Category: CarrotsKitchen
Blueberry & Almond Overnight Oats

My Blueberry & Almond Overnight Oats are a real lifesaver – they’re high in fibres, antioxidants & energy, but also they literally don’t take ANY time in the morning (’cause you prepare them the night / a couple of nights before).
Just remember the last time you woke up, it’s 08:45 am and you realised you overslept. So you rushed out of bed, threw some clothes on & rushed out of your house – without breakfast. Who doesn’t know this moment?! Well, with overnight-oats, at least now you’re able to have some some breakfast without leaving first, or maybe on the way to work or even at your desk – BUT you won’t miss out on breakfast or compromise for something unhealthy from the shop down the street.
Also, as my blueberry & almond overnight oats come in a jar, you can take them anywhere you like and eat them whenever you feel like. Therefore, I tend to eat them as a snack as well. Simply divide in half and you have your perfect afternoon snack. Additionally, I have a small portion of it before I go to the gym in the mornings. That way, I avoid working out on an empty stomach. 😊
Blueberry & Almond Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oats certified gluten-free, if applicable
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp finely chopped almonds
- a handful blueberries
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Almond joghurt
- vegan milk (ideally almond milk)
optional
- 1 tbsp almond butter only add, when everything already mixed
Instructions
- Firstly take a 200ml marmelade glass and add the oats. It's very important to start with the oats. Should you start with the chia seeds, they will stick to the bottom of the glass and don't really mix well.
- Next, add everything else apart from the blueberries (and almond butter if you use it). Put the lid on & shake well.
- Add the blueberries (& almond butter, if you're using it). Shake well again.
- Place in the fridge for 4-5 hours or overnight.
- Enjoy straight from the fridge or take out a little before. Top up with some more blueberries or granola and enjoy as a wholesome breakfast, snack or dessert.

As you already know, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, which is why I am posting so many breakfast recipes here. My Blueberry & Almond Overnight Oats are no exception and, when working, I tend to have them 2-3 times a week. I even prepare them ahead of time for my entire family if we have a lot of busy mornings scheduled.
As always, I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Go ahead, try it & let me know if you like it.
If you’re looking for more breakfast recipes, try my Granola or Porridge recipes. You can find all my other recipes here.
I am also happy for any suggestions, should you be missing any breakfast essentials you wanna eat the CarrotsKitchen Way.
Until next week & happy cooking!
Love, Carolin

