These vegan carrot hot dogs are going to blow your mind. You think you are eating a hot dog but you are going to feel one hundred times better after eating it. Not only is this recipe much healthier than a traditional hot dog but more appetizing in our opinion.
Hot dogs are usually mystery meat and random bits of who knows what. So ditch the old nasty weiners for these delicious, healthy, easy, vegan hot dogs.
Okay, we know what you’re thinking, “a carrot hot dog are you kidding?” There’s no way a carrot could possibly mimic a hot dog, right? Well think again. The vegan culinary world has leveled up and become very creative. While there are really delicious processed vegan hot dogs on the market these carrot dogs are cheaper, healthier and so easy to make.
Best Vegan Dish at the BBQ
This is the perfect vegan dish to bring to a BBQ! People will be so impressed!
If you follow us on Instagram you’d know that Nate and I recently moved to Hawaii. Over the past couple of months we’ve made new friends and one day were invited to a beach BBQ. A friend rented a gazebo on the beach that came with a couple grills to use. Knowing it was a BBQ Nate prepped the carrots for the carrot dogs and left them to marinate in the fridge the night before.
If you need a good vegan BBQ dish, this will be your new go to grilled item. This is easy to store, and super simple to cook. Not to mention you won’t feel left out being a vegan at the party. These carrot dogs even look like the real thing once grilled.
The day of the (socially distanced) beach day friends were grilling up their own regular hot dogs and burgers. Being the only vegans we brought our own food, to share of course. As Nate was getting one of the grills hot and ready to use a friend sees the marinating carrots in the ziplock bag on the table.
His friend says, “Hey i thought vegans don’t eat hot dogs”
Nate said, “They’re not hot dogs they’re carrot dogs”
Friend replies, “Carrots dogs? What do you mean carrot dogs?”
Nate picks up the ziplock bag and shows the carrots in the marinade to him.
Nate explains, “They’re carrots, man. I’ll grill them up, place them in a hot dog bun. Add mustard and ketchup and we’ve got ourselves a carrot dog.”
Long story short, everyone found out about Nate’s carrot dogs and soon everybody was asking questions. One friend couldn’t believe it was a whole carrot. She thought we grounded carrots and put them in a sausage casing. Guess we must have pretty good knife skills.
We brought eight carrots and came home with none. Everyone wanted to try them. Everyone from die hard meat lovers to the skeptics. At the end of the day people were impressed with Nate’s carrot hot dogs. People asked for the recipe. Show up with carrot dogs and they might just ask you too!
Vegan Hot Dog Ingredients
The ingredients of this recipe are pretty simple and straightforward. All you need are carrots and buns. The rest of the ingredients are all for the marinade. The purpose of the marinade is to recreate those memorable flavors of regular hot dogs. It’s important to make sure the carrot dogs reach those sweet, salty, umami notes. Since the boiled carrot texture mimics that of a hot dog the marinade mimics the flavor of a hot dog.
To Peel or Not to Peel
One of the most important marinade ingredient is the liquid aminos. Liquid aminos are a healthier soy sauce substitute. We used barges liquid aminos mostly for anything that needs soy sauce, including vegan sushi. We prefer liquid aminos because (at least this brand) contains 16 of the 20 amino acids needed for the human body.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins so its critical to consume enough of them. Amino acids are important for brain function and the development/ repair of muscles. Liquid aminos are made from soybeans and water. Important to mention for soybean allergies! But for those on a on a low sodium diet liquid aminos have less sodium than soy sauce.
You might want to think first before you peel your carrots. Carrot peels contain many nutrients. For vitamin C and niacin are most concentrated in the peel. After we washed and scrubbed our carrots they were perfect for use! We did a recipe test with peeled carrots and they’re great too. But peeling adds another step.
In the photo above, the top carrot is unpeeled. The bottom carrot was peeled after it was boiled.
How Long in the Marinade
The optimum length of time is about eight hours. We did test them after two hours of marinating. They were definitely delish, but if the time is available let the carrots marinade for eight hours – two days. This way the marinade is better absorbed. When the carrots have absorbed all the flavors the taste of the carrot when in the bun will become freaky similar to a regular hot dog.
Grilled vs Pan Seared
Grilling and pan searing are two methods used to cook many different types of foods. To pan sear carrot dogs, neutral oil or vegan butter is needed. The hot pan will warm up the oil, so much that it will sear, blacken, the outer part of the carrot.
Pan searing is probably the easiest method since not everyone has access to a grill. It’s also the easiest method to use if the weather isn’t the best. It’s pretty safe to say not many people would be okay grilling in the rain or snow for example.
On the other hand, grilling can be done without adding calorie heavy ingredients. Especially if you’re trying to avoid oils for health reasons. The coals of the grill become so hot they make the grate super hot. This is how the carrot dogs will cook and get those famous grill marks.
If there’s any toppings you love, or found our articles helpful, let us know in the comments below how it turned out!
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Peace,
Luna & Nate
Carrot dogs
Course: Main EntreeCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes5
minutes25
minutesVegan hot dogs to blow your mind. Much healthier than a traditional hot dog. Cheaper and healthier processed vegan hot dogs. Delicious. So easy to make.
Ingredients
8 Buns 8 Hot dog buns
8 Long 8 Carrots, washed
- Marinade
2 Tbsp 2 Liquid Aminos
2 tsp 2 Liquid Smoke
2 cloves 2 Garlic, thinly chopped
1/4 tsp 1/4 Ground Coriander
1 tsp 1 Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp 1 Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp 2 Neutral oil
Directions
- Begin by adding all the marinade ingredients into a large ziplock baggie.
- Next, cut the carrots to the length of the buns.
- Fill a large pot with water and add the carrots to the water.
- Boil the carrots until tender, should take no more than 15 minutes.
- Take the carrots out of the water and place them on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, the carrots can be peeled or kept with the skin on.
- Add the carrots to the ziplock bag with the marinade.
- Allow the carrots to marinate for a minimum of 4 hours to 3 days.
- Cooking the Carrot Dogs
- Remove any excess marinade off the carrot dogs.
- Then place the carrot dogs onto a hot grill or pre heated lightly oiled pan.
- Sear the carrot dogs flipping them every 2 minutes or so. Be sure to sear all sides of the carrot dog for camelization.
- Once the carrot dog is seared and hot place them in a bun and add your toppings!
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Nutrition Facts
8 servings per container
Serving Size1 servings
- Amount Per ServingCalories160
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 3.4g 5%
- Saturated Fat 0.7g 0%
- Cholesterol 0mg 0%
- Sodium 531mg 23%
- Potassium 5.7mg 1%
- Total Carbohydrate 30.1g 10%
- Dietary Fiber 3.1g 12%
- Sugars 7.5g
- Protein 5.7g 10%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 12%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! 😋