An easy and quick carrot side dish, the flavorful skillet carrots are perfect to accompany all meat or fish main courses you might choose to serve at the table and especially it’s a side dish you can serve all year round!
When I was little, I didn’t eat carrots, so my mother started preparing them with this recipe. Her flavorful skillet carrots with marjoram and white wine are irresistible! I’ll explain her recipe step by step with the video recipe so you won’t make any mistakes in the preparation!
Believe it or not, this recipe has been on the blog since the beginning, nearly 14 years. Initially, it was without a photo, then a few years later, I added a photograph of the dish, but it was really terrible. Then I remade this carrot side dish and took a new photo that was on the blog until yesterday. After years of blogging, various courses, and years of photography and growth, it was right to change the photograph of this recipe once again.
So, last week I went back to the stove and created the step-by-step video recipe and the new photos you will see below. As the final photo, below all the text, I wanted to leave an image of this carrot side dish as it was to pay tribute to my mom Roberta who loved carrots prepared this way, in a simple way, without too many ingredients, nice and crunchy.
I’ll tell you something else about this flavorful skillet carrots recipe, which was among the most-read on the blog for three years, according to Google’s analytical data at hand. My friend Alessia and I laughed about it for years; it was unimaginable to us that such a simple recipe could have such a wide resonance that it was the most-read recipe on my cooking blog for years.
Below, I’ll leave you other recipes that you can prepare using carrots, an economical ingredient, easy to find at the supermarket or greengrocer, easy to work with, and that doesn’t require expert kitchen skills. You’ll find desserts, appetizers, a main course, and a comfort food, the carrot soup without potatoes that I recommend you try!
I remind you that I’m waiting for you every morning in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day, an unmissable daily appointment to start with a sweet or savory treat altogether.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 158.03 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 28.12 (g) of which sugars 13.02 (g)
- Proteins 2.97 (g)
- Fat 3.15 (g) of which saturated 0.46 (g)of which unsaturated 0.48 (g)
- Fibers 8.56 (g)
- Sodium 371.32 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 275 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for two servings of flavorful skillet carrots
- 5 carrots (medium-large)
- Half white onion
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste marjoram (in my case dried and finely chopped)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- Half cup white wine
- Half cup water
As you can gather from the ingredient list, we’re about to prepare a simple recipe, with few necessary ingredients, all economical and easy to find. They are, in my opinion, already present in the pantry and refrigerator.
Tools to prepare the skillet carrots
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Stove
- 2 Glasses
Steps for the flavorful skillet carrots recipe easy and quick side dish
We begin the preparation of this carrot side dish by peeling all the carrots with a peeler. Then, take a knife and place the carrots on a wooden cutting board. First, cut them into many small slices and then into not too small triangles. This cut will allow us to maintain the crunchiness of the carrots even after cooking in the pan.
Then, chop the half white onion, not too finely. Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into a non-stick pan, place it on the stove, and sauté the onion. Once the onion is wilted, add the carrot triangles.
Pour into the pan the cup of water and then the half cup of white wine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the chopped marjoram, in my case, dried and finely chopped. From here, let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes maximum, the cooking time varies based on the size of the carrot triangles previously cut.
Very important: never change the flame intensity of the stove; this recipe will only succeed by maintaining a correct and constant flame under the pan. From start to finish, we must never raise or lower it; it must always be the same. This will allow the heat not to vary, preventing the carrots from becoming mushy and losing crispness. The broth of water and wine will evaporate, leaving flavor to the carrots and a crunchy and moist consistency as you can see from the photos.
Before serving the flavorful skillet carrots, taste to ensure the salt and pepper are adequate; if necessary, add one or both ingredients. Serve the hot carrots together with the meat or fish main course you’ve chosen to serve. This side dish is easy and quick to prepare, perfect year-round with any pairing.
I can only wish you a good appetite and remind you that I look forward to seeing you at the next recipe!
Did you understand mom’s secret? The right cut, the constant flame without a lid, and the white wine during cooking. These are my mother’s three secrets that I share with you today through this recipe.
On the blog, you’ll find other side dish recipes cooked in a pan: the savory skillet peas, savory skillet asparagus, and the savory skillet fava beans!
Storage, Tips, and Variations of the Recipe
You can store the flavorful skillet carrots after letting them cool completely on the kitchen counter, then place them in a container with a lid and store them in the fridge. Before serving them at the table, quickly heat them in a pan where a little extra virgin olive oil has been poured to revive the carrots.
As for tips, I’ve written some during the recipe text, but I would like to emphasize the importance of not changing the flame intensity. Rather, stir the carrots in the pan more often with a wooden spoon or a kitchen spatula and never cover the pan with a lid. This will prevent too much moisture and thus excess water, causing the carrots to become mushy instead of crunchy and tasty. Not cutting the carrots into pieces that are too small will help maintain the ideal consistency of this dish.
Variations I recommend compared to the recipe I proposed: you can replace marjoram with parsley or thyme if you prefer. You may decrease the amount of white wine, but add the difference in water. Don’t forget that these two liquid elements are necessary for cooking the flavorful carrots and thus indispensable.
