belsha says
Sorry it didn't turn out as well for you. The casserole really should not have taken longer than 45 minutes to cook. Let me see if I can troubleshoot some ideas...
Definitely make sure oven temp is accurate. So often they are off and I use an internal hanging thermometer to keep a check on mine.
Also, make sure the carrots were drained well. If they are too watery, the casserole will be mushier and not set up.
It's possible that the carrots weren't large enough to the ratio of half and half and eggs. If you make it again, either use an extra carrot or cut back a little on the liquid.
Hope this helps.
Meg says
💫