These glazed carrots are tender carrot coins simmered in a mixture of brown sugar and butter and topped with a sprinkling of parsley. An easy and inexpensive side dish that’s perfect for a holiday meal or an everyday dinner.
My kids love carrots, especially creamy carrot salad, honey roasted carrots and candied carrots. We also really enjoy simple glazed carrots which take just minutes to put together. This is one of my go-to side dishes!
Table of Contents
I always keep a bag of carrots in my fridge. They’re inexpensive, stay fresh for weeks, and you can do so many things with them! One of my favorite ways to prepare carrots is this easy glazed carrots recipe. All you need is 5 ingredients and about 15 minutes and they’ll be ready to serve. Offer your carrots alongside hearty main course dishes such as stuffed bell peppers or lemon pepper chicken.
Glazed Carrots Ingredients
- Carrots: I typically cut whole carrots into slices for this recipe. You can also cut your carrots into sticks, or use bagged baby carrots.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will both work just fine.
- Brown Sugar: I typically use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar is also great if you prefer a more pronounced molasses flavor.
- Salt: A bit of salt helps to balance the sweetness of the brown sugar.
- Parsley: I like to add a sprinkle of fresh parsley for flavor and color, but this is an optional step.
How Do You Make Glazed Carrots?
Place your sliced carrots in a pan with water, then simmer them until they are just tender. Drain off the water, then add butter, brown sugar and salt to the pan. Cook the carrots for 4-5 minutes or until a glaze forms. Add the parsley if you’re using it, then serve immediately and enjoy.
Tips for the Perfect Dish
- Make sure your carrots are cut into uniformly sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. You can reheat your leftover carrots on the stove over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- You can cut and peel your carrots up to 3 days before you plan to make this recipe.
Quick Tip
Want a hands off approach to glazed carrots? Try my slow cooker glazed carrots.
Recipe FAQs
Carrots are a super healthy vegetable. Carrots are loaded with fiber, Vitamin K, beta-carotene, and antioxidants. These veggies are also thought to improve your vision, prevent certain types of cancer, slow down the aging process and they also help prevent infection.
The primary ingredients in glazed carrots are fresh carrots, butter, brown sugar, water and seasonings.
You can prepare your carrots up to 2 days before you plan to serve them. Reheat the leftovers in a skillet on the stove until warm, and add the parsley right before serving.
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Flavor Variations
This is a simple recipe that is easy to customize to suit your tastes.
- Sweetener: You can substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown sugar if needed.
- Vegetables: I sometimes add other root vegetables to this dish such as parsnips, thinly sliced sweet potatoes and even yellow beets.
- Toppings: Finish your carrots with a sprinkle of nuts such as chopped pecans or toasted sliced almonds.
- Add-Ins: Feel free to add other flavors such as a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger, a squeeze of lemon juice or even a dash of vanilla extract.
Whether you choose to serve glazed carrots for a special holiday dinner or serve them alongside a simple roasted chicken on a busy weeknight, this dish is sure to be welcomed by all.
More Side Dish Ideas
- Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
- Parmesan Zucchini
- Garlic Butter Mushrooms
Glazed Carrots Video
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Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- Place the carrots in a large pan and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring the carrots to a simmer
- Cook for 8-10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Drain off any excess water.
- Add the butter, brown sugar and salt to the pan. Stir to coat the carrots.
- Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until a sauce has formed.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired, then serve.
Notes
- Make sure your carrots are cut into uniformly sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. You can reheat your leftover carrots on the stove over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
This sounds delish and so easy but can I substitute uncooked frozen sliced carrots for the fresh carrots?
That’s fine but you’ll need to cook them for less time so that they don’t get mushy.
Cant wait to make these for Thursday! How soon in advance can I make them for Thanksgiving dinner?!
You can prepare up to 2 days ahead of time then reheat on the stove. Add the parsley when you reheat!
Tried glazed for the first time…love it!
Made these for dinner tonight and they are wonderful. Add them to my Favorite recipes.
Looks delish!Can’t wait to have on my dinner table Easter Sunday.
This has become a family favorite so I make it for every holiday! Easy to prepare too!
Try them with a little dry oregano and a little vanilla extract and cinnamon
I’ll try that next time!
Thank you
Love this recipe for things that I always have at hand!
Yes this receipe sounds delicious but would like to know how to incorporate the changes like maple syrup or honey instead of the brown sugar
You would just use the same amount of maple syrup or honey, 1/4 cup. Or if you prefer your carrots to be less sweet you could do 2-3 tablespoons.
Oh I just love carrots like this!!! Perfect for this season!
I love carrots and this sounds delicious! This would actually make a wonderful Thanksgiving side dish!
I have to admit that I hate carrots. I always have. But I tried them done this way a while back and absolutely loved them.
Love glazed carrots! I also glaze other vegetables! Soooo good!
My kids love it when i make these. I haven’t for a while because I have been cutting out sugar but I should try it.
Those look really good. I haven’t had glazed carrots in a long time. I’m going to save this so I can make them later.
I am very fortunate that my family doesn’t mind eating their vegetables. I still like to mix up some times. I had no idea it was this easy to make glazed carrots! I will definitely be giving this a try!
I love glazed carrots and your recipe sounds and looks delicious. Now if I can talk my kids into enjoying them we would be all set.
YES, PLEASE! *opens mouth, waits for bite* I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you added parsley to the recipe – really helps enhance the flavors!
There are so many dinners I make that these would go well with. I’d love to try this recipe out! They look fantastic.