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
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
I like easy and flavor! I cooked the carrots according to your recipe- but added one thing after draining the liquid and adding the butter and brown sugar- I crumbled one strip of cooked pepper bacon I had saved and let it simmer with the carrots for the last 5 minutes! It really popped! Thanks!
Not much for carrots but these carrots tasted great. I used less salt with a little honey also and added some walnuts great thank you for the recipe
My husband is super, super picky, and he liked this recipe! The only thing I excluded was parsley, and used a little less salt.
Followed recipe, no substitutions and used a whole bag of baby carrots. Hubby and I ate all of them. Yum! Thank you!
Tried this recipe just as it is and it was delicious! I do believe I will use this sauce for other things.
I just finished them. They are great! The sweet with the butter is just right. Always have carrots, this is fun and easy!
Delicious. I made everything just as written. Absolutely fantastic.
When I took some cooking classes a few years ago they said that if a recipe lists salt as an ingredient it means kosher, not table salt. Is this true with your recipes, as well?
I typically use kosher salt, if it’s important to the recipe then I specify the type!
Can i make this early in the day and reheat before serving?
Yes that’s fine!
Loved this recipe! I added cinnamon and ginger powder towards the end. Thanks!
I served these for a large dinner gathering at my home last night. They were a huge hit! They are really easy and quick to make. Next time I will make them ahead and reheat them that way I can enjoy my guests a bit more rather then standing at the stove. I highly recommend them. I did not change a thing in the recipe.
These were a hit!! My son loves carrots. Thank you so much. The perfect amount of sweet & salty. 🙂
Can I bake in the oven
I haven’t tried it this way but I think it could work!
That’s what I was thinking, making it ahead of time like I do candied yams and throw in the oven think I’ll try it for sure.
That should work fine!
These are amazing <3
when you say “drain off any EXCESS water” do you mean all of the water or just some of it?
If I pour off all of the water I will be left with just the carrots in the butter, sugar and salt – it that correct?
I drain off all the water or the sauce won’t stick to the carrots!
Love this recipe as I always have carrots in the house.
Very good! Even my littlest picky eater said he would eat them again.
Delicious! 👍
These were incredible! Instead of water, I used 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup broth. The liquid reduced into a thick, savory-sweet, syrupy goodness! So GOOD!
Thanks for the quick recipe! It gave my bland carrots much needed flavor!
Hi, can I replace the parsley with thyme and rosemary? Can I use white sugar than brown?
That should be fine!