Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (2024)

40 minutes mins

| 2 Comments |

4.95 from 19 votes

Jump to Recipe | Updated: | by Nora

These Glazed Carrots (with the best honey and brown sugar glaze) are such an easy side dish – and they are so quick to make on the stove. Perfect for holiday dinner like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter – or to make Sunday dinner extra special!

Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (1)

A couple of years ago I started making these Crock Pot Glazed Carrots, but I really needed a quick and easy version I could make without much planning ahead.

Now I frequently make this quick and oh-so delicious recipe for Glazed Carrots right on the stove – which is very handy for when the slow cooker takes too long, and the oven is too full to make Honey Roasted Carrots!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (2)

Ingredient notes

  • Carrots: Use medium-thick carrots for best results and presentation.
  • Sweetener: Feel free to use all honey, or all brown sugar. I appreciate the sweetness of the sugar combined with the flavor of the honey, but the dish turns out great with either!
  • Orange juice: This is a great way to add a little extra depth and tanginess to the dish, without making it too sour.
  • Parsley: I don’t really use parsley when I add ground cinnamon to the carrots, but love it with the more savory seasoning. Feel free to go according to your personal taste here!

Recipe variations

  • Baby carrots: Baby carrots work well with this glaze. I find it difficult to get baby carrots cooked evenly in a skillet though, so I recommend following the instructions on the bag for the first part of the recipe. Once the baby carrots are almost tender, transfer them to a large skillet with the glaze ingredients, then continue the recipe as written.
  • Liquids: Instead of orange juice, use vegetable broth or water; or 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 1 tablespoon water.
  • Seasoning: This is where this recipe gets very personal – I know some people prefer very savory seasoning with glazed carrots to offset the sweetness, while others prefer to keep things mild. I like either, so I’ll season to suit the occasion and other dishes on the menu. Here I’m using a touch of garlic powder and ground ginger for a more savory flavor. You can also use ground cinnamon instead of the garlic powder, it goes great with the ginger and with the carrots! Alternatively, a pinch of dried thyme is delicious for a more herby flavor (with or without garlic powder).

How to make Glazed Carrots

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, season, then cook them until they’re almost tender. This will take about 10-20 minutes, depending on how firm you like the carrots.

Please note, they will continue cooking for another 15 minutes in the glaze, so they shouldn’t be fully cooked at this point – just crisp-tender.

If you like your carrots very buttery, I recommend cooking them 20 minutes at this point. If you dislike overly cooked vegetables, stick to 10 minutes.

2. Add the orange juice, brown sugar, honey and butter to the skillet. Stir well, then allow the carrots to simmer in the glaze over medium to medium-high heat (the glaze has to be bubbling in order to reduce, but must not cook vigorously!) for around 15 minutes, or until thick and sticky.

Stir frequently in the beginning, then stir constantly for the last 5 minutes to keep the glaze from getting burned. If it seems to darken, reduce the heat.

Please note: The glaze will be very runny at first, but simmering it for 10-15 minutes will reduce it to a thick, sirupy glaze that nicely clings to each carrot coin. Trust in the process, do NOT crank up the heat to high (the glaze WILL burn and turn bitter!), just allow it the time it needs.

Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (5)
Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (6)

3. Once the glaze has thickened, immediately serve the carrots – either with or without chopped parsley stirred in. The carrots taste best served hot.

Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (7)

Recipe notes

Cooking time: While this recipe is simple and easy to prepare, you do need to allow it its time.

Carrots need their 15 minutes in the skillet until they start to soften, and the glaze needs 10-15 minutes over medium to barely medium-high heat until it has thickened and reduced enough to coat the carrots.

Don’t rush the process, or you can easily mess up the dish.

Make ahead instructions:

  • Cook the carrots up to 3 days in advance and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use
  • When ready to serve, place the carrots and glaze ingredients in a large skillet and gently simmer until the carrots are hot and the glaze has thickened.

