Roasted Carrots with Honey and Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Deeply roasted, smoky peppered rainbow carrots. Swizzles of tangy garlicky yogurt sauce. A subtle and sweet golden drizzle of honey and festive little pistachio crunches, maybe a pop of bright fresh cilantro. Is this the most beautiful, delicious new veg to grace your holiday table scape this year? [*tips hat* ] Ah yes, don’t mind if we do.

These are not soft or overly sweet mushy carrots we might remember from holidays past. These are bite-tender roasty, warmly-spiced carrots. They will make an absolute knockout side this year or, honestly, you could pile up your plate with just these and call it a (holi-)day.

There can be a lot of buttery richness at the holidays because, hello, that is their job, but this is such a bright, tangy, smoky addition to not only cut through but really, really stand out. And a really fun and festive and special take on the whole savory-sweet vegetable thing that’s not just putting toasted marshmallow on top which, let’s be honest, really just winds up sweet-sweet (and no shade here, that certainly has its time and place!).

Simple But SO GOOD

Our fave kind of recipe sailing in here. You know it, you love it…that’s right, it’s kinda fake fancy! This recipe is so simple to throw together but when you plate it up and set it out, it’s all star-eyes and shoulder bops because it looks SO BEAUTIFUL. The flavor also feels very deep and complex with its warm cumin and smoky paprika, and that indescribable goodness that comes from just simply roasting a vegetable. Like, how is it so good?

The spoonfuls of garlicky Greek yogurt sauce are also a real win. Not only is the tanginess so perfect with the aforementioned warm-smoky, but it’s just so lovely on top of those rainbow carrots. (Yep yep, regular carrots work beautifully here too, but if you can find the rainbow ones, they’re a real eye-catcher.)

The honey swizzle on top just really makes it pop and we love crunch on crunch and texture surprises, so some chopped pistachios will NOT let you down. If they’re not your jam, maybe slivered almonds or another chopped nut of your choice. The chopped cilantro brings all its freshness and green but if you’re an anti-cilantro person (so sorry for your loss), some fresh chopped parsley would be great.

What You Need For Roasted Carrot Goodness

Like we said – keeping it pretty simple here for a short ingredient list that delivers big-time on flavor. Each little ingredient takes its job very seriously and for that, we are so proud. So grab your olive oil and let’s assemble the rest:

• rainbow carrots (regular works too!)
• spices: garlic + onion powders, smoked paprika, cumin, salt + pepp
• greek yogurt
• fresh garlic
• honey
• chopped pistachios
• chopped cilantro

How To Make These Unbelievable Roasted Carrots

After a little bit of peeling/chopping, the process couldn’t be easier. Which will feel so great when you’re trying to time/balance/manage all the mashing and mixing and resting and carving.

1. Carrots. Throw your peeled carrots (we also sometimes slice them in half length-wise) on a sheet pan and toss them in olive oil and your spice mixture. Roast for about 20 mins. A+ for slightly charred edges yesssssss.
2. Sauce. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic and salt + pepp.
3. Drizzle and serve. Once the carrots are roasted, spoon and drizzle the yogurt sauce all over, give it a quick swish of honey, sprinkle with some chopped pistachios and fresh cilantro. Get ready for some yums.

That’s it, put her on the table and let her wow.

How To Serve These Roasted Carrots

Truly, this could be the runaway star side dish of Christmas 2021. The carrots have such a unique and inviting flavor that feels so special among our other typical holiday favorites. They’re lighter and veg-forward while still feeling deeply cozy and somehow rich. Some beautiful bright jewels tucked up against your turkey, your mashed potatoes, your pile of sage stuffing.

And once the holidays have passed, this feels like a recipe to come out again and again. Maybe you sheetpan-meal it up with some chicken and other root vegetables. Maybe you double everything and make a whole meal of these beautiful roasty gems with a hunk of warm crusty bread. Will you want to put this simple sauce on everything? Probably!

So thank you, roasted carrots, for your indescribable goodness. Thank you garlic and Greek yogurt for your bite and tang. Thank you warm spices and crunchy nuts and sweet golden honey. What a gift you’ve all given us.

