Carrot worms or simply dried baby carrot pieces are a great snack. We also put them in salads. They are crunchy and chewy. We use avocado oil and ground black pepper seasoning prior to drying them into the dehydrator. The ingredients we use are healthy, therefore, no surprise that this recipe is rich in rich in fiber, beta-carotene (Vitamin A), Vitamin E, iron, calcium, healthy fats, biotin, vitamin K( phylloquinone), potassium, Vitamin B6, lecithin, antioxidants, volatile oil, oleoresins, and alkaloids. If you like simple salads, check out our carrots only salad with a healthy dressing. We also mix up carrots with turnip and cabbage for great healthy salads.
How We Came About Dried Baby Carrot Pieces
We love eating baby carrots for snacks. However, at one point we had so many baby carrot snack bags that I needed to think of a way to diversify our snacks. Then I thought, why don’t I dry the baby carrots instead of baking them as I usually do. And here it comes, as my family named it – “baby carrot worms”! OK, I will give my family a credit – they indeed look like worms. Thanks, hubby for the name idea and the Patron you had that night!
Ingredients For Dried Baby Carrot Pieces
- Baby carrots – we use baby carrots for this recipe to reduce the prep time for this recipe. You can also use big carrots, it will just take you longer to cut them up in small pieces. If you end up using big carrots, consider cutting up the pieces in a bigger size and shape to save on time. We split one baby carrot into 2 or 3 pieces and then season it. When drying just know that the carrots will shrink. Also, if the sizes are bigger the drying time may vary from our 7 hours. Carrots are a great source of Vitamin A and fiber.
- Avocado oil – we love using avocado oil as it is healthy has a higher smoking point. Since this recipe is made in low temperatures (125 F), you can use other oils as well. Avocado oil is a great source of healthy fats.
- Ground black pepper – we love not only the taste of the ground black pepper but also its healthy properties. This seasoning is rich in antioxidants, helps with digestion, and has anti-microbial properties.
Buy Ingredients Online
In today’s very busy world, saving a few minutes from long grocery store lines is a treat. With Covid-19 ranging out there, it is also safer now to order ingredients online. Hence, we recommend using our “Get Ingredients” button located at the button section of our recipe card to buy this recipe ingredient online. Check out our video at the 42 seconds mark to see how the “Get Ingredients” button work or just test it out yourself. There are several time-savers in doing this:
- Save time compiling a list of ingredients. The service we use on our site already moves the ingredients for the recipe to the online grocery store of your choice automatically. All you need to do is just review the list to update it as needed.
- Save time and money from driving to the store. The service we use offers home delivery options.
- Save time to wait in line to check out. Depending on the online store you chose, there could be an option for store pick up. This means that you have ordered everything you need online, and just stop by at the grocery store to pick up your groceries.
- Save your life by exposing yourself less to Covid-19 by entering stores where many people have been
Here are the ingredients we found on Amazon if Chicory doesn’t work for you.
Making The Carrots
We use baby carrots for the dried baby carrot pieces as it saves time on the preparation. Baby carrots come peeled and washed so all you have to do is just cut them in pieces. If you have bigger carrots at home instead, we suggest to peel them if they are not organic. If the carrots are organic, then there is less worry about eating chemicals. Also, there are vitamins in the carrots’ peel.
We slice the carrots with a knife. You could possibly use a grater, food processor, or mandoline. I like cutting with a knife because I have more control over the pieces. You can also experiment with the size of the carrot pieces. If they are bigger pieces, they will be softer and chewable.
Drying And Roasting
Instead of dried baby carrot pieces, you can make this baby carrot recipe in the oven too. The cutting approach and the seasoning are the same. Just roast the carrots until done to your likeness instead of drying them. I like the carrots a little bit brown on the top. For a change, however, I decided to dry them and the baby carrots turned out pretty good in a dried version. When dried, the carrots can hold for a long time as opposed to keeping them fresh in the fridge.
We dry the carrot worms for 7 hours. We turn the trays around at the 5th-hour mark. For more chewable carrots you can dry them less. Just check them periodically while drying to see at what point you will like their taste, texture, and appearance and then take them out. Also, depending on your dehydrator brand, type, and altitude where you live drying time may vary. Experiment, experiment, experiment until you find what you like.
Texture Of Dried Baby Carrot Pieces
Equipment
We use the dehydrator as special equipment for this recipe. It is a monetary investment to buy one, but we absolutely love ours. We make jerky, fruits, veggies, and crackers with our dehydrator. It is a great kitchen appliance to have if you want to boost your healthy eating habits. The rest of the equipment is basic kitchen items most of us already have such as mixing bowls, knife, cutting board, measuring set, etc.
Baby Carrot Dried Worms
Equipment
Ingredients
- 26 oz baby carrots
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
Prep
- Wash hands with soap and water. Check out our article about how to wash hands properly
- Gather all ingredients
- Scrub about 26 oz baby carrots with a clean vegetable brush under running water.
- Depending on the thickness of the slices you make and the space between slices you leave on the sheet when you arrange them, you may need more or less carrots.
- Cut each baby carrot along the length of the carrots. Make 2-3 pieces from each carrot.
Make seasoning
- In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp avocado oil, ½ tsp ground black pepper, ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt. Mix well.
- Pour all the cut-up carrots into the bowl. Stir well until all the carrot pieces are coated with the seasoning.
Dehydrate
- Arrange the seasoned carrot slices into the dehydrator's sheets
- Put the dehydrator's trays full with carrot slices back into the dehydrator. Close the dehydrator's lid.
- Depending on the type of dehydrator you are using choose about 125 Fahrenheit degrees for drying. On my dehydrator, I chose the "Vegetables" option that gets me the 125 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius)
- Dry the baby carrot pieces for 5 hours. Then rotate the drying sheets 180 degrees so the carrots on the back next to the fan are now in front next to the door. Dry for another 2 hours, a tal of 7 hours.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- The baby carrots in the bags I have are peeled and pre-washed. However, I still like to wash them one more time. Thanks, Covid-19!
- I used 10 small snack plastic bags of baby carrots that are 2.6 oz each. One bag is 74 grams.
- The amount of the baby carrots you will need might vary depending on how thick/thin you cut the slices, and how close to each other you arrange the pieces on the drying sheets
- You can also cut the carrots and arrange them to the sheets one package at a time. Once the sheets are all full then stop cutting carrots. Then, you can spray with avocado oil the carrots and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Following this method will prevent from having too much leftover cut up carrots that cannot fit on the sheets. So, if your sheets are full of carrots after the 7th baby carrot plastic bag, then you stop cutting more carrots
- Leftovers – if you do have leftovers, just roast the seasoned baby carrot pieces in the oven. They are delicious when roasted.
- If you are using the cut as you arrange an approach where you spray and season the carrots on the trays, there might be leftovers from the last carrot plastic bag. In that case, I either have the leftovers for a fresh snack for the kids or just season and squeeze them in with the rest of the carrots on the sheets
- Periodically check the carrots to see how crispy and crunchy you like them
- After the 5th hour of drying, rotate the drying sheets 180 degrees. Basically, the carrots closed to the fan on the backside are now facing the door of the dehydrator.
- We are extremely excited to announce we are now using the saferecipeguide.org guidelines to make our recipe safe-friendly. We will slowly be incorporating the safe recipe guidelines into our recipe instructions!
Nutrition
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