Roasted Cauliflower with Lentils & Rice

Want to win over your meat-eating friends to the side of vegetarians? Then, you should try my Roasted Cauliflower with Lentils & Rice. It’s a hearty, delicious & 100% filling dish. No one will feel like they need something else afterwards. I call it the perfect “vegetarian starter dish”, because no one ever really misses meat, when eating it. So it’s perfect for everyone who wants to switch to a more plant-based diet.
Further, it’s great, if you want to cook something out of the ordinary, e.g. for a special occasion like a dinner party, birthday, etc (or even Christmas). You might say it’s a dish to blow minds, really. Also, it is easy to prepare & naturally gluten-free, but a real joyride for your tastebuds. Full of fibres, proteins & polyphenols.
The last time, I made this dish, I made it for some friends and they were so impressed by it, that I decided it had to go up on my blog. Now, as it takes quite a while to cook, particularly the cauliflower, I don’t cook it too often. It does perfectly replace a Sunday roast, though.
As I mentioned, you can even make a Christmas-dish out of it. Simply vary the herbs & spices. You might want to add cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and/or star anise to the dish, in order to make it more suitable for Christmas. For the lentils, you can add a whole cinnamon stick to it, while cooking. Replace the paprika with Brussel sprouts (or other winter vegetable). Et voila, your perfect Christmas Roast. 🙂
Roasted Cauliflower with Lentils & Rice
Ingredients
Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 whole cauliflower
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil extra virgine
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 cup water
- 0.75 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 handful coriander
- 1 handful parsley
Veggie & Lentil Rice
- 1 cup rice any will do
- 1 cup lentils brown or green are best
- 3 cups water
- 1 onion
- 0.25 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp veggie stock powder
- salt & pepper to season
Side
- 1 bag spinach
- 1 clove garlic
- salt & pepper to season
Instructions
Roasted Cauliflower
- As the cauliflower will need the longest time to be fully cooked, we need to start with preparing it first. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Next, in a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, finely chopped garlic, salt, pepper, cumin & paprika. Cut the cauliflower stalk, if necessary & place the cauliflower with the stalk down into a baking dish.
- Take the marinade and rub the cauliflower with it. You'll get the best taste, if you really message it in properly. Place the cauliflower into the middle of the baking dish and cover the entire dish with aluminum foil (or a waste-free alternative). You might also use a casserole dish with a lid. Bake for about 40 minutes with the lid. (If the cauliflower is especially large, you may need to adjust the baking time a little.) Bake another 20 without lid / alumium foil, so the cauliflower can brown properly.
- Last, but not least. Add chopped tomatoes, water, chopped coriander & parsley and some salt & pepper directly to the baking dish / casserole. Bake for another 10 minutes, so the sauce can soak up all the spices.
Paprika & Lentil Rice
- First, chop the onion, garlic & paprika. It can be as small or big as you like. I tend to chop the paprika into bigger chunks as I like them to stay a little bit crunchy. Wash the lentils in a colander. (Otherwise the lentils might get a little too starchy.)
- Next, place 1-2 tbsp olive oil into a pot, add the onion, garlic & paprika and roast for about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoe puree, salt & pepper. Once fully incorporated add the water.
- When the water starts to boil, add the vegetable stock, rice & lentils. Turn the cooker down to low heat & cook the rice & lentil mix with the lid on, until most of the water has been soaked up. Take the lid off and add the chopped tomatoes. Leave simmering, on very low heat, until the cauliflower is done.
Spinach side
- Heat a big pan. Crush the garlic clove with a big knive and add to the pan, together with the spinach. Put a lid on an leave until spinach starts shrinking. The spinach should be done within 2 minutes.
How to serve the dish
- Place a big spoonful of the rice-lentil mix on a plate, place some spinach on top. Add the cauliflower on top of it & finish off with some of the tomato sauce from the cauliflower dish.

This Roasted Cauliflower with Lentils & Rice is one of my absolute favourites to impress people. If you wanna impress someone even more, try making my plum crumble or my Chocolate-Courgette Cake as a dessert. I’m sure your dinner guests will be in heaven. 🙂
As always, I’m happy to see your version of this dish and I’m happy for any suggestions you might have. I can only say, that my roasted cauliflower with lentils & rice is one of my absolute favourites.
I’m also happy to know, what kind of recipes you want to see on my blog going forward. Simply comment below or send me an email here.
P.S. you can find all my recipes here.
You could also follow me on instagram, right here.
Happy Cooking & until next week.
Love, Carolin

Oat & Buckwheat Plum Crumble
Why Gluten-free Crumble?
Using oats & buckwheat flour for my gluten-free crumble was an easy choice – first, oats are often used in “normal” crumble & second, buckwheat has a lovely nutty flavour. Long story short, my Oat & Buckwheat Plum Crumble was born. But why Crumble? Well, aside from having lived in the UK, where I ate it many many times, it’s easy to prepare ahead of time, it’s delicious even cold (great as a quick breakfast the next morning) & it’s simply delicious. There aren’t many things I enjoy as much as a good crumble. The soft, gooey & warm filling with the crunchy, yet buttery topping… it’s simply amazing.

