Are Yellow Carrots Better Than Orange?

There are many different colored carrot varieties.

There are purple, orange, red, and yellow.

Different varieties of the same vegetables generally have significantly different vitamins and minerals.

So, below is which is better: yellow or orange carrots.

For example, orange carrots have more calcium than yellow carrots but less phosphorus.

Below, I will show a side-by-side table that compares each of the vitamins and minerals in orange carrots vs yellow carrots so you can see exactly how they differ.

I will also explain which colored carrots are the healthiest.

Are Yellow Carrots Less Nutritious?

Some fruits and vegetables are healthier than others because they contain more nutrients overall.

Yellow carrots are less common but can be found in farmers’ markets or grown yourself. 

But, are they worth the effort and are yellow carrots more nutritious?

Here’s a table that shows a side by side comparison of all of the vitamins and minerals in yellow carrots compared to orange carrots:

*The amounts in the table are the percentage of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of each nutrient.  The percentages are also for 1 half cup of grated carrot. Which is equivalent to 3.4g of carrot or 100g or 2 average-sized carrots.

The nutrients in yellow carrots compared to orange carrots are virtually identical.

They differ by one or two percent per nutrient.

But, there are some nutrients that are in much higher amounts. Those of note are:

• Calcium – 1.74% more in orange carrots
• Vitamin C – 3.5% more in orange carrots
• Vitamin E – 41% more in yellow carrots
• Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – 2.6% more in yellow carrots
• Vitamin K – 3% more in orange carrots.

Interestingly, in the data available vitamin A is missing for yellow carrots.

Therefore, the amount of vitamin A is an approximation as currently, no data is available.

Because most of the nutrients in yellow carrots and orange carrots are roughly the same.

The amount of vitamin A in yellow carrots has been put as the same as that of orange carrots.

Vitamin A is known to be good for your skin.

Eating foods that are good for your skin will improve the appearance of your skin and make your skin glow.

In another article, I looked into what dermatologists have to say about what positive effects carrots have on your skin.

I summarized it and other interesting info about how carrots affect your skin in this article about whether carrots make your skin glow.

There are orange, red, white, and purple carrots.

You can find packets of carrot seeds that have a mix of the different carrot colors.

But, of all the different colors of carrots, which are the healthiest?

For purple carrots, there is a limited amount of data.

I have put together a table below that shows the data that is available so you can compare them.

Based on the limited data it appears that purple carrots aren’t as nutritious as yellow or orange carrots.

From the table, it can be seen that purple carrots have about half the nutrients that orange and yellow carrots have.

In my opinion, if you have access to different colored carrots you should aim to eat a variety of different colors.

As a general rule, all fruits and vegetables contain different amounts of nutrients.

So, doing that will give you a wide variety of nutrients.

Here’s a video that shows how and why farmers grow different colored carrots:

Carrots come in a variety of colors and can have minor imperfections in the color.

Or, have areas that are a completely different color.

So, here’s an explanation of what color good quality carrots are, and which color carrots you should avoid.

Some people don’t mind the taste of the green areas of carrots.

But, most people are after a carrot that tastes like a carrot all the way through.

Rather than having some areas that are bitter, and some areas that taste like a carrot.

Therefore, in general, you should avoid carrots that have green tops.

I researched the exact causes of carrots turning green, and summarized what I found in this article about why carrots turn green.

It explains if the green areas of carrots are safe to eat and if you’re growing your own carrots how to avoid it from happening.

With that said, despite there being limited data it’s safe to assume that all colors of carrots are of good quality.

The main things to watch out for are black spots on carrots.

This is caused by a fungus that is called black root rot.

If carrots you’ve grown have this, it’s best to discard them.

It’s rare to find carrots in stores with black root rot as they will be taken out when the carrots are sorted.

However, if you happen to find them in stores, don’t buy them.