Vegan Carrot Hot Dogs: A Whole Carrot Becomes a Delicious Hot Dog!

Vegan Carrot Dogs

I know you’re all anxiously awaiting the results of the crazy carrot hotdog experiment and I’d like to report that it was a total success! Woo-hoo–a vegan hot dog completely different and completely delicious!

First, I’ll tell you what a vegan carrot hot dog is not: this is not a recipe where you take lot of vegetables, cook them and somehow shape them into a hot-dog shape and throw it on the grill and call it a hot dog. It is also nothing like the many packaged vegan dogs that seem to be multiplying on the supermarket shelves.

Carrot Dogs are pretty damn wonderful! There really aren’t many veggies that you would say are shaped like a hot dog and the carrot might actually be the only one. Using 4 nice-sized carrots, trimmed and peeled, it doesn’t get much easier than this. Boiling them for about 10 minutes and marinating in the easily mixed hot dog flavor-packed recipe for 24 hours, will give you a hot-dog shaped, hot dog colored (kind of) and hot dog tasting carrot-dog!

Take a Bite!

For all of you that have had “real” hot dogs, think about what you like about them (and what you don’t like about them!). It’s the flavoring that’s put into the hot dog, the grilling and what you put on top of it that is really what it’s all about.This recipe gets all of that right and satisfied my hot dog-loving group. It was filling too! And, really, the best part–you don’t have to stop at one! It’s just a carrot, a real, whole, unprocessed vegetable–healthy and packed with fantastic nutrients–eat as many as you want without all kinds of guilt!

Also, it would be fun to get kids involved in this recipe–I can imagine them getting a kick out of helping with this recipe and flipping over the bag the carrots are marinating in— plus much more nutrition! Kids would definitely like little mini carrot dogs! There’s so much that can be done with this recipe!

Vegan Carrot Hot Dogs

This recipe proves that a healthy whole carrot can miraculously transform into a delicious vegan hot dog!

Ingredients

4 carrots, both ends trimmed off and peeled (you can measure the length to exceed a hot dog bun length by an inch on both sides, if you want)
Cut to Hot Dog Size
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1/3 tsp garlic powder
4 dashes of liquid smoke
2 Tbs onion powder

Directions

1. In a medium pot that will fit 4 carrots, bring enough water to cover them well to a boil.
2. Place carrots in the pot and lower to medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes.
3. They should NOT be allowed to get soft and mushy, but a toothpick or fork should go in easily.
4. While boiling the carrots, mix all the other ingredients in a large enough ziploc bag or container.
5. Allow the carrots to cool.
6. Put the carrots in the container with marinade and let sit for 24 hours, making sure they are covered in the liquid.
7. After the 24 hours, they are ready to be grilled or pan fried. Allow to brown evenly on all sides. Pop them in vegan hot dog buns with all your favorite toppings!

Vegan Carrot Dogs and Veggie Burgers

Enjoy these wondrous hot dogs and try serving them to your omnivorous friends! One thing everyone knows,”real” hot dogs are full of all the bad stuff, so they may thank you for opening their minds to a super healthy alternative. Just make sure you marinate plenty of carrots overnight for 24 hours because one is definitely not enough!