I, personally, am a big fan of plums, but you could use any combination of fruit really… A classic is apple crumble. Just make sure to either sauté the apple pieces in a saucepan before or cut them small enough to fully bake in the oven. You can mix apple & pear, apple & blueberries, make a berry crumble with loads of different berries – really, use your favourites.
Oat & Buckwheat Plum Crumble
Ingredients
Crumble Filling
- 1 kg plums
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar / coconut sugar or whatever sweetener you like
Crumble Topping
- 100 g butter / organic vegan margarine
- 200 g gluten-free oats quick or instant oats (they should be small)*
- 100 g buckwheat flour or any other gf flour**
- 50 g sugar
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2-3 tbsp almond slices
Instructions
- First, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Next, cut the plums into small pieces. Add them to a bowl, together with the cinnamon & sugar. Mix & fill into a casserole dish & set aside.
- Finally, place the butter (it shouldn't come straight from the fridge, yet not too warm either), oats, buckwheat flower, spieces & sugar in the bowl & mix well until it starts to crumble. I find, it works best, simply using my hands. If you think it's still to wet, simly add a little more buckwheat flour or some more oats. If it's too dry, add a tablespoon of butter.
- Add the crumble to the casserole, top with some fine almond slices & place it in the middle part of your oven. Cook roughly 20-30 minutes, until the crumble becomes a little brown.
- Once finished baking, top with some puffed quinoa or millet if you like. Serve with vegan whipped cream (such as coconut cream) or some custard. I can also recomment vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
Notes

Quinoa Buckwheat Granola (gluten-free)
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Naturally, it should be celebrated and consumed with a lot of time and without any stress at all. Don’t you think it is important to start relaxed into the day? Won’t the rest of the day be better as well? As work and everything else is already stressful enough, let’s create 15 minutes of peace to enjoy my Quinoa Buckwheat Granola and start into the day – the right way.
My Quinoa Buckwheat Granola is one of my everyday breakfasts as it’s east to prepare, very satisfying & nutritious. Therefore, it’s suitable for those days, when you don’t have the time to make scrambled eggs, porridge or pancakes, but you still want something great for breakfast. Something, that’ll leave you satisfied, happy & motivates you for the entire day.

The preparation of my Quinoa Buckwheat Granola itself is also easy & can fit everyones needs. Furthermore, it is very easy to adapt to the ingredients you’ve already got at home. In conclusion, there’s no need to go shopping only to make Granola.
Quinoa Buckwheat Granola
Ingredients
- 100 g buckwheat groats
- 150 g quinoa (raw)
- 150 g rolled oats or other flakes, such as millet flakes
- 100 g pumpkin seeds
- 75 g sunflower seeds
- 50 g chia seeds
- 100 g mixed nuts (roughly chopped)
- 75 g coconut chips
- 100 ml maple syrup or date / agave syrup
- 75 ml coconut oil
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 100 g raisins or mix cranberries & raisins
- 50 g dried apricots (finely chopped)
Instructions
- First, rinse the quinoa well until the water runs clear. Next, place the quinoa and 300 ml water into a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring the heat down and let it simmer for around 12 minutes with the lid on. If there's still a lot of water left after 12 minutes, take the lid off and leave on heat until no water is remaining. We want a well-cooked, but fluffy quinoa. Therefore, please refrain from stirring the quinoa too much while cooking. Once done, transfer it to a mixing bowl and let it cool.
- Next, set a pot with the oil, syrup & cinnaom on low heat. While this slowly heats up, you can add your buckwheat groats, oats, seeds, nuts & coconut chips to the quinoa. Pour in the oil & sirup mixture, combine well and let it soak for about 10 minutes.
- Finally, add the mixture to a baking sheet, laid out with parchment paper. I usually spread it around 1 cm thick, but it depends on the size of your baking tray. (If you have enough Granola for more than 1 tray, but not enough for 2, I'd add it all together.)
- Bake the granola at 160 degrees for 20 minutes. Sir it and bake for another 20 minutes. If it's getting too dark, simply turn down the heat to 140 degrees. (Remember to increase your baking time, if you have more granola on 1 baking tray. You can probably add another 10-15 minutes, giving it another stir after the second 20 minutes.)
- Take it out, add the dried fruits and leave it to cool completely. Store it in an airtight container for 4 to 6 weeks. Enjoy with loads of fresh berries & nut milk or some yoghurt.
A little ingredient recommendation
With time, I tried many different brands & I am set on some favourites now. Please find some recommendations below (affiliate advertising):
- Quinoa tricolour (As the consistency is much better)
- Millet flakes
- Oats
If you have any other favourites, let me know in the comments below! 🙂

