Glazed Carrots
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
These honey glazed carrots are roasted to perfection, tossed in butter and fresh herbs. The easiest and tastiest side dish to elevate any meal!
Featured Comment
Why you’ll love glazed carrots
- Great for all occasions. Whether it’s a quick family meal, a dinner party, or a high holiday spread (ex. Christmas or Easter), these glazed carrots deliver every single time. It’s quick, easy, and pairs well with everything.
- Short ingredient list. All you need is 15 min of prep time and a handful of pantry staples, such as olive oil, honey, herbs, and butter.
- Picky eater approved. Cooking the carrots in butter and honey helps caramelize their natural sugars to create a glossy, sticky coating, transforming a plain root vegetable into a crowd-pleasing side!
Key Ingredients
- Carrots: medium carrots, cleaned and scrubbed (or peeled depending on personal preference)
- Fat: olive oil and unsalted butter
- Sweetener: honey
- Seasonings: thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper
How to make glazed carrots
- Prep the carrots. Scrub the carrots under cold running water using a vegetable scrubber or clean kitchen sponge to remove dirt. Pro tip: consider peeling the carrots if they are old carrots with bitter, tough skins.
- Season the carrots. Toss the carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roast (first stage). Spread the carrots out in a single layer, avoiding any overlap. Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes until the carrots are almost fork-tender.
- Coat the carrots. Carefully remove the carrots from the oven and stir in the honey and thyme directly on the sheet pan until they are evenly coated.
- Roast (second stage). Return the baking sheet to the oven and continue roasting for an additional 5 minutes until the carrots are tender and caramelized on the edges.
- Toss and finish. Remove the carrots from the oven and stir in the parsley, butter, salt, and pepper until the butter melts completely.
- Serve. Garnish the carrots with parsley and serve warm.
How to make glazed carrots ahead of time
Prep ahead
Clean and scrub (or peel) the carrots up to 3 days ahead of time, storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Make ahead
Cook the carrots as directed in the recipe 1-2 days in advance, letting them cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
Reheat
Gently reheat on the stovetop with a pat of butter, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
what to serve with glazed carrots
Tools For This Recipe
Glazed Carrots: Frequently Asked Questions
Any variety! Full-size carrots, baby carrots, or multi-colored rainbow carrots will all work well here.
Small, thin, fresh carrots can be thoroughly cleaned under cold water to scrub away dirt and grit, whereas larger, older carrots should be peeled due to their tough, dry, bitter skin. However, peeling is generally preferred for peace of mind, appearance, and texture.
The honey can be substituted with a variety of sweeteners such as brown sugar, dark brown sugar, or maple syrup.
Reduce the amount of honey to 1 tablespoon for milder flavors.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh parsley = 1 teaspoon dried parsley.
Yes! This can be made 1-2 days in advance, stored in an airtight container in the fridge and gently reheated over low heat until warmed through.
Glazed Carrots
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium carrots, scrubbed
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.
- Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until almost fork tender.
- Stir in honey and thyme. Place into oven and bake until tender, an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Stir in parsley and butter until melted, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
- Use parchment paper. Lining the baking sheet with parchment paper beforehand allows for minimal residue clean up.
- Rainbow carrots make for great presentation. Whole carrots, baby carrots, or rainbow carrots all work very well here, although rainbow carrots make for a beautiful dish.
- Add fresh herbs. Fresh dill, thyme, rosemary and/or tarragon are all excellent options.
- Make it seasonal. A pinch of nutmeg or ground cinnamon will go a long way, adding a touch of fall flavors to the mix.
- Stir directly on the sheet pan. No need to dirty another bowl – stir in the ingredients directly on the sheet pan.
- Make ahead of time. Glazed carrots is another one of those holiday side dishes you can make ahead of time. Prep and cook 1-2 days before, storing in the fridge and reheating on the stovetop until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
SO happy to have this reminder hit my email box … adding to my EASTER MENU!!!
Typically I love to use rainbow carrots for this recipe. But for this Easter, just the orange in honor of the Big Bunny herself. So easy, so good, and what an addition to the plating!
I made this recipe (tripled it) for an office party and it was a massive hit. I prepped it ahead of time and then cooked it closer to serving time. It was easy, and oh so delicious.
My son said he didn’t care for carrots….and then I served these-ate them all and asked for more! Ha! So. Easy and so good… I actually skipped the butter in last step to save on calories and they were DAMN Delicious indeed! Love your recipes- always winners!
Absolutely delicious!!! I used only organic items.
Absolutely delicious. I used everything organic.
These are excellent. Perfect for a dinner party and Holiday meal. Used large carrots cut up and dried rosemary and thyme, no fresh herbs, and still came out amazing.
What do you mean by “stir in” to the whole carrots? Obviously, we can’t stir the carrots, so do you mean to stir those added ingredients together and drizzle them over the carrots, removing the carrots from the oven both times (honey & thyme, then butter & parsley)? If you could clarify, that would help us. Thank you!
Marilyn, did you receive an answer? Please advise. Thanks a bunch!
My comment is a couple years late but I hope this helps! In response to stirring the oil, honey, and herbs to the carrots…if you were to cut them up in chunks, that shouldn’t be an issue. The photo shows whole carrots which is my preference since that’s how the chef and photographer presented it. I’d have to dirty up a shallow rectangle bowl or a platter to stir up the ingredients and toss it in the carrots and then place it on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Recipes instruct just so far and the rest you have to figure out on your own or improvise!
Looks wonderful. I haven’t tried them yet, but will soon.
These are outstading, I’ve made 3 times in the past 2 weeks. My husband swears they are just like his dear old Mom’s!!!
Made these twice now since you posted! They are indeed perfect. I used the bags of mixed color carrots from Trader Joe’s..these are gorgeous and delicious!
Looks like a great carrot side dish. I’m confused on Steps 4 & 5 stirring instructions with whole carrots. Do you roast carrots first , then slice them up to stir additional honey, thyme, butter & S&P?
Will definitely try this! Possibly with baby carrots. Would be a lot easier on the stirring than big carrots.
I’m a little confused. Do you take the carrots out and toss them with the honey or do you drizzle the honey on them? TIA