Baked Carrot Fries and Homemade Ketchup Without Sugar!

Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel carrots to remove the outer skin and then slice off both ends. Slice carrot in half to approximate the length of a fry.

Carefully slice each carrot half into planks, making them as even as possible. (I try to keep them around ¼ inch thick.) Slice the planks into long fries—again, making sure to get them as even as possible. Repeat with the remaining carrots.

Place all the carrot fries onto the baking sheet and add olive oil, sea salt, and ground black pepper. Toss to coat.

Spread out the carrot fries evenly onto the baking sheet so they are all laying flat and not overlapping. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Carefully flip the fries over and then return to the oven for another 15–20 minutes, or until carrot fries are tender and are starting to turn golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven.

To make the homemade refined-sugar-free ketchup, in a small bowl, combine ketchup ingredients. Stir to combine well.

Serve carrot fries with ketchup. Garnish with minced Italian parsley, if desired.

Note: As written, the homemade ketchup makes quite a lot of sauce. You can either halve the recipe or store the extra in the fridge for later.