I don’t know about you, but I am certainly hungry now!
As always, if you try out my recipe, I’d love to see your version of it!!
Happy Cooking,
Carolin 💕
P.S.
For more breakfast recipes check out my glutenfree porridge.
Mediterranean Pasta & Rocket Salad (gluten-free)
Another summer day, another salad – My Mediterranean Pasta & Rocket Salad.
Trust me, once you ate it, you won’t be able to survive the summer without it. It’s perfect as a side dish for a barbecue with friends & family or as a main dish on it’s own. Delicious warm as well as right from the fridge, should you wanna make it ahead of time.
Dried tomato, olives & rocket make the perfect combination for a mediterranean flavour. Raw courgette, one of my favourite salad ingredients, also finds a place in this salad and delivers important nutrients.

Which pasta do I use? And why? Well, I usually use Farfalle or Fusilli for pasta salad. Their unique shape makes it easier for the oil, spices & flavours to stick to every single piece, so the overall taste is usually way better balanced.
I can especially recommend the pasta from Schaer and Barilla is also a great choice. You can order them here & save some money.
If you want a healthier option, try red lentil (or other vegetable) pasta. Just make sure to undercook them slightly, as they will become a little bit softer after being cooked.
Mediterranean Pasta & Rocket Salad
Ingredients
- 250 g short glutenfree pasta (e.g. Penne)
- 1 small courgette
- 1/2 packet rocket salad
- 2 spring onions alternatively 1 shallot
- 1/2 glass sundried tomatoes in olive oil
- 1/2 can olives without stones (green or black)
- 2 tbsp olive oil + some of the oil from the dried tomatoes
- salt & pepper
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 1/2 Feta Cheese (if not vegan)
Instructions
- Start with cooking the pasta. Use 1 litre of water & 1 heaped teaspoon of salt per 100g of pasta. Add the pasta once the water is boiling and cook the pasta without the lid. It should take roughly 8 minutes, but check on the package. Don't overcook the pasta, they should be perfectly al dente for the salad. Once fully cooked, pour into a colander, add to a salad bowl and mix with the of olive oil.
- While the pasta is cooling down, cut the courgette into small pieces and add to the bowl. Make sure to take out the watery bit in the middle of the courgette, otherwise the salad will later become watery. Cut the spring onions and olives into rings and the tomatoes into small pieces.
- Add everything to the bowl, season with salt, pepper & a little of the tomatoe oil. Lastly, add the rocket (wash if not washed) & pine nuts, mix everything & enjoy.
- For non-vegans, you might add some feta-cheese or goats-cheese. Foe vegans, some vegan feta could be a great addition. You can also roast the pine nuts, for some extra flavour.


I don’t know about you, but only writing this and adding all these pictures, I got really hungry. So I’m gonna eat a bowl of this delicious salad now. I hope you like the recipe as much as I do. If you do & if you make it, I’d love to hear about it and see a picture. Should you have any questions, just add a comment below! 🙂
Happy cooking,
Carolin
Quick & Easy Endive Salad (gluten-free)
Yayyyyy, it’s summer, so naturally there’s another salad for my collection – one of my favourites: my quick & easy Endive Salad (gluten-free) with radish & avo. Also, salads are usually gluten-free, I mean unless you add croutons or similar. So it really is a no-brainer, to eat salad when you’re living gluten-free.
During summer, I eat salad almost every day – it’s light & fresh, fighting the summer heat. There’s one little downside to eating that much salad though – I have to invent new salads allllll the time, as I get bored of salad way to easy.