Quick tips

  • Slice the carrots as evenly as possible, for even cooking.
  • Do not undercook the glaze – there should be very little liquid left at the bottom of the pan, most of the glaze should be sticking to the carrots when it’s done.
  • Do not use too much heat on the glaze. It should be bubbling, but not vigorously cook. It can burn and turn bitter easily!
Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (8)

Serving ideas

These go really well with a holiday dinner – both with my Crock Pot Pineapple Ham or my Crockpot Honey Glazed Ham, but also with a turkey dinner (try an air fried turkey breast or a slow cooker turkey breast for a smaller gathering).

But the carrots also delicious on a weeknight with some mashed potatoes or instant pot mashed potatoes and Crock Pot Cranberry Pork Chops, oven baked steak or even with a

Recipe video

PSIf you try this recipe, please leavea review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along onPinterest,FacebookorInstagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card

Perfect Glazed Carrots

These Glazed Carrots (with the best honey and brown sugar glaze) are such an easy side dish – and they are so quick to make on the stove.

Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings

made it? tap the stars to add your rating!

4.95 from 19 votes

Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 30 minutes mins

Total 40 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 pound medium-thick carrots peeled, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into ⅜-inch thick coins
  • ¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
  • teaspoon ground ginger optional; see notes for seasoning tips
  • 1/16 teaspoon garlic powder OR ground cinnamon to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons runny honey
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • chopped parsley optional, to serve

Instructions

  • Prep: Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, season with salt, garlic powder, ground ginger and black pepper.

  • Cook carrots: Cook, stirring often, for about 15-20 minutes, or until carrots are starting to soften but still retain a bite.

  • Make glaze: Add butter, brown sugar and orange juice to skillet and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often at first and constantly for final 5 minutes, until glaze forms around carrots.

    Glaze will seem too runny at first, but WILL thicken while simmering. Glaze should be visibly bubbling throughout, but never vigorously cooking – burning turns it bitter!

  • Serve: Serve carrots immediately with chopped parsley, if you like.

Want to save this recipe?Create an account for free to start your personal recipe box. Save any recipe by tapping the heart in the bottom right corner.

Join Now

Notes

Ingredients notes

  • Sweetener: Feel free to use all honey, or all brown sugar instead of both.
  • Baby carrots: Baby carrots work well with this glaze. Follow instructions on bag for cooking carrots. Once baby carrots are almost tender, transfer to a large skillet with glaze ingredients, then continue recipe as written.
  • Liquids: Instead of orange juice, use vegetable broth or water; or 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 1 tablespoon water.
  • Seasoning:A touch of garlic powder and ground ginger work great for a more savory flavor. Ground ginger and ground cinnamon are tasty and more sweet. A pinch of dried thyme is delicious for a more herby flavor (with or without garlic powder).

Recipe tips

  • Slice carrots as evenly as possible, for even cooking.
  • Do not undercook glaze – very little liquid should gather at bottom of pan when dish is done, most of glaze should stick to carrots.
  • Glaze will be very runny at first, but simmering for 10-15 minutes will reduce it to a sirupy consistency. Do NOT crank up heat to high (glaze WILL burn and turn bitter!), just allow it the time it needs. Process can’t be rushed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 196mgPotassium: 269mgFiber: 2gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 12872IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Recipe first shared on 11/18/2019. Updated on 03/21/2023 with new text, new photos and an improved recipe.

More side dishes

  • Roasted Baby Potatoes
  • Easy Sautéed Green Beans
  • Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
  • Maple Pecan Roasted Sweet Potato Slices
Perfect Glazed Carrots Recipe - Savory Nothings (2024)

FAQs

What enhances the flavor of carrots? ›

Classic Spices and Herbs That Pair Well with Carrots
  • Garlic (minced, powder or granules)
  • Onion powder or granules.
  • Black malabar pepper.
  • Cinnamon (Cassia for sweeter, Ceylon for sweetness with some more complex savory and vanilla flavors)
  • Nutmeg powder.
  • Cayenne pepper powder.
  • Ginger powder.
  • Aleppo chili.
Mar 28, 2021

How to make Gordon Ramsay carrots? ›

Cooking instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.

