Baked Horseradish Carrots

These easy Baked Horseradish Carrots have a surprisingly different yet delightfully zesty and delicious combination of flavors that’ll have you coming back for more!

this recipe

If you love horseradish (and maybe even if you think you don’t), this side dish will make your taste buds very happy. Carrots never tasted so good!

Friends, you’ve got to give this one a chance.

I know that pairing carrots and horseradish may sound odd (and there’s mayonnaise too). It sure did to me when I first saw the recipe in one of my community/church cookbooks.

But, at the same time, I was very intrigued.

After all, recipes to jazz up carrots are so often on the sweet side (like my Maple Glazed Carrots with Ginger and Pecans). But I’m also a big fan of savory dishes, and these baked carrots with horseradish sounded so unusual.

Plus, at the time, I just so happened to have a bunch of carrots and some horseradish in my refrigerator that I had been wanting to use up.

I just had to try them, and so I got right to cooking. I served them with my Butter-Baked Haddock for dinner, and WOW, were they yummy!

The carrots were slightly sweet and tender. The horseradish sauce was thick, creamy and full of zingy flavor. And it was all topped off with buttery, crunchy, golden brown cracker crumbs.

We loved it so much that David and I ate every last carrot in one sitting (the recipe is for 4 to 6 servings), and we still wanted more!

Ingredients You Need:

Note: Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Cooking spray
• Fresh carrots
• Mayonnaise
• Prepared horseradish
• Onion
• Round buttery crackers (such as Ritz)
• Butter
• Salt
• Black pepper

Note: The above video is just a brief overview of the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full printable recipe with detailed instructions.

Recipe Tips & Tidbits:

• Fresh carrots are best for this dish, but I suppose you could use frozen or canned carrots in a pinch (I have not tried those myself).
• Be sure to use regular prepared white horseradish rather than creamy-style horseradish for the best horseradish flavor (and feel free to adjust the amount to suit your own personal tastes).
• Want to make it gluten-free? Use gluten-free crackers or breadcrumbs, and just make sure the mayonnaise is also gluten-free (most are, but check the label just to be sure).
• If you don’t have any Ritz-type crackers on hand, try saltines or another type of cracker that you enjoy or use breadcrumbs (regular or panko), crushed cornflakes or even French-fried onions.
• Although I haven’t tried it (yet), you could probably also add a little shredded cheese like cheddar or parmesan to the sauce mixture for a different twist. I’d say maybe ¼ to ½ cup.

Make-Ahead, Leftovers and Freezing:

• Make-Ahead: Not recommended. This dish is best when freshly made rather than being cooked ahead and then reheated.
  • That being said, I suppose you could get a jump on things by boiling the carrots, draining them, mixing them with the sauce, letting it all cool and then storing it covered in the refrigerator.
  • Then, when ready to serve, put the carrots and sauce in the baking dish, top with the breadcrumb mixture and bake (it make take a bit longer since the carrots will be cold going into the oven).
• Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days (if you made it ahead, take that time into account).
  • To reheat, place in an oven-safe dish, cover with foil and bake at 325°F just until heated through. Remove the foil during the last several minutes to help the cracker crumbs crisp up a bit.
• Freezing: Not recommended. The texture of carrots changes when frozen (to me, they get a little mushy yet kind of rubbery) and the breadcrumbs would get soggy.

This zippy carrot casserole would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving or holiday dinner…or any dinner any day of the year.

And if you’re like me and you love raw carrots but cooked carrots have never been your favorite, these just might change all that (they did it for me)!

Be sure to check out my Side Dishes page for lots more simple and delicious side dish ideas.

I hope you try this Baked Horseradish Carrots recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes You Might Like…

• Oven-Roasted Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Easy Cheesy Creamed Corn
• Sautéed Peas and Pearl Onions
• Easy Green Bean Casserole (No Canned Soup)
• Yellow Squash Casserole

If you make this recipe, I’d love to know how it went! Please leave a star rating and comment below. Thanks!

Baked Horseradish Carrots

These easy Baked Horseradish Carrots have a surprisingly different yet delightful and delicious combination of flavors that'll have you coming back for more!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Rate/Comment Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 to 6 (as a side dish; 1 cup to ¾ cup each)

Calories: 357

Author: Michelle / Now Cook This!

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Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 1½ pounds fresh carrots, peeled and sliced about ¼ inch thick (about 4 cups sliced carrots total)
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (white), or to taste
• 2 tablespoons finely minced onion
• ½ cup crushed buttery round crackers, such as Ritz (about 12 crackers)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt, (I use kosher salt), or to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Spray an 8x8x2-inch (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place the carrots in a medium saucepan (I use a 3-quart pot) and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes
• Remove ¼ cup of the cooking liquid from the pot; set aside.
• Drain the carrots; place them in the prepared baking dish.
• In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, horseradish, onions, reserved cooking liquid, salt, and pepper until well-combined and smooth; set aside.

  To save time, you can do this step while the carrots are cooking.
• Pour the horseradish mixture over the carrots in the baking dish; stir to coat the carrots.
• In a small bowl, mix the crushed crackers and the melted butter until well-combined.

  To save time, you can do this step while the carrots are cooking.
• Sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the carrots in the baking dish.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

  The sauce will be quite thin at first, but it will thicken up considerably as it cooks in the oven.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
  • To reheat, place in an oven-safe dish, cover with foil and bake at 325°F just until heated through. Remove the foil during the last several minutes to help the cracker crumbs crisp up a bit.
• Estimated calories shown is based on 4 servings. It would be 238 based on 6 servings.

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