Roasted Carrots: FAQs

Can I use regular carrots?

Yes! If you can’t find rainbow carrots, regular orange carrots will do. But if you can find these colorful gems, they really are something to look at on the table.

Any other nut I can use?

Slivered almonds would be really good!

Can I sub another herb for cilantro?

Sure! Try freshly chopped parsley on top.

Print

Roasted Carrots with Honey and Garlic Yogurt Sauce

---

• Author: Eman @ Pinch of Yum
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 servings

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Units

Roasted Carrots:

• 1 bag (32 ounces) of rainbow carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Yogurt sauce:

• 1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

Additional Toppings:

• Honey
• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped

---

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread the carrots out onto a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Combine the spices, salt, and pepper in a small dish and sprinkle over the carrots. Gently toss the carrots in the oil and seasoning. Roast for 20 minutes until tender and the edges are slightly charred.
2. Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. Spoon the yogurt sauce over the carrots. And finish with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cilantro and pistachios.

Notes

These beauties need to be on your table! Deeply roasted rainbow carrots, swizzles of tangy garlicky yogurt sauce, a golden drizzle of honey, and festive pistachio crunches on top. 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Roast
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: roasted carrots, rainbow carrots, honey and yogurt sauce

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! 🌟

Recipe Card powered by

More Amazing Carrot Recipes

• Spicy Instant Pot Carrot Soup (zingy and perfect for cold nights)
• Quick Homemade Ramen (incredibly easy to make)
• Basic + Awesome Vegetarian Lasagna (bound to be a family favorite)

The post Roasted Carrots with Honey and Garlic Yogurt Sauce appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

from Pinch of Yum https://ift.tt/3pEs7GY

The Best Swedish Meatballs

All hail tender, savory, creamy Swedish Meatballs!

I grew up eating a lot of Swedish meatballs, and I have to say – Swedish meatball recipes are varied and they all kind of have their own personality. But after testing several ingredient combinations and methods, this is the one that I like best:

Cream-soaked bread mixed with ground beef and ground pork with plenty of salt and pepper, baked to golden meatball perfection, and finally rolled around in a rich and savory cream-based gravy. It is mellow, ultra comforting, and deeply flavorful all at the same time.

How To Make Swedish Meatballs

Swedish meatballs may or may not be something that you want to make on a random Tuesday night because they’re gonna take a little time to make. You’ve got the rolling, you’ve got the baking, you’ve got the gravy-making…

But they are SPECIAL. And they aren’t hard. They are perfect for holiday meals or dinner club or just a little something extra when you’re looking for a good reason to live your best life.

Here are the basics:

1. You’re going to mix up your meatballs (pork, beef, BREAD, butter, onions, garlic, all that’s good).
2. Then you’ll roll them and bake them until they’re done.
3. Next up you’ll build the gravy: butter, flour, broth, Worcestershire, and some heavy cream for that delicious tangy bite.
4. Pop those meatballs back in the pan with the gravy and…

HELLO SWEDISH MEATBALLS. ❤️

What To Serve with Swedish Meatballs

The meatballs in and of themselves are a world wonder, but let me fill out the plate for you for what to serve with Swedish meatballs.

• Creamy Mashed Potatoes <– I like these, obviously, because they’re very easy and have so much garlic herb flavor.
• Tangy Cranberry Sauce, for which we use the recipe on the back of the cranberry package.
• Vinegary Cucumber Salad, which seems a little strange at first glance but is so delicious and essential for cutting through everything. It wakes the whole plate up.

May your gravy be creamy and your meatballs be extra-savory and your special dinner be one to remember. ♡

---

Swedish Meatballs: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use all pork or all beef?

You can, but if you are able to find it and you enjoy it, the flavor combo of the two meats is really, really good.

How do I make the gravy?

You can use pan drippings to make your gravy, but the gravy will be more lumpy and flecked with meatball bits. I prefer a smooth gravy, which is why I like to wipe out the pan first and just start fresh with butter.

What’s the meatball mixture like?

