Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

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My brown sugar glazed carrots recipe is made in one large skillet and bathed in a sticky-sweet brown sugar glaze! This dish is super quick to fix on the stovetop and uses only a handful of easy-to-find ingredients. It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, but special enough for a company dinner, or even the holidays. Yes, this recipe often makes an appearance on our Easter, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas tables, but it’s most often in our regular weeknight dinner rotation!

No bland vegetable sides here — the sweetness of the brown sugar brings out the natural sweetness in the carrots, making it the dessert of side dishes! Your family will love this simple side dish! When you create this for dinner, I guarantee you won’t hear any family members complain about eating their veggies! You’ll just hear the heartwarming silence of happy eating. Who doesn’t live carrot slices bathed in a luscious brown sugar mixture!

This is great served alongside things like sautéed asparagus (with the perfect amount of garlic!), copycat KFC coleslaw, or my favorite, Paula Deen corn casserole! And when you’re looking for a cool carrot dish, please don’t miss my yummy carrot salad.

Let’s make these!

BROWN SUGAR GLAZED CARROTS INGREDIENTS

• Colorful Carrots: Slice the carrots into 1/2-inch pieces. If you’d prefer to use baby carrots, they work just as well! I typically use standard orange carrots for this dish, but don’t be afraid to use colorful carrots too! Purple or white carrots would look amazing in this dish and taste just as good.
• Oil: I like to use olive oil in this recipe.
• Salt + Pepper: Table salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Sugar: Want your dish even sweeter? Use dark brown sugar for its higher molasses content. Want your dish less sweet? Use light brown sugar and use only a few tablespoons, instead of 1/4 cup. If you’d like, you can substitute honey for the brown sugar.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter.
• Herbs: What fresh herbs should you add at the end to get a really KAPOW flavor with your carrots? I love rosemary, parsley, and thyme, but you can shake things up with whatever you have in your herb garden!

TIPS

• Even Size: Try to cut your carrots as uniformly as possible for even cooking.
• Dry Them: Be sure to drain the carrot well after washing and gently dry it so excess moisture doesn’t thin out the sauce. I dab the carrots with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.

RECIPE VARIATIONS

• You can add more veggies and make roasted potatoes and carrots or roasted carrots and parsnips!
• Ramp up the sweet factor by adding raisins, dates, or my favorite, dried cranberries.
• Pop the whole dish in the oven and make roasted carrots with brown sugar glaze!
• Or swap the sweetener from brown sugar to honey, maple syrup, or agave.
• Add a little bit of cinnamon. Spice is nice!

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? You can keep your cooked carrots in the fridge for up to five days. Any longer, and they start to get questionable on the safety front, so don’t risk it. This recipe is so easy to make, you can always whip up more! If you have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Can You Freeze Them? Yes! These carrots will be kept in the freezer for 3 months. I love storing a bunch of these in portioned containers to have on hand for dinner sides.
  • To reheat, I place them in a microwave-safe dish, cover them with damp paper towels, and microwave until heated through. Alternatively, you can reheat them in a saucepan, with a bit of water added, on the stovetop. What makes this dish so yummy is that crystallized sugar glaze, so you want some of that! Reheating will slightly change the texture, making them softer.
•  Make-Ahead Tips: This recipe comes together quickly and is very dependent on each step, so there isn’t much you can do in terms of prepping it ahead of time, other than freezing it, as mentioned above! But you can have fresh, chopped carrots on hand. Raw-cut carrots will last up to three weeks in your fridge!
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

This brown sugar carrot recipe goes well with darn near everything! Yes, absolutely everything! Nice crockpot pork tenderloin, smothered chicken, million dollar chicken casserole, crockpot pork chops (with a luscious mushroom gravy!), crockpot pulled pork, grilled chicken marinade, chicken tortilla casserole, pot roast,  or my amazingly tender, Swiss steak — yum!

I mentioned some delicious go-withs in the intro, but there are so many more! Try my butter swim biscuits, Bisquick cornbread, au gratin potatoes, make ahead mashed potatoes, or my nearly famous, funeral potatoes!

Oh, and a super quicky…try my buttered potatoes! They’re more delicious than you can believe!!!

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHODS

Crockpot: Arrange the carrots on the bottom of a crockpot. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, salt, pepper, brown sugar, melted butter, and just enough water to create a thick paste. Drizzle over carrots. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high until the carrots are tender, about 2 to 3 hours.

Instant Pot: Add all ingredients, plus 1/4 cup water or chicken broth (Note: we only add water as needed in our stovetop recipe; extra liquid is required for the Instant Pot), to the pot of an Instant Pot. Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Select “Manual” setting and set the timer for 3 minutes on high pressure. When the cooking time is complete, carefully perform a “quick release.” When steam is released, select “sauté” and cook for a couple of minutes to reduce the liquid and create a thicker glaze.

Oven: Preheat oven to 425ºF (218ºC). Omit the oil and water from the recipe card below. Lightly oil a baking sheet. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, brown sugar, salt, pepper, rosemary, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Roast in preheated oven until tender, about 12-15 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE BROWN SUGAR GLAZED CARROTS RECIPE

1. Saute the carrots over medium-high heat, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Add brown sugar to the pan and reduce the heat. Add water, only if needed.
3. Continue to cook until tender.
4. When carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, add the butter and rosemary.
5. Transfer the carrots to a serving bowl and serve.

***See the full instructions below.

MORE OF MY FAVORITE VEGETABLES

• Southern Green Beans
• Roasted Garlic Asparagus With Feta (one of my most popular veggie recipes for over a decade!!)
• Simple Roasted Peppers
• Roasted Broccoli
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Pea Salad
• Roasted Green Beans (with Pancetta and Shallots! YUM)
• Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
• Fajita Veggies
• Tennessee Onions
• Best Way To Cook Corn On The Cob
• Creamed Peas
• Three Bean Salad

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Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

Sticky-sweet glaze makes veggies downright divine in this brown sugar glazed carrots recipe that takes your favorite orange vegetable!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 (16-ounce) bag whole carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ black pepper to taste
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ few tablespoons water -if needed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a skillet large enough to hold the carrots, heat the olive oil (2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke lightly, add the carrots (16-ounce) and season with salt (1/4 teaspoon) and black pepper. Stir the carrots to coat with the oil and seasonings. Continue to cook the carrots on medium-high, stirring them often, for 3-4 minutes.
• Add brown sugar to the pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Add water, only if needed, about a tablespoon at a time, if the brown sugar begins to burn. Continue to cook until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. When carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, add the butter (2 tablespoons) and rosemary (1 1/2 teaspoons). Transfer the carrots to a serving bowl and ENJOY!

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Cheesy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• 
  Easy Broccoli Salad Recipe
• 
  Honey Glazed Carrots
• 
  Southern Collard Greens Recipe

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Notes

1. Even Size: Try to cut your carrots as uniformly as possible for even cooking.
2. Dry Them: Be sure to drain the carrot well after washing and gently dry it so excess moisture doesn't thin out the sauce. I dab the carrots with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 19119IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 49mg

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