Vegan Carrot Hotdogs

Vegan Carrot Hotdogs or Carrot-Dogs are such a a fun and tasty meal. Surprisingly these veggie hotdogs do actually have the texture and taste similar to regular hot-dogs. The carrot-dogs are pretty easy and quick to prepare in one-pot and are perfect for family movie nights, game day snacks, parties, buffets, pot-luck, or for just fun and easy meals.

Also, why not prepare a batch of carrot hot-dogs and take them on your next camping trip, or enjoy them as a meat-free option for a BBQ or cookout, as they can be easily reheated over a camp-fire or grill where they will develop authentic looking grill or char lines!

Alternatively, if you would like to cook Carrot-Dogs in a slow cooker we have also include an easy method.

Carrot hotdogs can be easily prepared gluten-free by using a gluten-free soy sauce such as Tamari, as well as a gluten-free veggie broth, and using gluten-free bread buns or lettuce cups. Add all your favourite veggie burger toppings to carrot-dogs and serve with fries, wedges, chips and a crisp salad. Delicious!

These carrot hot-dogs are my family's ultimate favourite fun meal. My kids were skeptical at first as they watched their mum boil whole carrots and claimed they were having hot-dogs for dinner! Even I was a tad concerned! However, we were all very happy with the delicious results and with a few tweaks to the hot-dog cooking sauce and lot's of hot-dog testing batches to munch through, we all agreed that the carrot hot-dogs were so much better than the shop-bought meat-free hot-dogs. And our visitors agree with us as our carrot hot-dogs are a very popular recipe.

Where did hotdogs come from?

Hotdogs, evolved from the German Frankfurters, which in turn evolved from ancient sausages.

Origin of Sausages

A sausage is essentially ground meat that has been flavoured with animal fat, herbs and spices and is usually stuffed into a casing that has been made with animal intestines, but in more modern times a synthetic casing may be used.

For centuries, sausages have been a staple dish in many civilizations. Sausages were a popular food in ancient Greek and Roman, and they were often served as a main course or as a snack. The ancient Greeks called sausages "hila" or "hilla," and the ancient Romans called them "farcimen."

Sausages were made with a variety of meats, including pork, beef, lamb, and goat. They were also made with a variety of spices, including garlic, onion, and pepper. Sausages were often smoked or dried to preserve them.

The Spanish and Portuguese brought sausages to the Americas in the 16th century and sausages quickly gained popularity in the Americas, and they are today a common staple in many countries.

In modern times some of the most popular sausages include the Italian salami, the German bratwurst, the British banger, the Spanish chorizo, the Polish kielbasa, and the American hot dog.

Next came the Frankfurter Sausage

The frankfurter sausage is claimed to have originated in the 14th century in Frankfurt, Germany. A frankfurter is a smoked, lightly spiced sausage traditionally made of pork.These sausages, consisting of pork and beef, were frequently served at imperial coronations.

The first written mention of the frankfurter sausage occurred in 1367, when it was referred to as "Frankfurter Würstchen."

In the 19th century, German immigrants brought the frankfurter sausage to the United States, where it quickly became popular.

And finally the hot-dog!

A hot dog is a long thin sausage that is generally served in a hot-dog bread bun. It is a type of sandwich and is also often referred to as a "frankfurter" or a "wiener". The sausage used is the wiener (Vienna sausage) or frankfurter (Frankfurt sausage).

In the 1870s, the first hot dogs were offered in the United States. These hot dogs were manufactured from frankfurter sausages and were frequently served in a long, soft roll. In 1871, the first hot dog stand appeared in New York City, and hot dogs quickly became popular across the country.

Hot dogs are now a mainstay of American and British cuisine and a popular snack at sporting events, fairs, and other gatherings.

Although, many other cuisines around the world have their own version of a hot-dog including the Mexican street food "hot dog estilo Sonora," which is wrapped in bacon, grilled and topped with pinto beans, grilled and fresh onions, tomatoes, mayonnaise, cream sauce, mustard, and jalapeno salsa.

