Carrot Recipes for Toddlers (and Kids)
- March 17, 2025
- Last Updated: March 17, 2025
- 0 Comments
- Recipes
Carrots are a great food for toddlers, full of essential vitamins and nutrients, such as Vitamin A, potassium, Vitamin K1, fiber and antioxidants. Here are some easy carrot recipes for toddlers to serve this wonderful and vibrant vegetable.
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Carrots are one of my favorite foods to serve to babies and toddlers!
Why? Because they are a great toddler finger food that can be easy to hold. Alternatively, you can also puree them into a baby food puree, or mix them with so many things.
In short, carrots are versatile, and as a Registered Dietitian, I appreciate versatility in foods, especially foods that have a stellar nutrition profile, like carros.
After all, I want to serve foods to my kiddos in different ways. That’s how they learn to like them.
When I start baby led weaning, I usually start with my favorite roasted baby led weaning carrots.
They are soft enough for baby to gum and chew, full of nutrition, and flavorful.
Plus, when you bake carrots, they start to caramelize in the oven, making them even more tasty and the perfect finger food.
Nutrition in Carrots
Carrots are one of those versatile foods I always have on my grocery list because they last for a long time, are budget-friendly, and can be used in SO many different ways!
Baby carrots are a great snack, but large carrots are so affordable and great for soups and chilis!
Carrots can be crunchy or soft, sweet or savory, depending on your mood. What a benefit!
Here are some nutritious properties of carrots for kids, specifically geared towards growth and development.
- Fiber – We all know babies and children can suffer from constipation! Carrots can be a great natural remedy. Two small to medium (long carrots) offer nearly 3 grams of fiber. If your little one suffers from constipation, check out these recipes for toddler constipation. Soluble fiber also slows down digestion, balances blood sugar and helps with gut health diversity!
- Vitamin A – When I was growing up, my parents would always say carrots help you see at night. It’s true! Carrots which the body can convert to Vitamin A. Vitamin A is helpful for growth and development, and also healthy vision.
- Vitamin K1 – Vitamin K1 helps with blood clotting and is also important for bone health. Your little ones are still developing their bones. Make sure they are getting adequate K1, calcium and Vitamin D.
- Potassium – We can get potassium for more than just bananas! Potassium is a mineral that most adults are not getting enough of! It’s great for kids to start young, as it helps with so many things, from blood pressure to digestion to heart health.
Serving Carrots for Kids Safely
How you serve carrots will depend on the age and eating proficiency of your baby/toddler.
- Pureed – Pureed is best for babies and new eaters. You can offer pureed carrots (or our favorite pureed carrots and parsnip recipe) to baby on a baby spoon or let them self-feed with ezpz utensils.
- Roasted or Steamed – Roasted or steamed carrots are great for any age and can be flavorful with just olive oil or avocado oil and a little salt and pepper. This is a way to get natural caramelization from heating, yet have them soft enough for small mouths to “gum on” or chew. You can even make delicious carrot fries for the whole family!
- Shredded – Shredding carrots is a great way to add them to baked goods, like muffins, bites, or breads. You can also add shredded carrots to meatballs!
- Raw – Serving a bag of baby carrots or raw carrots can be a great crunchy snack, paired with other veggies and dipping sauces, like ranch or your favorite Primal Kitchen dressing, greek yogurt, hummus, guacamole, etc. This is older kids who are proficient with chewing.
- Blended into soups and smoothies – Carrots can be blended into soups and smoothies, too! They add nutrition without changing the flavor. A nice immune-boosting carrot soup is always a great choice.
You want to serve carrots in different ways for different ages to reduce the risk of choking.
For babies (6-12 months): I prefer to start with pureed carrots or steamed/roasted carrot sticks as a healthy carrot recipe. Keep the carrots long enough for baby to grip and hold them. Make sure they are soft enough to mash between your fingers, which means baby can mash them with their gums.
For 9-12 months: Once the baby is proficient with picking smaller pieces of foods up, you can offer smaller cooked sizes, or even add grated carrots to yogurt or other finger foods (piece of quiche, meatballs, etc).
For 1-2 years: Avoid raw carrots. Continue serving cooked, soft carrots or finely shredded raw carrots mixed into other things, like soups, stews or baked goods.
For 3+ years: You can start to offer raw carrots between 2-3 years old, depending on your child. Always supervise them eating. You can also continue to offer cooked and softened versions, too.
Carrot Recipes for Toddlers
These carrot recipes for toddlers and kids also double as great leftovers.
I like to serve them up in different toddler lunches to continue to increase exposure and familiarity.
We throw them in our favorite tortellini soup in the instant pot and chicken butternut squash soup.
Some are nutritious snack options, and some are mains for dinner (like the chicken meatballs with shredded carrots)!
Carrot Recipes for Toddlers
Need some inspiration for new toddler carrot recipes? Try mixing up your lunchbox with some of these healthy carrot cake snacks, or add a new side to their favorite dinner!
These oven roasted sweetpotatoes and carrots are simple yet flavorful. In just 35 minutes, you'll have a vibrant, nutritious and flavorful side option for any meal.
These baked carrot fries are great for baby led weaning - full of flavor!
These chicken meatballs for baby need only 5 ingredients, and are a healthy and fun way to introduce nutrients to your baby (and/or toddlers!).
This carrot banana smoothie is an easy, whole-foods smoothie filled with flavor, nutrition and only 6 key ingredients. Great any time of year, it has the perfect hint of creaminess and spice.
Vegan No Bake Carrot Cake Bites combine the flavors you love in carrot cake into portable energy bite form, perfect for a snack, pre or post workout fuel, or dessert!
Carrot Oatmeal Raisin Bars are a delicious carrot cake bars recipe made with a raisin and date puree, shredded carrots, peanut butter and oats. They make for a family friendly snack any time of year!
This parsnip baby recipe blends parsnips, carrots, milk and cinnamon for a new way to introduce this root vegetable to baby!
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is a weeknight staple, full of healthy and nourishing ingredients to fill you up and keep you warm. A great family-friendly winter meal!
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