Get ready to surprise your friends with vegan carrot lox at your next weekend brunch! Your guests will fall in love with this vegan carrot lox, they have an irresistible smoky and a savory flavor.

This tender recipe is typically piled onto toasted bagels with vegan cream cheese, chives, cucumber, fresh dill, and red onions. It can serve as a meal on its own or pair with a salad, fruits, or a veggie crudité platter.

To prepare this recipe, you need to get carrots, sea salt, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and rice vinegar in place.

To obtain the best results, marinate your carrots for as long as possible. Overnight might be the best option, but if you don’t have that much time, you will still get your delicious vegan carrot lox in fifteen minutes.

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F and line a medium baking dish with parchment paper. Coat the bottom with about a ¼-inch layer of salt, then place the whole carrots in the dish and sprinkle with a good amount of salt.
2. Roast the carrots until easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy. The timing will depend on the size and freshness of your carrots. Check them, starting around 40 minutes - my very large carrots took 60-90 minutes.
3. Make the marinade: In a shallow dish or small bowl, combine the olive oil, rice vinegar, paprika, lemon juice, and several grinds of freshly ground black pepper.
4. Remove the carrots from the oven and let cool. Use a knife to slice a thin strip off one side of the salty skin, and then use a peeler to peel the carrot into ribbons. Just slice pieces as thinly as can with a sharp knife. Place the strips in the marinade and toss to coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and marinate for 15-30 minutes.
5. Serve with bagels, cream cheese, cucumber slices, capers, chives and/or dill.