Quick & Easy Endive Salad (gluten-free)
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 endive salads
- 10 radishes
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 feta cheese
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
Salad Dressing
- 1 tsp mustard
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- 1 tbsp balsamico vinagre
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Take the endives and cut small rings (about 1 cm), starting at the top of the salad. Once you reach the bottom, make sure to take out the stalk, as it's quite bitter & hard. Wash the salad & place into a salad bowl.
- Next, slice the radish rather thin and also add to the salad bowl. Cut the avocado into little squares (roughly 1cmx1cm) and add to the bowl as well.
- Last, but not least, cut the feta cheese into squares as well and place them into the salad bowl. If you're vegan, simply leave the feta cheese or use any "fresh-tasting" vegan cheese you can find instead. Add the sunflower seeds on top of everything.
- For the dressing, take a small jar and add mustard, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon & balsamico vinagre. Close the jar & shake. Once you're happy with the consistency & taste simply pour over the salad. Mix well, serve & enjoy.

The dressing I use is my standard dressing, so you’ll find it in most of my recipes. If you eat a lot of salad during the week, you can make a bigger portion and store it in the jar in your fridge for a week or so.
Let me know, if you like my quick & easy endive salad (gluten-free) with radish & avo. As always, I’m happy to see your versions of my recipe.

The Best Glutenfree Instant Porridge
Breakfast, for me, is the most important meal of the day & with the best glutenfree instant porridge, I look forward to getting up, every morning!
After eating plain porridge for a good few years, I had to come up with something a little bit more satisfying. This recipe is inspired by Jamie Olivers’ Granola Dust, because it turns boring porridge oats into a perfect breakfast bowl.
Topped with your favourite fruits, some seeds & a little maple syrup it’s the base for the perfect start to a fantastic day.


The best glutenfree instant porridge
Ingredients
- 1 kg oats
- 250 g nuts
- 125 g seeds
- 250 g dried fruits
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp espresso omit or exchange for caffeine free if children will eat the porridge.
- 2 tbsp psyllium husk
Instructions
- Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Next, place the oats / flakes, nuts & seeds in a large baking tray. Mix & bake for 15 minutes, stirring half-way through.
- Last, but not least, take out the baking tray, add the dried fruits, cocoa powder, espresso & psyllium husk, mix well & let it cool for around 15 minutes.
- Add the mixture to your food processor and blend it until you reach the desired consistency - I like it finely ground, as it cooks faster in the morning. You might want to blend it in smaller portions, depending on the size of your blender. I usually divide it into 3-4 portions.
- Finally, for breakfast, place 50g of instant porridge (roughly 2 big serving spoons) and 250 ml of milk (I prefer oat or almond milk) into a small pot and heat on medium heat. Once simmering, turn down to low heat until it reaches the desired consistency. If you like it thicker, just use less milk and if you like it thinner, simply add a little more milk. Serve with your favourite toppings, such as fresh berries, hemp seeds, maple syrup.

At this point, you’re probably asking yourself, which kind of oats, nuts, seeds & fruits you should use…
I usually use, whatever I have left at home. I’ve used combinations with cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, walnuts and many more. For seeds, I’ve used chia, sesame, hemp, sunflower & pumpkin seeds and I also used many dried fruits ranging from apricots to raisins.
Further, I ,usually, use a variety of oats. Around 250 g each of millet flakes and classic oats. The rest is a mix of buckwheat, rice & quinoa flakes. I like to mix it up, as the other flakes are higher in protein and other nutrients.
As you can see, there’s no right or wrong, just let your creativity flow and choose your favourites!! I’m sure you’ll love the best glutenfree instant porridge recipe – no matter which ingredients you use!
As always, I hope you have fun trying my recipe.
Show me your results by using #carrotskitchen or simply comment below. 🙂
Happy cooking,
Carolin

Quick & easy almond marzipan horns
Today, I want to show you how easy it is to make some homemade snacks, starting with my quick & easy almond marzipan horns. They’re delicious for tea-time or with some coffee, in the morning or the afternoon. Basically, they’re perfect for any time of the day.

