Spain is famous for their pork and cheese, but they do have some amazing vegetarian recipes, too! Recipes like these delicious marinated carrots (zanahorias aliƱadas) are among the many vegetarian recipes in Spain, and are one of my favorite Spanish foods!
Looking for more Spanish veggie recipes? You'll love these recipes for Spanish roasted carrots and marinated potatoes.
Introduction
Marinated carrots are known in Spain as zanahorias aliƱadas, and are a delicious vegetarian Spanish food. The recipe is simple, but the carrots do need time to marinate and absorb all of the flavors of the spices and garlic.
This recipe for zanahorias aliƱadas has been adapted from the wonderful Javi Recetas--an Andalusian cook with a great website. If you read Spanish, check him out!
Ingredients
Wondering what ingredients you need to whip up these marinated carrots? Grab these key ingredients, and you'll be ready to start!
- Carrots: Use very fresh carrots for the best flavor.
- Vinegar: Any mild vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar, will work well in this recipe. You can try using sherry vinegar if you like!
- Oil: Spanish olive oil (or any good extra virgin olive oil) will add a rich flavor.
- Spices & Aromatics: I use a mixture of garlic, salt, oregano, paprika, and cumin to add a wonderful flavor to these carrots.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Marinated Carrots
If youād like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Boil the carrots until they're tender, then immediately drain and plunge the carrots into cold water to stop them from cooking. (image 1)
- Mash the garlic and spices in a mortar and pestle until it makes a paste. (image 2)
- Slice the cooled carrots into coins. (image 3)
- Mix the garlic paste with the carrots, then cover with equal parts of vinegar and water. (image 4)
- Marinate the carrots in the fridge for at least 4 hours, then drain. (image 5)
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then serve with toothpicks and enjoy as a tapa. (image 6)
Recipe FAQs
For this easy Spanish recipe, you'll boil the carrots just until they're tender, then they marinate in a mixture of salt, garlic, spices, and olive oil for at least 4 hours. The carrots will take on a wonderful flavor from these aromatics and flavorings!
You can marinate carrots for up to overnight (8-12 hours), although you'll need to marinate them for at least 4 hours for them to have a good flavor.
In Spain, we'd marinate carrots in an oil and vinegar mixture seasoned with salt, garlic, and other spices, like oregano, cumin, and paprika.
Serve
In Spain, the restaurants and bars in Andalusia usually serve zanahorias aliƱadas as a simple tapa, and the bright orange marinated carrots are often displayed among other salads and cold tapas at the bar.
Round out your tapas bar with other Andalusian favorites, such as ajo blanco (white gazpacho), fried eggplant with honey, flamenquĆnes cordobeses (fried pork rolls), and fried anchovies.
Expert Tips
- Boil the carrots only until they're tender; you don't want the carrots to get mushy. Quickly cool them in cold water to stop their cooking.
- Any good quality olive oil and mild vinegar will work well in this recipe.
- Feel free to tweak the seasonings to your taste.
Marinated Carrots (Zanahorias AliƱadas)
Ingredients
- 6-7 large carrots washed and peeled
- 2-4 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika hot or sweet
- ā cup apple cider vinegar or more if needed
- water to cover
For Serving
- salt to taste
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Bring about 8 cups (1.9 L) of water to a boil along with a spoonful of salt, then add the peeled carrots and cook until tender. Be careful not to overcook!
- Drain the carrots and cover them in cold water until they've cooled.
- Mash the garlic and spices in a mortar and pestle to make a paste.
- When the carrots have cooled, slice into coins and put in a large bowl. Mix the garlic paste into the carrots, then cover with equal parts of vinegar and water.
- Cover the carrots, and allow them to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Drain the carrots with a slotted spoon, then drizzle with good quality olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and serve.
Notes
- Boil the carrots only until they're tender; you don't want the carrots to get mushy. Quickly cool them in cold water to stop their cooking.
