Easy 1-Pot Black Beans from Scratch

Minimalist Baker

Easy 1-Pot Black Beans from Scratch

If you can cover beans with water and turn your stove burner on, you can make these beans. From scratch! I believe in us. Let’s do it!

For some of you, making beans from scratch may seem like old hat. But for those of us less experienced (hand raised) in the art of buying bulk beans to cook yourself, this recipe is good news.

After a little trial and error, research, and testing, we came to realize that if you want black beans that are flavorful, perfectly tender, and not mushy, they actually turn out tastier, less mushy, and deeper in color when you skip soaking before cooking.

Easy 1-Pot Black Beans from Scratch from Minimalist Baker →

A Sweet Pea Chef

Baked Carrot Fries + Homemade Ketchup Without Sugar!

Follow this healthy carrot fries recipe to make the perfect vegetarian treat and kick that fry craving to the curb!  Here’s to satisfying your fry craving and still reaching your healthy eating goals!

Let’s be real here.

Fries are delicious and addicting.

There’s no shame in admitting it.

There’s just really no getting around this fact.

That’s why we need these Baked Carrot Fries in our lives.  They’re easy, very much with the oh-so-fry-like goodness, and (yay!) healthy.

I’m a huge fan of turning veggies into fun, savory bites of goodness, like with these parmesan zucchini spears, these baked zucchini fries, and these broccoli tots.  Those are some of our favorites and have been big hits on the blog, too.

In this recipe, I’m going to teach you how to make carrot fries.

Are Carrot Fries Healthy?

Not only does this healthy carrot fries recipe allow you to get more veggies in your diet, it also makes it even easier to avoid the high carb, high salt, high fat, greasy fast food options you might ordinarily be drawn to.

That’s what I LOVE about clean eating – all the goodness, all the flavor, and none of the guilt.

BUT we’re still missing something, aren’t we?

I mean…it’s not really french fries without a tasty dip or sauce, am I right?

Yep, I see you’re head nodding along with me.

I started wondering what is a healthy alternative to ketchup and I thought, well, ketchup without sugar, for starters. That’s when I started to make a great healthy ketchup alternative to enjoy with these awesome carrot fries.

How to Make Ketchup Without Sugar

Yes, ketchup is amazing, but it’s actually loaded with high fructose corn syrup which is a big no-no if you’re trying to rid your body of all those refined sugars and processed foods.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make homemade ketchup, it’s fortunately, homemade ketchup is quite simple to make.

In fact, this homemade ketchup without sugar is shockingly similar to the real deal.  You can even throw in extra flavors to make it your own favorite version, like a little more garlic powder or even some cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit.

Baked Carrot Fries with Homemade Ketchup Without Sugar

 

All in all, these baked carrot fries are a fine substitute for the real thing and are so easy to make, too!

Here’s to satisfying your fry craving and still reaching your healthy eating goals!

Baked Carrot Fries + Homemade Ketchup Without Sugar!

Follow this healthy carrot fries recipe to make the perfect vegetarian treat and kick that fry craving to the curb!  Here’s to satisfying your fry craving and still reaching your healthy eating goals!

For The Baked Carrot Fries: 2 lbs medium carrots 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1 tbsp Italian parsley (chopped) For The Homemade Ketchup Without Sugar*: 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounce, no sugar/salt added) 1 can tomato paste (6 ounce, no sugar/salt added) 3 tbsp raw honey 1 1/2 tsp onion powder 1 1/2 tsp sea salt 2 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar) 1/8 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Start by peeling the carrots to remove the outer skin and then slicing off both ends. Next, slice the carrot in half to create the length of a fry. Carefully slice each carrot half into planks, making them as even as possible. (I try to keep them around 1/4 inch thick.) Slice the planks into long fries – again, making sure to get them as even as possible. Repeat with the remaining carrots. Place all the carrot fries onto the baking sheet and add the olive oil, sea salt, and ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Spread out the carrot fries evenly onto the baking sheet so they are all laying flat and not overlapping. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then carefully flip the fries over and then return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes, or until the carrot fries are tender and are starting to turn golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven. To make the homemade refined sugar free ketchup, in a small bowl, combine no sugar or salt added tomato sauce, no sugar added tomato paste, raw honey, onion powder, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder and stir to combine well. Garnish with minced Italian parsley, if desired.

*As written, the homemade ketchup makes quite a lot of sauce. You can either halve the recipe or store the extra in the fridge for later.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

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