Simple and classic is sometimes just what we need from a veg side and this easy Buttery Mashed Carrot absolutely fits the bill.
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I think mashed carrot is a bit overlooked as a veggie side. It only takes a couple of moments longer than making regular boiled or even air fried carrots. But it’s a fun extra texture if you’re serving other whole vegetables. And somehow mashing the carrots really brings out an extra sweetness which changes the flavour profile.
Please do excuse the fact that the carrot mash looks a little day-glo in my images on this page. I promise that it’s a reflection of my poor photography, lighting and editing skills and not some kind of new fangled radioactive carrot variety.
How to Serve Mashed Carrot
Any roast dinner, Christmas dinner or even Thanksgiving meal would be enhanced with some carrot mash. I’ve served it here with a simplified weeknight version with:
Mashed carrot is quite versatile so it’i fickins also good served with other quick meals. Try frozen Ikea style meatballs and roasted potato cubes. Or serve with a sausage plait and chips.
And if you’re a fan of the great sitcom The Royle Family, you’ll know that all you need to make the perfect Christmas dinner is a cup-a-soup and some carrot crush.
Christmas Feast: Menu & Recipes
Here you’ll find all of my recipes for the main Christmas Dinner event. There are air fried, oven cooked and stovetop recipes and everything from main event turkey recipes, to Christmas dinner side dishes with all the trimmings, sauces and classic puddings, plus a few alternative options and of course bonus mince pies.
Don’t miss the pigs in blankets, homemade paxo stuffing or packet stuffing balls with added sausage. It would be a travesty to not include simple sprouts. mashed carrot and swede, the best roast parsnips and crispy roast potatoes amongst lots of other delights. Round the meal off with bread and cranberry sauces then end with a classic sherry trifle or mix things up with my microwave mincemeat sponge and custard.
Buttered Carrot Mash Ingredients
Carrot
You can use literally any carrots here.
They need to be peeled and have the tops and tails removed. But otherwise it doesn’t matter if they’re fresh or frozen, big or little, perfectly straight or wonky, fresh out the ground or starting to look a bit ropey.
Butter
Like most root veg, carrots are only improved with a bit of butter. You can use anything you have that has a good buttery flavour even if it’s not proper block butter.
Salted butter is best but if you only have unsalted, make sure to add extra sea salt.
Salt
I’ve used two types of salt in this recipe. The first is just a regular fine table salt. This is simply used to salt the water for boiling the carrots.
The second is sea salt flakes. My preference is Maldon brand and this is what I use across the board for seasoning food in the kitchen.
If you don’t have sea salt flakes, you can of course use regular table/fine salt but you should reduce the amount in the recipe by at least half. Table salt is much stronger by volume than sea salt flakes.
Be Flexible
This is an incredible base recipe which you can vary to your heart’s content.
You can replace some of the carrot with another root veg. Carrot and swede mash is of course a classic – I’ve written a dedicated recipe for that (coming soon!).
You can also mix in parsnips, butternut squash or pumpkin and even potato for a more substantial mash.
Flavourings are easy to add. A good way to do this is to flavour the butter and then add that to the carrots. Try gently frying cumin and fresh garlic in the butter for a middle eastern inspired flavour. Or a mix of thyme, rosemary and oregano with more garlic for a full herby number.
Orange is a flavour that works great with carrots so try adding a little juice and some zest. Or mix in very finely chopped coriander for a twist on the classic flavours of carrot and coriander soup.
Vegetarian or Vegan Carrot Mash
This buttered mashed carrot recipe is vegetarian as written.
To make vegan mashed carrots, simply switch the butter for a dairy-free option. Make sure to choose an option which is intending to have a buttery flavour.
Make Allergy Friendly Mashed Carrot
This recipe is free from egg, gluten and nuts.
Dairy Free: To make a dairy free option, you will again simply need to switch the butter for a dairy free variety.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Get Ahead
Carrot mash can be made several days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It can be reheated in a pan on the stove or microwaved. Microwaving is my choice, just make sure to give it a stir a couple of times to make sure it is all evenly heated.
You can freeze carrot mash really well. Once defrosted you might find that some of the water has seeped out. This is no bad thing, just drain it off.
In both cases, I’d recommend not adding the butter to the carrot. Instead add it when reheating.
Leftover Carrot Crush
Leftovers can be treated exactly the same as if you are planning to make in advance.
If you want to incorporate the mash into another dish, try mixing it with mashed potato and any other leftover veg like cabbage, sprouts or sweetcorn. Form into patties and fry in butter for a tasty twist on potato cakes or bubble and squeak.
It also makes a good base for a soup. Add to stock and any other veg you fancy.
Buttered Mashed Carrot Tips
It doesn’t matter what carrots you use but it is a good idea to make sure they’re all cut to a similar size to each other. This means that they will all cook in the same amount of time.
You don’t want the carrots to be at all al dente or the mash will have horrible hard lumps in it. So make sure they’re fully cooked through. But equally you don’t want to boil them to death or the carrots will become water logged and no matter what you do, the mash will end up watery.
You can choose how chunky or smooth to make your mash. I like to use a blender to make a fairly smooth carrot mash. But you can skip this and simply use the potato masher to make a mash with a little more texture.
Don’t skip the step of letting the carrots steam for a few minutes after being drained. You want them to be as dry as possible before mashing.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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More Simple Vegetable Recipes
The Recipe
Buttery Mashed Carrot Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g Carrots
- 2 tsp Fine Salt
- 25 g Butter
- 1 tsp Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
- Put a kettle on to boil.
- Weigh out roughly 500g Carrots.
- Peel the carrots and slice off the vey tops and tails.
- Cut into 2cm/1" chunks – make sure they're all roughly a similar size.
- Place into a saucepan along with 2 tsp Fine Salt.
- Cover the carrots with the boiling water from the kettle.
- Boil for around 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender all the way through. Use a sharp knife in the middle of the biggest chunk to check. They're better overboiled than underboiled.
- Drain the water and then allow the carrots to sit and steam for a minute or two. This will allow any remaining water to evaporate off.
- Either use a potato masher or stick blender to mash the carrots.
- The masher will give chunkier results and the blender will make a smoother mash.
- Add 25g Butter and 1 tsp Sea Salt Flakes .
- Continue to mash or blend until the butter has melted and the mash is smooth(ish).
- Serve!
Sally says
I’d never had carrot mash before but when I saw this I knew I had to try it. I’ll definitely be making it again, it was delicious!
Lesley says
Simple is often better when it comes to carrots, no fuss and loaded in butter – delicious!
Sisley says
Oh you really can’t beat this mash!
Janice says
I’d never thought to mash carrots but this was delicious and everyone enjoyed it.