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Carrot Snack Stick are a homemade treat that gets a vegetable in every bite and will replace the store bought stacks you rely on.
I never leave my kitchen. I’m constantly in there testing new recipes and trying to come up with fun and delicious ideas I think kids AND parents will both love. The kitchen is also where our family congregates, so the only time I’m not in that room is when I’m sleeping! I don’t mind though. I like to think I spend all my time in the kitchen so you don’t have to!
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Coming up with recipes that will appeal to the whole family is not always easy — especially when it comes to adding vegetables, because kids can be very particular about which vegetables they’ll eat (so can adults, for that matter). You can’t please all the people all the time, but carrots are one vegetable I find most people enjoy. That’s good news since carrots are not only delicious, but they’re also a powerhouse of nutrition, containing a high concentration of beta carotene (a substance that converts to Vitamin A in the body) and are a good source of dietary fiber, Vitamins C and K.
I’ve made these Carrot Snack Sticks for our family and friends several times and they tend to go missing as soon as they come out of the oven. They’re crunchy like a cracker and have a rich, sweet flavor. Even people who turn their noses up at veggies will ask for seconds of this yummy snack treat — and you’ll barely spend any time in the kitchen making them!
The real trick to these Carrot Snack Sticks is your patience. It’s the perfect recipe for getting kids involved cooking and having fun together at the same time. Measure out the ingredients and have little hands mix everything up over and over with their little hands in a big bowl. It’s like a culinary art project. By mixing everything up over and over it helps the small amount of oil to be absorbed into the carrots and flour mixture creating the perfect crumb once baked.
What are some of your families favorite snack recipes? Tell me in the comments below.
Carrot Snack Sticks
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup carrot, finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil (3-4 tbsp if using regular shredded carrots)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the first four ingredients and stir to combine.
- Using your hands, add the carrots to the flour mixture coating the carrot pieces with flour.
- Add the oil and work with your hands to bring the dough together.
- (You really have to be patient with working this dough together so that the flour absorbs the oil. If you are concerned that it is not coming together, just add 1 extra teaspoon of oil to the dough and work it with your hands forming a ball until it comes together.)
- Form the carrot parmesan dough into a flat rectangular disk and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes then roll out 1/2 inch thick on parchment paper or a dry clean surface.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into sticks, 2 inches long by 1/4 inch wide.
- Bake on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes.
Notes
- To Freeze: After step 6, place onto a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Remove and place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. When ready, follow steps 7, adding an additional 2-3 minutes baking time.
Unfortunately it would not work with purees, the ingredient measurements would be off if you use purees. It would basically be a whole new recipe. These are like crackers so you need the oil which is not a lot at all. 🙂
These sound great! I just found your website today and have been adding recipes to my recipe box like mad. My daughter is 16 months old and I’m having a tough time trying to get her to eat enough veggies – I’m like you, I want to get her to like them, not to hide them. Can’t wait to try these carrot sticks. One question as far as substitutions: I still have TONS of fruit and veg purees, do you think I could sub in some carrot puree instead of grated carrot? Would I have to reduce the oil in that case (I’ve seen recipes suggest subbing in applesauce to reduce oil, I imagine this would be a similar situation)?
Thank you so much, can’t wait to get cooking!
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Work the dough, work the dough, the oil really needs to absorb into the flour.
Hi Catherine, I attempted your carrot sticks today and had some trouble. I don’t consider myself a bad cook but I could not get the dough to come together. It was very dry and crumbly. I assume you used Vegetable Oil? Any hints as to what the problem might be?? Thanks!!
I made these with WHITE whole wheat flour, which normally bakes almost the same as all-purpose flour. Had some crumbliness problems (wish I had read the comments in advance) but I was able to fix them with adding a bunch more oil. My 15 mo and 3 yo LOVED them! NExt time I’ll probably do half white whole wheat flour, and half all-purpose flour for less crumbliness. But overall, great, and fun!
Just made these. They’re pretty good, but I’m not overly impressed — which is sad because I was really excited to make them! They’re a little bland and I can’t taste much of the cheese. I think next time I’ll add some italian seasoning and/or garlic powder like some of the comments have suggested. Thanks for such a great website!
Did you try the fruits? Did any of them work?
Made this today and my one year old loved them! Thank you for sharing this recipe, can’t wait to make it again.
I have a feeling that the dough would also be great for making fruit sticks, too. So this weekend I’m going to try using peeled, shredded apples and a dash of cinnamon instead of the carrots and cheese. 🙂
What a bummer! Was the parm cheese you used mild in flavor? You just need to work the dough until it comes together. Did you put any baking powder? That usually helps with the flakiness.
I tried making these yesterday, easy to make, the kids ate them…but I thought they tasted kind of doughy. What am I doing wrong? Did I knead the dough too much? What’s the secret to making them crispy or flaky?
Thanks by the way. Love your website and your recipes.
We just did a video on Carrot Snack Sticks showing how to make the sticks since there has been a 50/50 on success with the recipe. You have to be patient with the dough, you really have to work with it till it all comes together and the flour absorbs the oil. It takes time. Will be putting up the video soon!
Ok, I must have done something seriously wrong cause these came out terrible! I had to use more oil since they were so dry they just wouldn’t make a ball. Even then it still wouldn’t hold together so I just squeezed a log in my hands tight. But they were tasteless and dry still. I know I followed the recipe correctly!!
I just made my 2nd batch, and they are amazing!!! My 1st try, I made the mistake of using a mini food prep to shred the carrots and they come out well at all. But when I used the microplane they came out perfectly!! I suspect because you need more carrots to yield a 1/2 cup when using the microplane, so the dough is moist and easy to work with. They are so good!! I hope I don’t eat them all before my son waked up from his nap, lol!
Thank you for this recipe. My 18 month old daughter does not eat ANY vegetables, she was grabbing these off the table and shoving them in her mouth! You really should have a cookbook I would buy it. I am excited to try more of your recipes.
Made these this morning. Added water to get the dough to work. Considering adding 1 c. of carrots next batch.
Overall very tasty though. And a pretty low-key project for my 3 year old to help with!