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This brown sugar glazed carrots recipe is easily made on the stovetop for a simple, buttery, and sweet side dish! Ours have a special touch you won’t find in other recipes.
Try these Maple Roasted Beets and Carrots or Easy Garlic Sauteed Mushrooms next.
Why you’ll love it
Glazed carrots are a tasty side dish for so many reasons. They’re inexpensive, have very few ingredients, and even your picky eaters who won’t eat their vegetables will request these bad boys. They’re dressed up but still have all the nutrients of carrots.
It’s awesome for a quick side dish on busy weeknights, but the warm and satisfying flavors (especially from the cinnamon) make these candied carrots special enough for a holiday side dish. I make them all the time, special occasion or not, since they’re just so effortless!
What you’ll need
- Carrots – I use full-size carrots since I find they have more flavor, but you can use baby cut ones. Slice them into rounds or sticks. Whatever you prefer! If you have ones from the garden, they’d be great here.
- Brown sugar – it brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots and makes them caramelized. Use honey or maple syrup if you want instead.
- Butter – to amp up the richness
- Lemon juice – it adds a touch of acidity to balance the sweetness and brightens it up
- Cinnamon – my not-so-secret ingredient! Cinnamon adds a touch of delicious warmth and plays well with the sugar. These carrots will make your kitchen smell amazing with a little cinnamon.
- Parsley – chopping up a bit of parsley brings contrast and a burst of freshness
Did you know?
Baby-cut carrots aren’t actually baby carrots. They’re regular size full-grown ones that have been cut into a smaller shape. Sometimes they’re even labelled as baby carrots, but most of the time they aren’t the real deal. They’re still super tasty all the same, though 😉
How to make glazed carrots
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Peel and cut the carrots into either sticks or rounds. Add them to a deep skillet or saucepan, and cover with water. Boil until tender, then drain the water.
Add the butter, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the skillet, and toss with the carrots. Continue to cook until the sugar melts and you’ve got a sauce. Season with salt & pepper and top with fresh parsley. That’s it!
Pro tips
- The key to these carrots is cutting the sticks or rounds uniformly so that they cook evenly.
- You may need to experiment a bit with the timing on this recipe to nail cooking time depending on how soft you like your carrots.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Here is the Le Creuset skillet pictured. I love cooking with cast iron.
- Use a quality chef’s knife to evenly slice these carrots.
- I keep my butter in this butter dish. It’s great because it has measurement markings right on it!
What to serve with glazed carrots
- For a quick weeknight family dinner, these make a great accompaniment to everything from Easy Salisbury Steak to these Salmon Patties or my Easy Roast Chicken (Lemon & Herb).
- If you’re making them for a holiday spread, you’re going to want to check out my other Holiday Recipes! I make these carrots as a staple for every special feast.
Leftovers and storage
- These carrots will keep in the fridge no problem for 4-5 days in an airtight container.
- Simply reheat them in a small saucepan over a low heat until warmed through. They’re actually pretty tasty cold too, though, for a snack! I just nibble at them straight from the fridge. No guilt.
- Leftovers should be fine in the freezer, but keep in mind that they might be a little softer when thawed than they went in.
If you made these simple glazed carrots, please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram with any recipe you try.
Easy Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots peeled & cut into sticks or rounds
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Add the carrots to a deep skillet or saucepan. Cover them with water and boil over high heat until tender-crisp. Check after 5 minutes since timing will really depend on how thick the carrots are cut. Keep in mind the carrots will be cooked for a little longer in the next step, so once they're close to desired doneness, drain the water, returning the carrots to the pan.
- Add the butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the pan. Cook over medium heat (or medium-low if it's too hot) for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a little bit and the carrots are cooked to your liking.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed. Serve immediately with some parsley sprinkled over top if you wish.
Notes
- This glazed carrots recipe is also on page 240 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these as a side to your Boursin chicken recipe! Great idea – made for a different veggie than our norm! Easy and delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Meri!! 😀 Thank you for your review!
Made these for an easy side with pork tenderloin for Christmas. Delicious. Everyone loved them. I had a good supply of carrots for the garden this year stored in the root cellar. Now I have a go to recipe to use them up.
Wonderful!!
These carrots were amazing! They were a big hit at our Thanksgiving table. Everyone was asking for the recipe! And so easy to make! 😊
Yay!! That’s awesome. Thanks for letting me know!
I gave my mother this recipe to use for her Thanksgiving dish. I’m so glad I did because WOW These are great!
Yay!! That’s great! Thanks for letting me know.
Perfection! No notes. Quick, easy and my husband loved them!
Wonderful!! 😀 Thanks, Kate! Appreciate your review.
Wonderful recipe! I left my carrots whole cause I like my stuff Al Dente. I just did a little dash of cinnamon and used some hot honey. Delicious! You are a wonderful cook and thank you for sharing these delicious recipes
You’re very welcome, Lucas!! Thrilled you enjoyed it.
I made these glazed carrots as a side dish for thanksgiving this year and everyone loved them! And it was such a pretty dish to serve too. Will definitely be using this recipe again
Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Katie!! 🙂 So glad they were a hit. Happy Thanksgiving!
Any tips on making ahead? I’m planning on bringing this but not sure what to do to reheat and still
Be just as good
Hi! You can make these ahead. See the “leftovers & storage” section of the blog post for reheating tips.
Whoops! That’s perfect thanks so much. Can’t wait to try these in a couple days!
You’re welcome! 🙂 Be sure to let us know how it goes, Nina. Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m so excited to try this recipe!! What do you think about using the pre-cut carrots in the round, sliced shape?
Sure! I think that should work fine. You may need to adjust timing depending on thickness.
No comments??! Haha! I’m always searching for a good carrot recipe and they always fall short. Loved this one! Almost skimped on that pinch of cinnamon, glad I didn’t!!
We’re baffled too that there weren’t any comments! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Sabrina! Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