I was shocked, shocked, shocked I tell you!, to find that NONE of my recipe books had a recipe for carrot dogs! Not to be deterred from my quest for carrot dogs, I went on a magical Google journey to find a good recipe! And, lo! Google showed me PassthePlants.com, where I found a tasty carrot dog recipe!

Not only do I like them, but they are also Erik-approved! he told me he was surprised how much of a hot-dog-like consistency they have. I’m not going to tell you they’re exactly like hot dogs (because, ew, hot dogs are gross anyway), but the carrots do develop a similar texture and mouth feel… Or maybe I’ve never liked hot dogs (ever) and these are just the carrot dogs I’ve always dreamed of. Maybe my concept of hotdogs is downright delusional. Don’t know, don’t care. Carrot dogs rock!

Ingredients

Servings: 4 carrot dogs

• 4 carrots, peeled and trimmed to the length of your bun (tip: use your peeler to shape the carrot and make it more uniform in size)
• 4 whole wheat buns, bread slices, or gluten-free buns
• ½ cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tbs. liquid smoke
• 1 tbs. vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • If you’re having trouble finding this in store you can look up recipes to make your own custom Worcestershire sauce at home, or be lazy and just replace it with another tablespoon of liquid smoke
• 1 tbs. maple syrup
• 1 tbs. ketchup or tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• Toppings of choice (see ideas for toppings further on)

Directions

1. In a medium-size saucepan (big enough to hold all the carrots), whisk together all the liquid ingredients.

2. Add the carrots and bring it to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the carrots to cook until barely fork-tender (or completely fork-tender if you prefer it that way). This will take about 8-10 minutes, or possibly longer depending on the thickness of the carrots. 

4. Remove the carrots from the pan and allow them to sit and cool for a few minutes. They are ready to eat, but I recommend letting them sit longer, 15-ish minutes, to absorb or drip the remaining liquid. It looks better (more like hotdogs) when they’re dry. 

5. Serve with desired toppings. (Ideas below)

I like the topping suggestions from Pass the Plants so I’m including them in a list along with some of my own ideas. She has some recipes hyperlinked on her toppings to other recipes on her website, but I haven’t tried making or adapting them to be WFPB-compliant, so I’m not going to directly post them to my blog.

• Classic dog: mustard, ketchup, relish, onions
• Coleslaw dog: southwest coleslaw or classic coleslaw
• Cheesy dog: wfpb mac & cheese or wfpb cheese sauce
• Chili dog: any thick wfpb chili recipe you like

I haven’t actually tried making the carrot dogs in an Instant Pot because I can’t for the life of me understand how it would be faster than doing it on the stove top. You’d have to wait for it to come up to pressure, then the cook time, then the time for it to depressurize. How is that faster?? Anyway, I’m including the directions she gives in case I ever feel like trying it out. 

HOW TO MAKE CARROT DOGS IN THE INSTANT POT/PRESSURE COOKER

1. Add all liquid ingredients into the Instant Pot insert, and whisk to combine.
2. Add carrots and lock the lid.
3. Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes, then release pressure manually.
4. Let sit in the marinade for 15-20 minutes, simmering in the liquid if not all the way cooked.