Glazed Carrots are usually made on the stove but they are so much more amazing roasted!!! Tossed with brown sugar and butter then roasted so you get gorgeous caramelised edges with a caramel-like sauce, this a super quick and easy carrot side dish that’s so outrageously delicious, you could just have a bowl of this for dinner. (I did!)
If you’re out of oven space, try this stove top version – with the same caramelisation!
Glazed Carrots with caramelisation!
Maybe it’s because I live in Australia and not North America, but it never occurred to me to make glazed carrots without caramelised edges. Yet, when I had a scout around the internet before publishing this recipe, I was somewhat bemused to see that the standard recipe seems to be made on the stove without any caramelisation.
So really, they’re boiled carrots coated in a sugary syrup. (I’m being cheeky. 😂)
But when you roast them so you get caramelised edges? OMG!!
ROASTING RULES!
Roasting trumps stove top everyday, even if they’re sautéed until golden. Roasting carrots intensifies the flavour and natural sweetness in a way you can’t achieve on the stove.
How to make Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
This is a super quick and easy recipe. Just toss the carrots in brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup), butter and oil with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Then just roast for 25 minutes in a hot oven (220C/425F) until the carrots are caramelised on the edges. A hot oven works best so we can get caramelised edges without the carrot getting too soft and wrinkled.
What you’ll end up with is a pan of tender carrots (but not mushy soft) and enough caramel-like sauce to glaze the carrots (hence the name – Glazed Carrots!) but not so much that you feel like you’re eating a dessert.
TIP: I use both oil AND butter here. The reason is that butter provides better flavour but it burns at high temperatures. So by combining with oil, we get the best of both worlds!
What to serve with glazed carrots
Glazed carrots will pair beautifully with most non-Asian meals though I wouldn’t use them with mains with a sweet sauce – too much sugar. It would be ideal to pop in the oven at the same time as this Baked Chicken Breast or Roast Chicken, or this Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling.
Have it as your side for a quick one-pan Baked Chicken and Rice, Meatloaf, or make complete a meat-free meal by adding a side of Mushroom Rice.
Some more quick dinner ideas that will pair beautifully with these Glazed Carrots:
Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs (reader favourite!)
It’s a also a classic for holiday dinner tables, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But honestly? These Glazed Carrots are SO GOOD you might do what I did yesterday – just have a big bowl of these as a meal! – Nagi x
FAQ in BRIEF
Best carrots to use for Glazed Carrots – Any! Baby carrots, dutch carrots, standard carrots (pictured), multi coloured carrots. All types of carrots are suitable for this recipe – just cut larger carrots to size (see video or above steps).
How long does it take to roast carrots – Just 25 minutes at 220C/425F. A hot oven works best so we can get caramelised edges without the carrot getting too soft and wrinkled.
How to make Glazed Carrots on the stove – Roasting honestly brings out the best flavour in carrots, but if you’re out of oven capacity, use this Stove Top Glazed Carrots recipe.
These are too sweet for my taste! Well, these are Glazed Carrots so they are sweet! This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of brown sugar for 1 kg / 2 lb of carrots. But it can be reduced down to 1 tbsp whilst still ending up with a beautiful glaze – I do this depending on what I’m serving as the main.
Can you make Glazed Carrots ahead of time? YES! The best way is to get them out of the oven when they are tender-crisp, not super soft. They will hold up perfectly in the fridge for 2 to 5 days, then reheat in the microwave.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb carrots , peeled (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar , loosely packed (Note 2)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp butter (30g) , melted (or olive oil)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Parsley , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F (standard) or 200C/400F (fan).
- Cut carrot on the diagonal into 4cm / 1.75” lengths. Halve thicker end so they are all roughly the same width.
- Toss in a bowl with sugar, butter, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto tray, spread out.
- Roast 15 minutes. Toss, then roast a further 10 minutes until soft and caramelised on the edges with plenty of glaze left on the tray.
- Toss carrots in the glaze, sprinkle with parsley if using. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Spot Dozer!
omogsh – so easy and oh so very delicious!!
Delicious! I’ve even frozen them so they are ready to cook from frozen still absolutely yummy
I usually make glazed carrots on the stove but I looked for an oven recipe to serve as a side for a 14-person dinner. These were a big hit — no leftovers! I am also now convinced oven is best, even when not cooking for a crowd.
l’m not particularly fond of carrots so, was cooking these more for the pop of colour than anything else but, they were the star of the dinner. Everyone had 2nds and even 3rds. Including me. My only regret is not making a double quantity.
I made it as directed and it was delicious. The sugar burnt a bit quickly and I just moved the bulk burnt bits our of the way so the carrot was just tinged.
Can I use frozen baby carrots for this recipe, with some modifications? I have made the stove top version with fresh carrots and they are delicious, but I have a heap of frozen baby carrots that i would like to use the oven method for. Do you think this would work?
I made this recipe for my mother in law on Mother’s Day. She LOVED them. We will have them again and again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Fantastic recipe. I will admit, I was a bit eager and like a few others had put the sugar mixture in to roast, but I didn’t have any issues with scorching or burning. I added the following to help with some additional nutrients and fragrance:
1 Tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
I also included 2 Tbsp of minced ginger. My apartment smells INCREDIBLE!!
These are delicious! My whole family loved them. Your recipes that I’ve tried have all been fabulous!
Oops. I accidentally put the sugar mixture on BEFORE roasting 😬
The recipe instructs you to put the sugar mixture on before roasting.
Absolutely wonderful! Added a touch of cayenne and they were perfect.
Made these for a crowd for Christmas. Prepped 4kg of carrots the day before (it was a LOT of carrots!) I mixed through everything except the butter and sugar, and added those just before cooking. They were a bit crowded in the trays out of necessity, so took longer to cook (maybe a hour?) and didn’t really caramelise but the flavour was fabulous!
Holy Moly! These are amazing! They have such great flavor and super easy to boot. Everyone wanted the recipe. This went great with your easy slow roasted leg of lamb recipe that’s the *chef’s kiss delicious!
Roasted veggies are the only way. I want to try this with some hot honey I have.
Delicious!! They impressed the guests 🙂
I love all the recipes. Thank you for sharing 😊
Amazing and everybody loved them even non Vege eaters
Yummy and easy!
Absolutely scrumptious! I halved the spices since I had 1 lb of carrots. This was perfect not too sweet at all and a savory essence!
This was fantastic! Very easy and inexpensive to make. The only modification I made was that I only used 1# of baby carrots with all the good stuff on it. YUM!