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Tender, tasty, and ready in a flash, sweet glazed carrots are a four-ingredient side dish that’s always a crowd-pleaser.
OUR favorite side dish!
Glazed carrots happen to be one of our all-time favorite side dishes ever!!
We first made them for Christmas over a decade ago, and we’ve been making them for holidays ever since. The butter and brown sugar bring out the flavor, and the carrots become so tender after cooking them that they literally melt in your mouth.
Now, the kids request these brown sugar glazed carrots for birthdays, special meals and every holiday dinner because they love them so much. Once you try them, you’ll easily see why they’re a favorite.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- They pair well with every main dish! This is the perfect vegetable side dish, especially for special occasions like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
- Quick and easy. Made with just a few ingredients and in 20 minutes.
- Many ways to make. This easy side dish can be made on the stove, in the oven, slow cooker, or instant pot!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
- 1 16-ounce bag baby carrots – You can also use larger carrots – peel and cut into coins or sticks. Just make sure the carrot slices are all equal in size.
- ½ cup water – This will help cook the carrots and make them tender.
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar – or dark brown sugar or substitute with honey or maple syrup. Reduce brown sugar for less sweet carrots.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter – We use unsalted butter but salted butter can be used as well – just lessen the amount of salt added at the end.
- salt and black pepper – Top with fresh herbs like parsley or thyme. You can also squeeze an orange or lemon juice over the top for a bright twist.
How to Cook Glazed Carrots
- BOIL. Bring 1 16-ounce bag carrots, ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons butter, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar to a boil in a pan or large skillet over medium-high heat.
- SIMMER. Turn to low, simmer for approximately 6 minutes.
- EVAPORATE WATER. Turn back to high and cook until all the water is evaporated, and carrots are fork tender. It took me another 5-8 minutes.
- SEASON & SERVE. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Slow cooker. Place the carrots in a greased crock pot. Combine melted butter, salt, pepper, brown sugar and water. Drizzle over carrots, mix until carrots are coated. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours, or until carrots are tender.
- Oven. Place your baby carrots in a buttered baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and drizzle on 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour.
- Instant pot. To cook in an instant pot or pressure cooker, place all ingredients in the pot, cover, and secure the vent. Set the pot to “sealing”, press “pressure cook” or “manual” button”. Set the timer for 3 minutes. Once done, manually release the pressure by switching the vent to “venting”.
Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) bag baby carrots
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine carrots, water, butter, and brown sugar in a pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce the heat to cook on low for approximately 6 minutes.
- Keeping covered, turn the heat back to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the water is evaporated and carrots are tender, another 5–6 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Add ⅓ cup pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans (chopped and toasted) after simmering for 6 minutes.
Yes! The brown sugar is what makes them “candied” or caramelized. If you want more of the sweetness, just add some more brown sugar!
We suggest making them fresh, but if needed, you can make them a day ahead. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat them in the microwave, or in a skillet on the stove.
To reheat, throw them back into a buttered pan, and cook until carrots are heated through.
Love it, I use this side dish for my Thanksgiving this year, my whole family love it. It is so tasty and easy, simple to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe, may you and your family has wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.
After the 6 minute cook, do I cover them or not
These are the best carrots! My family has requested these carrots for Thanksgiving for years. The only issue I’ve ever had is that the water takes a lot longer to boil off, but that is most likely because I double or triple the recipe. Other than that, it’s a simple recipe that tastes great!! This year I’m going to try the slow cooker method and see how that works.
So easy to make and delicious! I mistook and cooked them on medium high the first 6 minutes. I then turned the heat to simmer for an additional 6 minutes then cooked the moisture out on medium high. This turned out to be the correct method for me as the carrots were tender and delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipes. Hopefully my error that worked will be helpful to others.
Love this recipe! It does take longer but it’s my go-to and I use it with baby rainbow carrots. We love it!
Finally leaving a comment, this has been my go-to carrot recipe for years! So easy, quick, and everyone loves it.
My husband loved these and I have tried different ways to make these for him. Yours were a hit. Thanks
I’m so sorry you have bad feedback. I absolutely love this recipe. It’s my go to for glazed carrots. Of course it takes a little longer to cook out the liquid but, that’s cooking. You have to adjust timing. My whole family loves this recipe. ❤️
Hi, Luna and the Lil Luna team! I’d like to inform you about this atrocity that is this recipe , it was “absolutely disgusting”, as said by my husband and kids. They hated the carrots and the flavor, and it didn’t help that they hate veggies. I was counting on this recipe to work since its technically “sweet carrots” but they felt that i was tricking them and lying, they called me many profanity’s that day. They said it tasted as if someone put sugar on a carrot, which was exactly what i did so i’m guessing that’s how it technically was supposed to taste which is awful if that was the intended taste.
Hi Emily! Thanks for the feedback. Sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t a hit for your family and that they aren’t veggie fans. Hopefully there is another recipe either on our website or out there somewhere that might help them see how yummy vegetables can be. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Maybe Emily should go back to the kitchen and practice.
I Followed this recipe for the first time tonight, it couldn’t have been easier. I found the timing to be off, but the taste was on point. I will be using this recipe often.
I feel like that was a joke review. It read like satire to me. I’m excited to try this recipe!
If your children and husband call you profane names after a bad side dish, I think you have bigger problems than a bad recipe.
Agreed. That’s rediculus. The recipe was spot on
For real!! Way bigger problems!! Did she really use the word atrocity?? I can’t even. 🙄
Truth!!
Can you say KAREN?
Hey Emily like everyone else said you have bigger problems than these carrots lmao.
Sounds like you have family issues that need resolved…don’t blame the recipe for your husband and kids calling your profanities and being disrespectful! You should be embarrassed that you even left a comment like that…I truly hope your family gets the mental and emotional help they all desperately need!
Why do people have to be so nasty? Her family called her bad names…what a dysfunctional household! Chill Emily, this is a carrot recipe & a yummy one at that
Great. And easy recipe. I’ll be making this one a lot.