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.

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.

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.

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.

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