Easy Air Fryer Carrots With Garlic Butter

One of my biggest challenges when serving veggies to my family is finding recipes they’ll actually eat (and not complain about it the whole time!). I definitely hit the jackpot with these yummy air fryer carrots with garlic butter. The air fryer will magically give the carrots a bit of char and a tender-crisp texture. The garlic butter is the finisher that makes these carrots totally bingeable.

If you are here, it most likely means you have been cooking with your Air Fryer. We used our Instant Vortex 7 in 1 this time, but this works great in a basket style like the NuWave or the Ninja as well. Easy peasy.

We can’t get enough of our favorite kitchen gadget as it just makes cooking so much easier and my husband declares “so much fun!” If you are looking for a simple vegetable recipe, try this!

It’s actually ridiculous how inexpensive and easy this is to make (carrots are cheap!). And this works for other root veggies like parsnips.

🥕 ‌Ingredients‌ 

The ingredients are super simple! I wanted to take a second to talk with you about the main ingredients. Let’s take a look:

✅Carrots – You can’t have this recipe without the main ingredient! I chose a bag of the rainbow carrots because they looked fun and taste fabulous.

✅Minced garlic – We used one garlic clove. It doesn’t take much to get that great flavor. You may not realize it, but garlic is filled with vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese. It’s more than a delicious ingredient. Try my garlic broccoli stir fry, if you really enjoy garlic.

✅Melted butter – I usually use unsalted butter when I am cooking or baking. It yields better results.

✅Fresh parsley – This is optional, but it adds a lovely touch of freshness to the garlic butter that really ties this dish. So don’t skip it if you have it!

🍽️ Instructions  

This side dish is so easy and delish!

👉Step 1: Heat the Air Fryer to 390 degrees. 

👉Step 2: Cut the carrots into long thin strips like matchsticks. Spray a little bit of olive oil on the carrot sticks and put them in the Air Fryer for 10 minutes.

Check at the halfway point and turn over. Depending on how thick you cut them, they may need an additional 1-2 minutes. 

👉Step 3: While the carrots are cooking, melt the butter and combine with minced garlic and fresh parsley. When the carrots are done, add them to a bowl and drizzle them with the butter mixture. 

Note: I tend to cook these in a single layer. If you have a front-loading version of the Air Fryer, you will have enough room to cook two trays worth, which should be good for 3-4 people. For the basket models, you have two choices. You can either add all the carrots to the basket and cook for a bit longer, turning them half way through, or you can make the carrots in two batches.

Normally, I don’t stack in the Air Fryer but it works for these carrots and they are forgiving!

🔄 Variations & Substitutions 

🔸You can do several things to make these slightly different each time! 

🔸Replace the garlic with your favorite herb mixture like rosemary and thyme. We keep these growing in the garden and we cut off some fresh sprigs to add to dishes.

🔸Toss carrots with a little balsamic vinegar. This adds an amazing tangy flavor. 

🔸Drizzle a little warm honey over the carrots in place of the butter. 

🔸Replace the regular carrots with small baby carrots.  These usually have a higher water content, so it may take a little extra time to cook. 

🍽️ Serving Ideas

These air fryer carrots with garlic butter are so versatile. They go with just about anything!

My absolute favorite way to serve them is as a fast and elegant side dish with these air fryer Cornish hens. Since both are made in the air fryer, it makes for an incredibly easy meal with almost no cleanup!

They’re also the perfect, quick side for a simple weeknight dinner like:

• A juicy steak or pork chops (try my fast and easy air fryer NY strip steaks).
• Baked or grilled chicken breasts
• Flaky baked salmon (or go for the air fryer salmon for a quicker meal)

🍲 Meal Prep Ideas

I love to meal prep as much as possible and hope you have learned a thing or two in the Meal Prep 101! These can be made even easier if you do a couple of things ahead of time: 

✔️Cut up the carrots and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

✔️Prep the butter, garlic, and parsley the night before so you simply grab the cup and microwave. There is no need to mince or prepare these while you are cooking.  It is so much better to prep them ahead of time.

✔️Get the Air Fryer out and ready for use. I also like to find my favorite tongs and have them on hand. 

❓ FAQ

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