Microwave carrots are one of the quickest and easiest ways to add some veggies to your plate. The bright and sweet combo of steamed carrots with a tab of butter and sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper is total comfort food and absolutely worth the (extremely minimal) prep.
I have another quick and easy steamed vegetable recipe for you today: microwave carrots!
Microwave Carrots: The Easiest Way to Cook Carrots
This might not seem like the most glamorous way to cook your carrots, but friend, if you’re short on time, it is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get some veggies on your plate.
And bonus: cooking carrots this way is actually really delicious. The bright and sweet combo of the steamed carrots with a tab of butter and sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper is total comfort food, and absolutely worth the (extremely minimal) prep.
How to Steam Carrots in the Microwave
To make carrots in the microwave, you’ll just need carrots, water, butter, and salt and pepper.
- Peel your carrots and chop them into bite-size pieces.
- Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover bowl with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 3 minutes.
Let carrots sit for one minute before removing the plate, being very careful as steam trapped inside the bowl will be hot. You might want to use a towel or oven mitt to remove it.
Check your carrots for doneness. If they’re still a little too crisp for your liking, re-cover and put them in for another minute, again, being very careful when you remove the lid.
- Once the carrots are cooked to your preference, pour off any leftover water and add butter to the bowl. Stir it around until melted, sprinkle with salt, add pepper, and plate!
Wait, I like my carrots sweet!
If you’re a fan of sweet carrots, not a problem. You can also add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup alongside the melted butter or sprinkle with cinnamon sugar to taste.
More Microwaved Vegetable Recipes
Carrots aren’t the only veggie you can steam in the microwave. Try out these as well:
- How to Steam Broccoli in the Microwave
- How to Cook Corn in the Microwave <–My #1 favorite veggie for microwave cooking
- How to Steam Green Beans in the Microwave
- How to Steam Cauliflower in the Microwave
- How to Make a Microwave Sweet Potato
Recipe Notes
- This recipe as written serves one but doubles or triples with no changes necessary.
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped 1/2-inch
- ▢ 2 tablespoons water
- ▢ 1/2 tablespoon salted butter
- ▢ Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place carrots and water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Top with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 3 minutes. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Very carefully remove plate (steam will be hot!) check carrots for doneness, and if necessary cook for 1 minute more with 1 minute rest.
- Drain excess water and add butter. Toss until butter is melted and carrots are coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
These Chicken Fajita Sandwiches are made with chicken fajita fixings piled on bread, with a slightly spicy chipotle aioli and pepper jack cheese, and then baked until toasty, melty, and perfect.
I posted a quick and easy Chicken Fajita recipe a few weeks ago, and today, I have a little variation on that recipe for you: Chicken Fajita Sandwiches.
If you’re a fajita lover and a hot sandwich fan like I am, you’re going to like this recipe, because you take chicken fajita fixings, pile them on bread, add a slightly spicy chipotle aioli and pepper jack cheese, and then bake it all together until it’s toasty, melty, and perfect.
You Might Also Enjoy: Steak Fajitas
You can make this recipe with fajita leftovers if you don’t want to eat exactly the same meal two nights in a row or make up a fresh batch of fajita veggies and chicken for the sandwiches.
Just try not to eat all the chicken slices off the cutting board before you can get those sandwiches assembled…
This recipe calls for chicken thighs for the fajita chicken because thighs are incredibly forgiving to cook and come out tender and moist without much babysitting, but if you have chicken breasts you want to use up, you can use those as well.
Season the chicken according to the recipe and then cook the breasts following my How to Cook Chicken Breasts for Salads and Sandwiches post.
What to Serve With Chicken Fajita Sandwiches
These are pretty filling sandwiches, so you really don’t need tons of sides to go with these. If you want something quick, Microwave Corn on the Cob is always a good sandwich side, or add a quick side salad with a southwestern dressing. And for dessert, you can’t go wrong with a small batch of brownies .
You Might Also Enjoy
- Shredded Beef Burritos
- Homemade Barbacoa
- Carne Asada Sandwich
- Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Recipe Notes
- Use whatever bread type you’d like here. I’m a fan of telera rolls, but you can slice up a large loaf of French bread or use whatever sort of bakery rolls your store has on hand. Sourdough would also be a good option, though you might have to double the chicken to have enough for four full sandwiches on sourdough.
- Leftover aioli will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. It’s great on just about any savory sandwich and can also be used as a dipping sauce for fries and onion rings.
- Save any leftover veggies and add them (warmed) to omelets and scrambled eggs with cheese.