The meatball mixture is WET! That’s normal. We want that because it makes for a very tender meatball once it’s cooked. If you get your hands slightly wet, you’ll have an easier time rolling them. 

Can I use sandwich bread?

You can! If you are using thin, plain white sandwich bread, you may want to use 6-8 slices instead to make a thicker bread mixture.

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Print

The Best Swedish Meatballs

---

4.9 from 14 reviews

• Author: Lindsay
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Swedish Meatballs that are perfectly tender and spiced, served with creamy, savory, tangy gravy. Comfort food at its best!

---

Ingredients

Units

Swedish Meatballs:

• 4 slices white bread, no crusts
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef (I like using 85/15)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)
• a few shakes of black pepper

Gravy:

• 2 tablespoons butter (or grease from meatballs)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (more to taste)
• 1–2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash of nutmeg

---

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, soak the white bread in the heavy cream for 5-10 minutes. Add the soaked bread and the onion and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 10-15 seconds until mostly smooth. Mix the bread paste in a large bowl with the meat, egg, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. When it’s all well-mixed, roll into smallish meatballs. 
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place meatballs in a casserole dish or baking dish with sides. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. (You can bake some or all — I often freeze half of the meatballs for later.)
3. Gravy time! Drain off and reserve the grease from the meatball pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the grease to a small skillet (alternatively, you can use butter). Over medium heat, whisk in the flour; sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the beef broth, slowly, stirring after each addition. Gradually a smooth gravy should start to form. Stir in the heavy cream and season with Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, and a bit of nutmeg if you want. 
4. Add meatballs in with the gravy in the skillet and cover to keep warm until you want to serve them. (The meatballs are already great on their own, but once soaked in sauce, they should get extra tender and very delicious.) Serve over mashed potatoes, with a cucumber salad and cranberries or lingonberries. 

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Sauté
• Cuisine: Swedish

Keywords: swedish meatballs, meatballs, swedish food, gravy recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! 🌟

Recipe Card powered by

More Delicious Meatball Recipes

• Best Anytime Baked Chicken Meatballs (one of the highest-rated recipes on POY!)
• Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta (pre-cooked meatballs making this ultra weeknight-friendly)
• Lemongrass Meatball Bowls (pork meatballs, pickled veg, and spicy mayoooo)
• Chicken Meatballs with Peppers and Orzo (our fav chicken meatballs with the creamiest orzo)
• Cheesy Meatball Pull-Apart Pizza Ring (MEATBALL PIZZA RING – that’s all that needs to be said)

The post The Best Swedish Meatballs appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

from Pinch of Yum https://ift.tt/2PqsWRA

Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Glaze

‘Tis the season, friends! But not the season for firm, crisp, dryish gingerbread that you can literally build tiny houses from. This season, let’s make some soft pillowy gingerbread with sunken centers and slightly crisped edges and open crackly crags of gingery spice and rich, but not overwhelming, molasses. Let’s roll them in sugar, get them baked to perfection, and dip them in a mapley glaze. Yes? Yes.

The hallmark flavors of gingerbread are molasses and ginger, so once we’ve got those going on in all the right proportions, who says that gingerbread cookies can’t be a textural wonder of soft and chewy and crackly and tender-buttery-crisp all in one glorious bite? 2021 is the year to reinvent “gingerbread” into a cookie that we really, truly love.

No gingerbread men splat flat on a pan. Go all out this year. Get your Christmas music playing, your cozy candles lit, get your tried and true baking sheets, your favorite mixing bowls, and your holiday spirit at the ready. Let’s do this.

Deliciously SOFT Gingerbread Cookies

It’s hard to describe just how good these are, these spicy-sweet little gingerbread pillows. There’s certainly a time and a place for the darker, more crisp peppery gingerbread, but that is not this. These cookies are suuuuper soft, light and coppery, almost melty in their ginger spice, with the slightest crunch from the edges and little sugar sprinkles.

