Easy Side Dish: Peas and Carrots with Potatoes

Recipe

Turn ordinary veggies like potatoes, peas, and carrots into a delicious and cozy side dish without turning on the oven.

Tired of bland microwaved veggies? I show you how to cook potatoes, peas, and carrots on the stove to enjoy a terrific side dish for entertaining or weeknight dinners.

large serving dish of carrots, peas and potatoes

Flavorful Peas & Carrots Recipe

Laura fuentes holding a skillet of food standing in front of a blue door

Outside of roasting vegetables, sautéing them in a pan or Dutch oven is the best way to cook veggies everyone will want to eat. After all, making food taste great is one of the basic ways we can turn skeptics into veggie lovers.

Ingredients

To go outside the usual steaming that often yields bland vegetables, this recipe cooks carrots, fingerling potatoes (or any potato cut into 1-inch cubes), and green peas in a little butter and olive oil, then tosses everything with fresh lemon juice and zest, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, and tarragon for superb flavor. You’ll also need chicken broth (or water) for cooking the veggies. I like to include baby spinach, but you can leave it out if your kids aren't fans.

How to Cook Peas & Carrots with Potatoes

Make the sauce.
In a medium bowl, whisk vinegar, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of water with the zest and juice of 1 lemon.
Cook the carrots.
In a large Dutch oven, cook the carrots in butter and olive oil. Season with salt and cook until golden brown.
Brown the potatoes.
Transfer the carrots to a plate, add the potatoes to the Dutch oven and cook until they are golden brown on the bottom. Add the broth, bring it to a boil, and simmer.
Stir in the rest of the veggies.
Once the potatoes are fork-tender, add the carrots, peas, spinach, and lemon juice mixture. Stir gently until the spinach is wilted. Remove the pot from the heat, add a dab of butter, and stir in the tarragon.

overhead view of a large serving dish of carrots, peas and potatoes

Laura’s Tip for Perfecting this Simple Side Dish

Use a large pot

I recommend using a heavy-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven or deep-rimmed skillet. You want to cook the carrots and potatoes in an even layer to avoid steaming them, which will take away the browning flavors.

Don’t skip the herbs

Fresh herbs really amp the flavor, and if you don’t have fresh tarragon, you can replace it with fresh basil or the dried herbs mentioned in the recipe card. If you do use dried herbs, add them when cooking the carrots. The oils and flavor in dried herbs need more time in the cooking heat to be fully extracted.

Cook until fork-tender

We want the potatoes and carrots to be tender but not mushy. Cook them until the skin is golden, seared, and you can easily insert a fork in the center of the veggie without mashing it.

What to Serve with Peas & Carrots

Peas and carrots pair great with simple entreés like pan-seared chicken, honey chicken legs, baked fish, or pork roast.

Always See My Recipes In Google

Carrot, Fingerling Potato, and Pea Ragout Recipe

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 45

Turn ordinary veggies like potatoes, peas, and carrots into a delicious and cozy side dish without turning on the oven.

5 from 27 votes

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Ingredients

1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long, ½ inch thick sticks
1 ½ teaspoon salt
12 ounces small fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 cup chicken broth, stock, or water
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup fresh peas, blanched, or frozen peas
1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon*, chopped

Instructions

Prep:

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest, juice, vinegar, maple syrup, and water until combined.

Cook the carrots:

In a 5 to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and olive oil over low heat. Add the carrots and season with ¾ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the carrots are browned and tender, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the carrots to a large plate.

Cook the potatoes:

Heat an additional tablespoon of butter in the Dutch oven, arrange the potatoes, cut side down in a single layer, and season with ¾ teaspoon salt.
Cover partially and cook, undisturbed, until the potatoes are golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chicken broth or water and bring to a boil before reducing the heat and simmering until the cooking liquid is reduced.

Combine:

Add the chopped garlic, carrots, green peas, spinach, and lemon juice mixture to the potatoes. Stir to combine and continue to cook until the spinach wilts.
Remove from heat and stir in ½ tablespoons butter and fresh tarragon.

Notes

Don’t have fresh tarragon? Substitute it with 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, dried basil, or herbs de provance.

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