Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Carrots (Oven Roasted)

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Brown Sugar Honey Glazed Carrots are sweet, tender, and an easy Thanksgiving or holiday side dish! I love roasting the glazed carrots in the oven because they get nice and caramelized. Just toss baby carrots or sliced whole carrots with a few simple ingredients then pop in the oven to roast.

Many candied or glazed carrots are made on the stove, but I love making them in the oven so you get the roasted and caramelized bits. Roasting also helps bring out the natural sugars in carrots, highlighting their flavor.

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Why I Love It:
Ingredients and Equipment
Step by Step Instructions
Substitutions
Leftovers and Storage
Recipe Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Serving Ideas
Recipe
Reviews

Why I Love It:

Oven Roasted - Many glazed carrots recipes are made on the stove, but then you miss out on the delicious caramelization.
Simple Ingredients - You may even have them all on hand!
Ready in 20 Minutes - Just a quick toss together followed by a short roast in the oven.

oven roasted brown sugar carrots on a sheet pan

Ingredients and Equipment

Baby Carrots - You can use regular whole carrots as well
Melted Butter - I used unsalted butter to better control the salt, but you can use salted butter as well
Olive Oil
Dark Brown Sugar - You can use light brown sugar as well
Honey
Minced Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Thyme
Large Bowl - You'll need a bowl to toss the carrots in the glaze ingredients.
Sheet Pan - Use a standard-size sheet pan so the carrots have room to space out. You never want to overcrowd veggies when you're roasting them.

baby carrots, brown sugar, honey, melted butter, salt, pepper, and thyme

Step by Step Instructions

Just quickly toss the carrots with the brown sugar honey glaze ingredients and roast in the oven until tender. Ready in under 20 minutes!

Preheat - Start by getting the oven preheated.
Toss Carrots - Toss the baby carrots with the other ingredients. If your carrots are cold from the fridge, then the melted butter will re-solidify. That's okay! Just toss so it's evenly combined as best as you can and it will melt again in the oven.
Spread on Sheet Pan - Spread the carrots out onto a sheet pan. Make sure to scrape everything out of the bowl so you get all of the butter and sugar.
Roast Carrots - Roast the carrots until they are tender and glazed. Give them a toss every ~5-10 minutes so that the glaze evenly coats the carrots. To add some extra caramelized bits, you can broil them for a few minutes at the end.
Serve - Taste and add a little salt/pepper, if needed. Transfer the brown sugar glazed carrots to a serving bowl and make sure to scrape any of the glaze over the carrots. Enjoy!

brown sugar honey carrots on a sheet pan

brown sugar honey glazed carrots on sheet pan

Substitutions

Whole Carrots - Instead of baby carrots, you can swap in whole carrots that have been cut into chunks. Just make sure to cut them into even sizes. Roast until tender like the recipe says.
Other Herbs - I love using fresh thyme, but rosemary is another great choice when roasting. Or after roasting you can sprinkle with fresh parsley.

brown sugar honey glazed carrots with thyme

Leftovers and Storage

Brown sugar glazed carrots are best eaten immediately after roasting them. You can store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight continuer for up to 5 days. For best results, roast them in the oven or warm in a buttered skillet.

Recipe Tips

Toss Carrots while Roasting - This is key so that the glaze evenly coats the carrots and they roast evenly.
Don't Crowd the Pan - Whenever you're roasting veggies, you want to give them space on the pan. If you crowd the pan, then the carrots will steam instead of roast and caramelize.

brown sugar honey glazed carrots in a bowl

Frequently Asked Questions

Can glazed carrots be made the day before?

I prefer to make glazed carrots the day of, but they can be made the day before. I recommend cooking them until they are just tender, then store them in the fridge. When ready to reheat, you can either add them to a buttered skillet or reheat in the oven until warmed through.

Do glazed carrots reheat well?

Glazed carrots can be reheated in a buttered skillet or reheated in a 375 degrees F oven until warmed through. If they seem a little dry, you can give a another drizzle of oil or melted butter and an extra sprinkle of brown sugar.

What are the best carrots to use when making glazed or candied carrots?

You can use any carrots for candied carrots! You can use baby carrots, standard whole carrots, or even rainbow carrots. If you use larger carrots, I recommend slicing into even chunks.

brown sugar glazed carrots made in the oven

Serving Ideas

This side dish is perfect for Thanksgiving or other holiday meal - round out the meal with some other great holiday side dishes:

Creamy Boursin Mashed Potatoes - The addition of herby Boursin cheese is a fun spin on classic mashed potatoes.
Instant Pot Mac & Cheese - Evaporated milk makes this pasta extra rich and creamy.
Brussels Sprout Salad with Pears - This raw brussels sprout salad requires no cooking, only 5 ingredients (plus the simple dressing), and is great for the holidays.
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce - Free up a stovetop burner and let your Instant Pot do the work. Cranberry sauce can be made in advance to save time the day of.

brown sugar glazed carrots with thyme in a bowl

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