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These honey glazed carrots are crisp-tender and covered in a silky sweet sauce! This easy side dish will wow everyone.
Carrot season is pretty much every day over here, and Alex and I love this tasty honey glazed carrots recipe when we’re craving a glam spin on a side dish. Our everyday carrot side is these perfect sautéed carrots, but what’s better than a butter and honey glaze? This recipe comes together in just 15 minutes, and the flavor is out of this world: sweet, savory, and salty, with fruity and floral notes from the honey. We love it equally for impressing guests or a weeknight dinner!
The ingredients you need for honey glazed carrots
All you need is a handful of ingredients to transform regular old carrot sticks into sweet, buttery coins. Here’s what you’ll need to make these honey glazed carrots:
- Large carrots: We’re not big fans of baby carrots, those little sticks that are engineered to taste sweeter. Large carrots have a much better flavor! You can also use a bunch of long, slender carrots if you can find them.
- Butter: Butter brings a rich flavor. For dairy-free, you can substitute olive oil or vegan butter.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar helps to get the perfect caramelization and a thicker glaze.
- Honey: You can also substitute pure maple syrup for the honey, if you like!
The best way to cut carrots, we think!
This is just our opinion, but for honey glazed carrots we like cutting the carrots on the bias. This is simply cutting them on the diagonal, as you would a baguette. Why to do this? Well, it makes for beautiful oval shapes that are larger, instead of very small circles. It doesn’t really make a big difference, but we think it looks fancier!
Also, make sure to cut the carrots into roughly 1/4-inch rounds. This is just the right thickness for the amount of time they’re in the pan.
How to make honey glazed carrots: sauteed method
In our recipe testing, we found the best way to make honey glazed carrots is sauteed on the stovetop! We tested a method with roasted carrots, but it didn’t work well with the honey glaze. Instead, you can make it on the stovetop in less than half the time. This makes it perfect for whipping up quickly for an easy weeknight meal. Here’s what to know (or jump to the recipe below):
- Cook on medium high covered for 4 minutes. Don’t even try to stir! For this step, you won’t touch the carrots at all. Get them lightly browned on one side before you uncover.
- Add brown sugar and honey and cook about 3 minutes. The sugar and honey will melt together to form a beautiful caramel-colored sauce. You can stir occasionally here.
- Salt to taste. And you’re done! Taste and add a little more salt to taste. We added another ⅛ teaspoon.
How to make honey glazed carrots for a crowd
It’s harder to make this sauteed honey glazed carrots for a crowd, because most large skillets can only fit 1 pound carrots. So, we recommend switching up the method to boiled carrots and using the same honey glaze as in the recipe below. Double the recipe and use 2 pounds of carrots, which should serve 8 people. Here’s what to do:
- Start a large saucepan of water to boil. Peel and slice the carrots into 1/4-inch slices on the bias (diagonally).
- Once the water is boiling, add the carrots and boil for 4 to 5 minutes until just crisp tender (longer if you prefer them to be more tender). Drain and dry the pot.
- In the same pot, melt double the brown sugar and honey in the recipe below. Once melted, add the carrots and remove from the heat.
Storing and reheating leftovers
You can store these honey glazed carrots refrigerated for up to 3 days. Keep in mind that the butter will become solid in the refrigerator: this is expected! Simply reheat them in a skillet for a minute or two until warm, refreshing with a little more butter if needed.
More carrot recipes
Got loads of carrots? Here are a few more of our favorite carrot recipes to try:
- Try crispy and delicious Carrot Fries (Ranch Seasoned!).
- Mix up a pot of Carrot Ginger Soup or Simple Carrot Soup.
- Add onions for savory Roasted Carrots and Onions.
- Blend up a Carrot Smoothie or Carrot Juice.
- Mix up a quick and simple Refreshing Carrot Salad.
This honey glazed carrots recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based and dairy free. For vegan, use maple syrup.
Honey Glazed Carrots (in 15 minutes!)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 8 medium carrots (1 pound)*
- 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil for dairy free)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and slice them diagonally into 1/4-inch rounds (on the bias).
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the carrots and cover. Cook for 4 minutes without stirring.
- Remove the lid, stir, and add the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, brown sugar and honey. Continue to saute uncovered 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and caramel in color and the carrots are crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add about ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt (to taste). Serve immediately.
Notes
*Cooking for a crowd? Make a double batch (2 pounds) and boil the carrots instead of sautéing them: this allows you to cook them all at once! See the section above about how to make boiled carrots (scroll up).
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Sauteed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Just made this tonight, had the carrots with pork chops. It was a fantastic compliment dish. The honey really makes a difference in taste. Never used it before with carrots. Thank you very much.