These carrot hot-dogs have been garnished with vegan mayonnaise, mustard, tomato ketchup and Vegan Campfire Stew. So delicious and the perfect example that vegan and plant-based diets are absolutely not boring!

Modern evolution - the meat-free Carrot hot-dog!

Carrot-hotdogs or carrot-dogs have recently become become very popular especially over social media sites. Carrots literally replace the meat hotdog and are cooked in a flavoured broth until they are butter soft and delicious. The carrots beautifully soak up the smoky, sweet, tangy and savoury flavours that are added to the vegetable broth.

Your first carrot hotdog experience will likely be a very surprising one as its quite a shock that a carrot can actually replace a hot-dog and easily mimic the texture and flavour! So do suspend your disbelief and give the carrot hot-dog a go!

Carrots date back to ancient and medieval times

Domesticated carrots have been around since at least the medieval times and were cultivated from wild carrots that are indigenous to Europe and Asia. The root of the wild carrot is white, yellow, or purple, and it was used medicinally by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Carrots were initially cultivated in Persia (modern-day Iran) around the fourth century BC. These purple or yellow carrots were used for both food and medicine. The Romans introduced carrots to Europe.

Orange carrots didn't become common until the 16th century, and are claimed to have been bred by the Dutch who cultivated these carrots as a tribute to William of Orange! This is somewhat debated, but it is true that by the 17th century, orange carrots were the main type in the Netherlands.

In medieval times, carrots were grown but they were not a major crop like leeks and cabbages.

In terms of food, carrots were often used in pottages, a kind of thick soup or stew that was a mainstay of the peasant medieval diet. Carrots would have been boiled along with other vegetables, especially peas, and grains such as barley and oats, and possibly a bit of meat if it was available.

How to prepare vegan carrot-dogs

These vegan carrot hot-dogs are so easy to prepare. Simply bubble the prepared carrots in the flavoured broth until they are really soft and the sauce is nice and rich.

The texture of the carrot will be surprisingly just like an actual hot-dog and the carrots will soak up the flavours of the sweet, savoury, smoky and tangy flavoured broth.

Long thinner carrots are perfect, but if your hot-dog buns are short go for shorter stubbier carrots so that they fit your hot-dog buns.

First, prepare the carrots by cleaning and removing any blemishes.

Trim the carrots if necessary so that they are roughly the same size, if a few of your carrots are too thick simply slice in half down the centre to create two carrot dogs.

If preferred you can use a vegetable utility knife to carve the edges to look like rounded hotdogs but this isn't necessary.

Add the carrots to a saucepan with the vegetable broth or stock.

Add the nutritional yeast flakes, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika powder, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar, and give it a good mix.

Bring the sauce to the boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 55-60 minutes until the carrots are very soft, but still holding their shape, and the sauce is reduced, thick and strongly flavoured.

The carrot hot-dogs can be removed from the pot and used directly on a bread bun or roll, or cool the carrots in the sauce and chill both until required.

Top your carrot-dogs with your favourite burger sauces, relishes, and pickles. If you'd like grill lines on the carrot-dogs then simply add the cooked carrot-dogs to a BBQ or outside grill, turning the carrots frequently until grill lines appear.

Recipe Notes And FAQs

Vegan carrot hot-dogs are a fun introduction to plant-based and vegan diets especially for kids who can learn about the versatility and deliciousness of vegetables!

Vegan dinner recipes that feature meat-free vegan sausages

If you enjoy meat-free sausages then we have a few of our family favourites which are also favourites with our visitors. My kids especially love this fun Cowboy Pie, and this Vegan Sausage Pasta and also this Vegan Sausage Casserole. And for another classic family favourite give this vegan adaptation of the Traditional Scottish Stovies a go!

Any meat-free sausages can be used for the recipes and if your not a fan of vegan sausages then simply replace them with juicy mushrooms, smoked tofu, tempeh, or even a can of drained meaty beans such as butterbeans.

For even more mid-week meal ideas do check out our growing collection of Vegan Dinner Recipes.

***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***

📖 Recipe

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Thanks so much! Love, Jacq x