What cooking method is best for carrots? ›

Recommend steaming if you wish to cook without fat and want to preserve nutritional value as much as possible. For flavour I like to roast until tender with a little oil, thyme and honey. This gives a really nice earthy and sweet flavour. I love oven roasted carrots, cooked through and slightly charred.

What pairs well with carrots? ›

For example, carrots are said to pair exceptionally well with butter, ginger, lemon, maple syrup, orange, parsley, and sugar. Other ingredients that are said to pair well with carrots include cinnamon, coriander, dill, lime, spearmint, olive oil, parsnips, salt, tarragon, thyme, etc.

Why do my carrots taste bland? ›

There are a few possibilities for why your carrots aren't as sweet as they should be. You are right to think about your soil--a crop of carrots can deplete a soil of nutrients. Be sure to rotate crops in your garden, rather than planting carrots in the same place year after year.

What is the flavorful liquid that adds more flavor to a vegetable meal? ›

A stock is a very flavorful liquid that is made by gently cooking bones and other ingredients such as vegetables in a liquid.

What not to mix carrots with? ›

Also, fruits have more sugar content, something that can hinder the digestive process of vegetables. For the same reason, one shouldn't mix orange with carrot as when taken together, they may cause heartburn and excess bile reflux.

Is it better to steam or bake carrots? ›

No matter which way you cook them, carrots are a healthy choice. Steaming is a slightly better pick since the carrots don't lose as many of their nutrients to the water. (Steaming is also more environmentally friendly since it uses less water.)

Should you soak carrots before cooking? ›

You don't want to soak them, you want to cook them. The prep and method of cooking will determine how long it will take to soften the carrots. Quickest: slice and boil in salted water; done in a few minutes. Best tasting: clean carrots, toss in oil and a little bit of salt.

Is it healthier to roast or boil carrots? ›

Cooking breaks down the vegetable's cell walls, making its nutrients more available. Of course, how you cook them matters—boiling vegetables can leach out nutrients, so it's better to steam, sauté, or roast. If you still prefer boiling your carrots, throw them in the water whole—you'll keep the most nutrients.

What are 2 appropriate methods of cooking carrots? ›

Carrots can be cooked using several methods. Some common methods are steaming, boiling, braising, roasting, sautéing, stir frying, and microwaving. Carrots should be cooked only until they are tender-crisp to ensure maximum flavor. Overcooking may also destroy some of the nutrients contained in carrots.

When not to use carrots? ›

How to Tell if Carrots Are Bad. Carrots that have spoiled or gone bad will usually have an odor, a slimy texture, or dark discoloration. They may also be wilted or soft. If you see mold growing on carrots, throw them out.

Which animal likes to eat carrots? ›

Rabbits are small mammals and like to eat carrots. Frogs eat insects, tiger eats other herbivorous animals and a donkey eats grass or hay.

How do you balance carrot flavor? ›

too many carrots may very well be the cause of the sweetness. i recommend countering that sweetness with a bit of acid — a squeeze of lemon or some vinegar. you probably won't need too much, just add a bit and taste. if you need more, add gradually.

What can be used to enhance the flavor of most vegetables? ›

Salt, for starters. I also reach for olive oil, which makes all veggies taste delicious. Fresh herbs, onions, garlic, ginger and chili peppers are also good choices. Toasted nuts, sauces like oyster sauce, soy sauce and tomato sauce do the trick too.

How do you sweeten bitter carrots? ›

By shredding them. "When you grate [root vegetables, like carrots]," he explains, "you break the cell walls down [and] they become very sweet. It really changes their flavor."

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Nathanael Baumbach

Last Updated:

Views: 5915

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nathanael Baumbach

Birthday: 1998-12-02

Address: Apt. 829 751 Glover View, West Orlando, IN 22436

Phone: +901025288581

Job: Internal IT Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Motor sports, Flying, Skiing, Hooping, Lego building, Ice skating

Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.