- Any good quality olive oil and mild vinegar will work well in this recipe.
- Feel free to tweak the seasonings to your taste.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Thomas Johnson
Delicious!!
Eliane Oliver
Can I make them ahead of time and then just keep them in the fridge for a while?
Lauren Aloise
Yes, definitely - a few days is no problem.
Marla
Outstanding and simple- although I pre-chopped my carrots and cooked. I also lightly heated all spices in oil as well because raw garlic is hard on me lol.Excellent balance of flavor even if carrots arenāt your favorite.
QUERINO DE FREITAS
Very nice indeed, I have made marinated tomatoes, not as spicy as yours with less vinegar as tomatoes are so delicate.. Its just by chance I got your page , I have a card with carrots on the front, I wanted to write below ballet of carrots so I clicked on translations and you recipe came up....Your other home called Jessica says she bought load of carrots and didnt know what to do with them ,,why buy something when one have no imagination ...Cheers Querino
Jeanette
Is it better to use ground cumin or whole seeds for this recipe? I made it once before and it was delicious but can't remember which I used!
Lauren Aloise
You can go either way! I love the crunch of the seeds, while ground cumin penetrates the carrots more... maybe a mix of the two?
Tara
These were delicious! I love that they can be made ahead of time and definitely a great use for my leftover carrots.
Trevor Huxham
This is just what I needed! I bought a huge package of carrots for like ā¬0.65 at the store today and had no idea what to do with them since I only needed 1-2 carrots for the lentil stew Iām making this week. I canāt wait to try this recipe!
Trevor Huxham
I would like to add that Iām living in Spain right now with a Spanish flatmate (doing the auxiliar program!) and when I let him try these he freaked out at how tasty they were and wanted the recipe; heās already made two huge batches of them. So props to you for posting a LEGIT Spanish recipe!
BTW I myself really liked the flavor when I first made them, too. š
Lauren Aloise
So happy to hear this Trevor! Thanks for letting me know š
Grace Aloise
I'll have to try making these this weekend for Father's Day--sounds delicious! Love and Miss You--Mom
Flamenco Restaurant Madrid
Grilled vegetables are a million times tastier that mushy boiled vegetables however sadly such a lot of folks ditch this excellent cooking technique.
Laurie Hager
Hi, Lauren! Thanks for this post! I just linked to your blog from our Facebook page and hope to get the conversation rolling with our wonderful audience. I have heard many Americans lament the lack of fresh veggies when traveling in Spain. Could it be that they just do not know where to look? We'll see! It's always wonderful to hear the variety of perspectives from Spaniards, Americans and the rest of the world - all of whom have a special place in the hearts for the magic that is Spain.
Thanks again and best regards,
Laurie
Lauren Aloise
Thanks Laurie, sounds great! They are delicious!
Will - My Spanish Adventure
Love the look of these juicy babies. When I finally come back to Madrid can we have some?
Lauren Aloise
You bet! I'll make them just for you!
World Traveler
These look amazing!
Mo
This is another cracker Lauren! IĀ“m going to make them exactly as you say for my cousins who are coming to spend two weeks with us (arriving this weekend, yay!). I agree that itĀ“s a myth that Spaniards donĀ“t serve veggies. On the contrary, they have wonderful ways of brightening up what - in Scotland at any rate - are boring, boiled and unadventurous vegetables. IĀ“m not sure I mentioned this before but a while back in Italy I ordered a "carrot salad", imagining something wonderful like this. Well, it came and it was a huge pile of roughly grated raw carrot in a bowl. And nothing else! Give me Spanish food any day!
Patrick
Original tapa! Colourful and tasteful...
ChgoJohn
This sounds really good. It's the vinegar that caught my eye and I'll have to try this one.
Jessica
Those look really delicious! I just bought a huge bag of carrots with no idea what to do with as well, so this was perfect timing.
Laura
Mmmm these looks so delicious. I was thinking of going out and buying carrots as I read this post!