And if your family has always gathered round a floured surface, armed with rolling pins and cookie cutters, fear not! Sure you may not be stamping out little shapes or battling with royal icing, making sure the gingerbread people don’t look like sorta scary clowns with drippy icing smiles, all while making sure your toddler isn’t eating too much dough…but will you miss that part? (Okay fine, maybe…these are the beautiful chaotic memories we cherish). 

But there are memories to be made around these as well. Gently rolling the soft gingerdough balls in the snowy sugar. Getting the perfect half dip of creamy maple glaze once they’re out of the oven. Going a little extra and piping tiny little holly leaves and berries on them or maybe just a few festive sprinkles. Gathering round the oven to see who can smell the warm sweet ginger bake first. 

Also, can we talk about that maple glaze? Subtle, sweet, and smooth taking these just one notch above magnificent. Just…come on.

Key Ingredients For Gingerbread Cookies

For these truly remarkable gingerbread cookies, you’ll need the staples — flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and salt. There’s a little extra baking soda in there to ensure a good spread, so they go wider and flatter in the oven. This is key to their positively clutch texture. Beyond that, let’s round up this delicious list, shall we?

• molasses
• ground ginger
• extra sugar for rolling
• maple syrup
• confectioner’s sugar
• lil’ holly sprinkles if you’re extra (so cute, so fun, so merry)

How To Make Gingerbread Cookies From Scratch

Once your ingredients are assembled and your heart is ready and your kitchen windows are fogged from the heat of your oven, it’s cookie-baking time, and is there any other better time on this planet?

1. Make your dough. Cream butter and sugar, and then incorporate egg and molasses. Add your dry ingredients and mix until you have a soft dough. Pinch off a piece because it’s the holidays, but also don’t eat raw dough, and also merry everyday to you.
2. Roll and bake. Scoop dough into small balls and then take one teeny extra step to gently roll them in sugar until they literally sparkle. Line your sheet and bake.
3. Maple glaze. Whisk together your glaze ingredients until smooth. Dip one side of your slightly cooled, slightly flattened cookies in to coat. Now’s the time to add sprinkles if you’re feeling it.

There is already so much joy in cookies and these are big-time joy-bringers. There’s just something so special about gingerbread, with all its cozy and merry and bright. So fill your jars, your holiday platters, your care packages and gift boxes, your kiddos’ eager hands. Leave them on your plates for Santa and sneak them in the night like magic.

We hope your holidays are filled with all the best things this year, like family and friends and gingerbread.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies: FAQs

How should I store these cookies?

Store these cookies in a sealed container at room temp for 3-5 days (if they even last that long in your house).

Are there any substitutes for molasses?

It won’t taste exactly the same, but maple syrup can work in a pinch.

Can you freeze these cookies?

Yes! Just bake ’em up and freeze any leftovers in an air-tight container.

Print

Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Glaze

---

• Author: Eman @ Pinch of Yum
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 24 cookies

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Let’s make Soft Gingerbread Cookies this holiday season! Soft, pillowy gingerbread with sunken centers and slightly crisped edges, plus little nooks and crannies packed with ginger spice and molasses. These are SO GOOD!

---

Ingredients

Units

Gingerbread Cookies

• 3/4 cup salted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1–2 teaspoons ginger
• Granulated sugar for rolling

Maple Glaze

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

• 3/4 to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

• pinch of salt, to taste

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses; mix until incorporated.
3. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Mix until a soft dough forms.
4. Scoop into small balls (a little smaller than the size of a golf ball) and roll in sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes; remove from pan so the cookies can flatten slightly as they cool.
5. Whisk maple glaze ingredients together until smooth. Dip one side of the baked cookies into the maple glaze and add a few festive sprinkles.

Notes

Give these cookies some holly sprinkles to bring them over the top.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: soft gingerbread cookie, gingerbread cookie, christmas cookie

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! 🌟

Recipe Card powered by

More Favorite Cookie Recipes

• Old School Homemade Oreos (a retro recipe made modern)
• Favorite Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (one word…HEAVENLY)
• Deep Dish Cookie Bowls for Two (perfect for date night)

The post Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Glaze appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

from Pinch of Yum https://ift.tt/31papP9