Carrot Nutrition Facts, Calories by Size and Vitamin A

Orange carrots get their color from beta-carotene and related carotenoids, which the body converts to vitamin A. USDA reports vitamin A as retinol activity equivalents (RAE), the unit used on Nutrition Facts labels, calculated from those carotenoids. Purple, red, yellow and white carrots exist too; their pigments differ, so their vitamin A content can too, and this record is for ordinary orange carrots eaten raw.

Most "baby carrots" sold in bags are baby-cut: full-size carrots cut into short pieces and peeled smooth, a method developed in California in the 1980s. USDA has a separate baby carrot record, but they are the same vegetable as the whole carrots on this page.

Raw carrots are crunchy because of their firm cell walls; cooking softens them, and carrots turn noticeably sweeter as they roast and brown. Boiled carrots have their own USDA record, since cooking changes weight and some nutrients; the numbers on this page are for raw carrots. Carrot skin is thin and edible, so peeling is a matter of texture and appearance; scrubbing well is enough for most dishes.

• Carrot cake. A spiced cake made with grated carrot, often with walnuts and cream cheese frosting. All-Purpose Flour · Sugar · Egg · Walnuts · Cream Cheese
• Roasted carrots. Whole or halved carrots roasted with olive oil, sometimes glazed with honey. Olive Oil · Honey
• Carrot sticks and hummus. Raw sticks for dipping. Chickpeas
• Soups and stews. Carrot is one of the three vegetables in mirepoix, with onion and celery, and the base of carrot ginger soup. Onion · Butter · Potato
• Coleslaw. Shredded carrot mixed with cabbage and a mayonnaise or vinegar dressing. Mayonnaise

Cut off the green tops before storing, because the leaves keep drawing moisture from the root and the carrots go limp sooner. Refrigerate carrots in a bag or container, unwashed until you use them. Baby-cut carrots sometimes develop a white film as their cut surface dries out; it is harmless dehydration and disappears with a rinse.

Weigh trimmed carrots in the form you use them: a cup of grated carrot is 110 g, while a cup chopped is 128 g, so cups are not interchangeable. Enter the weight in the label generator along with the rest of the recipe. For carrot cake and muffins, the oven drives off water, so set servings from the baked weight; for soups, from the finished batch. Use the cooked carrot record only if you buy carrots already cooked. Serving sizes for cakes, soups and fresh-cut vegetables are in the RACC lookup.