The need for sustainable and energy-efficient drying technologies in the food industry has triggered unreserved interest in non-thermal pre-treatments such as cold plasma. This study evaluates the impact of cold plasma jet treatment on the drying dynamics, structural changes and nutritional quality of carrots subjected to vacuum and tray drying. Fresh carrot slices were pre-treated using a cold plasma jet under controlled conditions and subsequently dried using vacuum and tray dryers. Drying kinetics, effective moisture diffusivity, energy consumption, indirect \(\:{CO}_{2}\) emissions, microstructural changes, crystallinity and nutritional parameters were comprehensively assessed. Cold plasma significantly enhanced the drying rate, by reducing the drying time by 9.68–12.90% in vacuum drying and 22.22–37.04% in tray drying. The effective moisture diffusivity increased, while specific energy consumption declined by up to 39.13% and \(\:{CO}_{2}\) footprint by 60.04%. Treated samples showed improved colour retention, with vacuum drying offering superior visual quality. XRD analysis revealed reduced crystallinity in the treated samples, indicating structural amorphization. FE-SEM imaging confirmed substantial microstructural alterations, including pore formation and surface loosening, which contributed to enhanced moisture evaporation. Nutritionally, cold plasma reduced the degradation of the total carotenoid content by up to 113.58% and total phenolic content by up to 4091.30%, along with significant increase in antioxidant capacity. Through this, cold plasma has positioned itself as a valuable innovation for industrial food processing and a promising green technology.
