Earthbound Farm Organic | Recipes for Delicious and Healthy Food

Earthbound Farm Recipes

The Earthbound Cook: Recipes for delicious food and a healthy planet

At Earthbound Farm, the fresh, natural flavors of organic produce take center stage. Here we’ve collected hundreds of recipes for delicious, healthy food using organic ingredients. Search our recipe database, check out our Seasonal Food Spotlight below, or find your favorite foods in our Ingredient Archive.

Search our recipes by ingredient or keyword — or select a category to view a list of recipes. (Can’t find what you’re looking for? Be sure to check the spelling of your keywords.)

Seasonal Food Spotlight

We believe that almost all fruits and vegetables have more flavor when grown organically because of the health and vitality of the soil — and this is especially true of carrots. In addition, carrots are ranked eleventh on the Environmental Working Group’s list of produce that tend to carry the greatest number of pesticide residues when grown conventionally. Choosing organic carrots helps reduce your dietary exposure to these chemicals, and it’s healthier for the environment, too!

• Carrot and Dill Salad
• Carrot Curry
• Carrot Snack Bars
• Glazed Carrots with Tarragon
• Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Pan-Roasted Halibut with Carrot Ginger Beurre Blanc
• Roasted Carrot and Fennel Pissaladiere
• Roasted Carrots with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• More delicious carrot recipes

The earliest carrots are believed to have originated in Afghanistan, and they weren’t orange at all — they were purple, white, red, black, green, or yellow! By the 12th century, they’d arrived in Spain via Arab traders, and historians note that purple carrots were cultivated in parts of Europe by the 14th century. But it wasn’t until the 1700s that the common orange carrot we know today arrived on the scene. It’s thought to have been developed by the Dutch as a patriotic tribute to the royal House of Orange. Although today carrots are the most popular and familiar of the root vegetables, readily available year-round, in the 18th century they were considered an exotic novelty.

Carrots are at the root (no pun intended) of many cuisines, essential for the foundation of sweetness and texture they contribute to both sweet and savory dishes. Delicious raw or cooked, carrots have the highest sugar content of any vegetable other than beets.

Carrots generally require peeling; if there is any bitterness, it resides in the peel. Commercial carrots are bred for uniform color and size, but there are actually numerous types of carrots — including dozens of heirloom varieties — that grow in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes. Mini peeled carrots, sometimes referred to as “baby” carrots, are actually fully mature; they’re cut and sculpted from a special varietal that grows close together, resulting in smaller, more tender specimens.

Preparing carrots is easy. Always wash and scrub carrots before using, because they’re harvested directly from the soil. Peeling is optional, depending on your preference and the size of the roots. If you’re using very large carrots, however, you’ll want to cut out and discard the tough, fibrous core.

Look for firm carrots with no splits, cracks, or damage.

The brighter the color, the sweeter the carrot. The darker the orange hue, the more beta-carotene is present. Avoid carrots with black tops, which is a sign of age.

For bunched carrots, choose ones with bright green tops that look fresh and perky. At home, cut off the greens before refrigerating your carrots, or they’ll rob the roots of moisture and vitamins.

Always store carrots in the refrigerator in a sealed container, and they’ll keep for 7 to 10 days. Keep them away from apples and pears, as the ethylene gas they emit as they ripen can make carrots bitter.

Farmer’s markets often sell bunches of slender, young carrots with their tops (greens) still attached. Mature carrots, however, are often much sweeter and more flavorful.

If your carrots develop a dry white bloom on their surface while stored in the refrigerator, it’s a sign of dehydration. Simply soak the carrots in ice water for 10 minutes and they’ll regain their bright orange color.

Don’t forget the convenience of carrot juice. Widely available at juice bars and in the refrigerated case at most markets, it makes a quick base for soups, pastas, sauces, and dressings.

Carrots are exceptionally nutritious; in fact, they’re are the leading source of vitamin A in the American diet. Low in calories and almost totally devoid of fat, carrots are also an excellent source of dietary fiber.

Loaded with beta-carotene (from which our bodies derive vitamin A), these colorful roots are a repository of potent antioxidants, which are believed to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Vitamin A also supports eye health and is essential for proper retinal function.

Raw carrots also provide potassium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Nutrition Facts