I recommend using only “real” marzipan, as some can be way too sugary. Per guidelines, it shouldn’t include more than 35% of sugar. I normally use this one, from Rapunzel, and I am very happy with it. I also use the chocolate coating from Rapunzel. The company follows some of the toughest organic certificates, so I prefer to spend a little bit more money, for better quality. And yes, you might have guessed it already, I use the coconut palm sugar from Rapunzel as well. You can find it here.
Quick & easy almond marzipan horns
Ingredients
- 200 g raw marzipan paste
- 100 g ground almons (without skin)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 100 g coconut sugar alternatively icing sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 50 g almond flakes
- 100 g dark chocolate coating
Instructions
- First, pre-heat the oven on 200 degrees. Then, add marzipan, ground almonds, lemon juice, egg yolk and cinnamon to a bowl. Add sugar and mix until well combined.
- Next make a role out of the mass, 2 cm thick and divide into 20 pieces. Form little horns out of the 20 pieces and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Mix the eggwhite with the water and break down the almond flakes a little bit and add them to a small bowl. Dip the almond horns in the eggwhite mixture and then in the almonds and place back on the baking tray.
- Bake almond horns for 10 minutes, take them out and place on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled completely, melt the chocolate on medium heat. Once melted, dip the chocolate horns into the chocolate and place back on the baking tray. Let them cool completely.

I hope you like this recipe and you’ll try my quick & easy almond marzipan horns soon. As always, I’m looking forward to seeing your results.
Happy baking,
Carolin
Quick & easy vegan red lentil Curry
This quick & easy vegan red lentil curry is my absolute go-to recipe! It’s not only tasty but 100% comfort food worthy.
It is also very easy to adjust, depending on the ingredients you have at home. I made it with chickpeas, spinach, pepper and all sorts of other vegetables. The important thing is to stick to the red lentils, as they don’t take a lot of time to cook. You could also use any other tofu, but I feel the smoked once goes a long way once roasted. 🙂
Ingredients: (for 2 portions)
1 Brokkoli
3 Carrots
4-5 tbsp red lentils
1 onion or 2 shallots
1 garlic clove
3-4 tbsp yellow curry paste (I use this one)
7-8 tbsp Coconut milk
400 ml vegetable stock
10-15 Cashew nuts
half a smoked tofu (I use this one)
2 tbsp Oil (coconut or peanut oil work great)
salt & pepper
How to:
Start with placing a pan on medium heat and add some oil once the pan is hot. Add onions, carrots and garlic and sweat for 2-3 minutes, until the onions and garlic are soft.
Add the curry Paste and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Add the broccoli, lentils, vegetable stock and coconut milk. Put on the lid and leave the curry simmering on low heat for 15 minutes.
While the curry is cooking, you can toast the cashew nuts in another pan on medium to high heat. Make sure it’s a nonstick pan and don’t add any oil. Stir frequently in order to avoid burning them. Once toasted take them out. You can now add some oil and cut up the tofu in chunks (as big or small as you like) and add them to the oil and fry them on medium heat until golden brown. Meanwhile chop the cashews roughly with a knife.
Once the curry has been cooking for 15 minutes, try it. If it’s too spicy you may want to add a little more coconut milk. Finish off with salt & pepper as per your personal liking (I usually leave it the way it is).
Once you’re happy with your result serve the curry topped with tofu and crushed cashews.
My quick & easy vegan red lentil curry is the best example how something easy can go a long way. Perfect if you want to invite guests over or you want to treat yourself to a special, yet simple dinner. As always, I’m looking forward to see your versions.
Happy cooking,
Carolin