Smoky Glazed Carrot Dogs
5 from 2 votes

These smoky, glazed carrot dogs are topped with a bright green, herbaceous tahini sauce for flavor and color contrast. They’re a fun, creative, and crowd-pleasing dish to serve at summer cookouts and are easy to prepare.

A white plate holds roasted carrots that have been arranged in hot dog buns and topped with a green sauce.

I’ve been thinking about Fourth of July recipes that I would share if I weren’t socially distancing, which I still will be late next week, as NYC moves further into phase 2 of reopening.

It’ll be a different long weekend than usual this year, but just as I observed my birthday with birthday cake and my mother’s birthday with carrot cake, I’ll still make it a long weekend of festive, summery recipes.

Including these sweet and smoky glazed carrot dogs included.

This was my first time making carrot dogs, a recipe I’ve seen a bunch of times and mentally bookmarked to try myself.

I love carrots, and while I’m a big fan of vegan hot dogs—and vegan meats in general—I smiled at the idea of this veggie-forward version of the classic cookout dish.

I was really happy with the way that the carrot dogs turned out. While I probably won’t forgo the meatier versions anytime soon, I’m happy to add these into my rotation.

How to Make Vegan Carrot Dogs

Making a carrot dog is as simple as putting a cooked carrot into a hot dog bun. The fun is in how you season, cook, and garnish the carrot!

I wanted to make carrots that were flavorful, but not so boldly flavored that they couldn’t be enhanced by a vibrant sauce.

I got inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s sweet and smoky roasted carrots on Food52, which I’ve had bookmarked. In that recipe, the carrts are served as a centerpiece, on a bed of Greek yogurt.

I figured that an adapted version would taste pretty great with an herbaceous sauce, to offer some contrast to the smoky notes.

Roasted carrots are resting on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Smoky Glazed Carrot Dog Ingredients

The marinade here is a mix of cider vinegar, vegetable oil, smoked paprika (and plenty of it), Bragg’s liquid aminos, and maple syrup.

The sauce could be modified in a lot of ways: white vinegar could work in place of cider, tamari could replace liquid aminos, and agave could stand in for maple syrup. If you have liquid smoke at home, that’ll work in place of the smoked paprika.

I used 8 medium sized carrots, which was about a pound and a quarter. You’ll probably have some marinade leftover as you roast the carrots, but it’s better to have a little leftover than to run out.

Light brown buns have been filled with glazed, roasted root vegetables. They're topped with green sauce and some fresh herbs.

How to Serve Carrot Dogs

Once the carrot dogs have finished roasting, enjoying them is as easy as toasting and splitting some hot dog buns! But they can be enhanced and made more colorful and fun to eat with a killer sauce.

I used my delightfully green tahini dressing, which is bright and lemony and perfect for summer. My cashew queso, yum sauce, cilantro lime sauce, or even the melty cheese sauce from my pantry grilled cheese would all work well.

If you’re not in the mood to make a sauce, a squiggle of ketchup or mustard would be completely fine, too. So would a sprinkle of fresh, chopped herbs. I added extra parsley to my dogs after I’d finished making the green tahini dressing.

Carrot dogs, topped with a bright green sauce and chopped fresh herbs, are arranged on a round, white plate.

Light brown buns have been filled with glazed, roasted root vegetables. They're topped with green sauce and some fresh herbs.
5 from 2 votes

Smoky Glazed Carrot Dogs

Author – Gena Hamshaw
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yields: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (substitute white vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar)
  • 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil, such as safflower or grapeseed
  • 1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos (substitute tamari or soy sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (substitute liquid smoke)
  • pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 8 medium sized carrots, trimmed, washed, scrubbed, and patted dry (about 1 1/4 lbs)
  • 8 vegan hot dog buns
  • delightfully green tahini dressing (for serving)
  • fresh, chopped herbs (for serving)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
  • To make the marinade, whisk the vinegar, oil, liquid aminos, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and cayenne, if using, together in a small mixing bowl.
  • Place the carrots onto the parchment. Pour about 1/3 of the marinade over them, then toss the carrots with your hands to coat them evenly. Place the baking sheet into the oven and roast the carrots for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use a basting brush to brush another few tablespoons of the marinade over the carrots (or pour another third of the marinade over the carrots and use the basting brush to spread it around). Repeat this 15 minutes later, then roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots are browning and very tender.
  • While the carrots roast, make the delightfully green tahini dressing or any other sauce you'd like to serve with them.
  • Once the carrots have finished roasting, reduce the oven heat to 300F. Place the hot dog buns on another baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until they're lightly toasted.
  • To serve, place one roasted carrot in each bun, drizzle with sauce, and enjoy.

Notes

Leftover carrots will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Carrot recipe inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s Sweet & Smoky Roasted Carrots from Everyday Dorie, reprinted in Food52.
Glazed carrot dogs have been piled into buns and topped with a green dressing.

I’ve been enjoying the leftovers of this sweet and savory meal all week at lunchtime. Hope you’ll have a chance to try them at some point, too.

Definitely not a traditional hot dog—a little lighter, more nutrient-dense and colorful—but really satisfying in its own, creative way.

Happy Thursday, friends. See you again soon, for the weekend roundup.

xo

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Categories: Recipes, Main Dishes
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: Holidays

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Recipe Rating




    9 Comments
  1. 5 stars
    Love these. I wasn’t sure how they would go over with my family but they gobbled them up! I did cut the smoked paprika quite a bit so my 5 year old wouldn’t find them too smoky/spicy but the flavour was still great. I served them with caramelized onions, mustard and dill. Will definitely make again!

    • Awww, I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Carla! Thanks for letting me know, I’m honored you made them 🙂

  2. Hi Gena, these look great! Reminds me of one of my old blog posts called Go, Carrot Dog, Go!–a silly tribute to carrot dogs I used to make using some tamarind paste in a marinade. Thanks for inspiring tasty fun memories I might have to recreate! xo

  3. Happy Thursday, i am definitely going to try these after i replenish a few ingredients. One including carrots! Are you able to tell me/us what kind of buns you used in hopes we have them in our area.
    Enjoy being within,
    Robin m

    • Hey Robin! These are from Angelic Bakehouse. I’ve also found hot dog buns that are vegan at Whole Foods, and Arnold whole wheat hot dogs are vegan, too 🙂