Ingredients
Chicken
- ▢ 4 large boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ▢ Taco seasoning *
- ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Fajita Vegetables
- ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ▢ 1/2 large onion sliced
- ▢ 2 bell peppers (any color) sliced
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
Chipotle Aioli
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 112g ) mayonnaise
- ▢ 2 cloves garlic pressed
- ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder * plus more to taste
- ▢ Salt and pepper
Sandwiches
- ▢ 4 telera, ciabatta, or french rolls, sliced*
- ▢ 4 slices pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese
Instructions
Chipotle Aioli
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, crushed garlic, lemon or lime juice, and chipotle chili powder. Add salt and pepper to taste and more chipotle chili powder for more spice if desired. Set aside.
Fajita Filling
- Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken thighs until lightly coated on all sides. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Once hot, add chicken thighs and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 165°F. If at any time the outside of the chicken begins to cook too quickly and burn, turn down the heat slightly.
- While your meat cooks, in another large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add onion and bell peppers. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 8 minutes, until edges are lightly browned and vegetables are tender-crisp. Salt and pepper to taste.
- For softer vegetables, turn heat down to medium once the vegetables are browned so they don’t burn, and continue to cook until vegetables reach your desired level of doneness.
Assemble Sandwiches
- Slice chicken thighs into strips. Spread aioli over both sides of each roll and layer chicken, fajita vegetables, and cheese on the bottom half of each roll. Place rolls in the oven and bake for 5 to 6 minutes until cheese is melted and rolls are toasty.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This Small Banana Cake recipe makes a cute little two-layer cake that’s soft and moist with just a bit of cinnamon in the batter and luscious cream cheese frosting.
We’ve chatted before about what to do with a slightly sad single brown banana.
You could make one banana, one bowl Banana Muffins Or Chocolate Banana Muffins Or Banana Pancakes Or maybe even a thick and frosty Banana Milkshake
And today I’m adding cake to that one-banana recipe list. I think you should use that lone brown banana to make a cake.
One Banana Small Banana Cake
This recipe will make a very adorable, very delicious two-layer, 6-inch banana cake. If you don’t own 6-inch cake pans , it will also make an 8×8 square snack cake or a 9-inch single-layer round cake.
The cake will comfortably serve 4 (6 with smaller slices), or is just the right size for you and someone special to polish off over a weekend.
It’s incredibly soft and moist with just a bit of cinnamon in the batter and comes together quick and easy.
Best of all, you get to smother it with cream cheese frosting.
The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
The cake is topped off with my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting , which is tangy and rich and a cinch to throw together.
As written, the recipe will make enough to frost the entire cake (sides and all) or you can make your cake with naked sides like I did, and you’ll have a bit of frosting leftover in the bowl.
However you frost it, you really can’t go wrong with this cake and frosting combo.
More Small Cake Recipes
- Small Chocolate Cake
- Small Red Velvet Cake
- Small Carrot Cake
- Small Lemon Pound Cake
- Small Pumpkin Cake
Recipe Notes
- This recipe calls for buttermilk, but if you don’t have any in your fridge, don’t worry, you can still make the cake. The recipe notes section includes a quick buttermilk substitute made with regular milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- If you do have buttermilk and have some leftover, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk for ideas on what to do with the leftovers.
- The frosting recipe will make enough frosting to frost the entire cake (you’ll have about 1/4 of the frosting leftover if you frost it with naked sides like I did), but if you want extra frosting for decorating, 1 and 1/2 the frosting recipe and add more powdered sugar as needed to get a frosting stiff enough for piping.
Equipment
- 2 6-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Banana Layer Cake
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 56g ) salted butter
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 100g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg
- ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ▢ 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1 large overripe banana mashed (about 1/3 cup)
- ▢ 1/2 cup buttermilk or buttermilk replacement*
Frosting
- ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 113g ) salted butter softened*
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1 1/2 cup ( 180g ) powdered sugar sifted, plus more as needed
- ▢ 1 tablespoon milk optional, as needed
- ▢ Chopped walnuts optional, for decoration
Instructions
Banana Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter and flour 2 six-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine softened butter and granulated and brown sugars and cream together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Beat in egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until well-combined, followed by mashed banana.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined, repeating with all of the buttermilk and then the remaining flour mixture.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans and bake for 22-27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. If frosting is too thick for your taste, add milk by the teaspoon until it reaches your desired consistency. For stiffer, pipe-able frosting, add more sifted powdered sugar as needed.
To Frost the Cake
- Place bottom cake layer on cake stand or plate, using a small dollop of frosting to anchor it.
- Spread 1/3 of the frosting over the bottom layer. Place second cake layer on top and use the rest of the frosting over the top and body of the cake, starting at the top and spreading the frosting down the sides.
- Decorate with chopped walnuts if desired.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Microwave Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped 1/2-inch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 tablespoon salted butter
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place carrots and water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Top with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 3 minutes. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Very carefully remove plate (steam will be hot!) check carrots for doneness, and if necessary cook for 1 minute more with 1 minute rest.
- Drain excess water and add butter. Toss until butter is melted and carrots are coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
