Glazed Carrots

Do not sleep on my easy glazed carrot recipe! Just three ingredients, and a few minutes on your stove top are all it takes to get this dish done. While I love Thanksgiving food, all those browns have been known to get me down, so a glistening bowl of bright orange glazed carrots, caramelized and tender, is a sight for sore eyes. Glazed carrots are so easy, they work for busy weeknights, too. 

Easy and fast, brown sugar glazed carrots add a pop of vibrant color and plenty of nutrition to your menu, kids love them and they’re easy on the budget, too. Try serving them with roast chicken or turkey, and a classic green veggie side, too, like asparagus, braised leeks, or green beans almondine. 

Glazed Carrot Ingredients

• Carrots: You need about 10 carrots total. Grab uniform, brightly colored, firm and fresh carrots. For a more savory carrot recipe, try roasted carrots, za’atar roasted carrots. You could use baby carrots, but they are not as flavorful as whole, fresh carrots.
• Brown sugar: Either light or dark brown sugar is fine. It complements the natural sweetness of the carrots, and helps to give them their shiny glaze. Plus, your kids will obviously LOVE a side dish with brown sugar in it.
• Butter: I like to use salted butter so the seasoning is built in!
• Salt and pepper: Because you’re using salted butter, you may not need much salt but I always, always add a little fresh black pepper to glazed carrots to balance out all the sweetness. 

How to Make Glazed Carrots 

1. Peel the carrots and cut thick ones in half, lengthwise.
2. Melt the butter and stir in the carrots. 
3. Sauté the carrots in butter. The natural sugars in the carrots will sweeten and caramelize as they cook in the butter, making them into something resembling lightly caramelized carrots. 
4. Glaze the carrots with brown sugar. Stir in the brown sugar while your pan is still over the heat, so that the brown sugar melts into the butter and creates a glaze thick enough to coat the cooked carrots. 
5. Glazed carrots are served! Add a little salt and pepper to taste, and pop that beaut on the table. 

Tips For Perfect Glazed Carrots 

• Don’t overcook them! A very quick sauté is all you need—your butter-and-brown sugar glazed carrots will be cooked, but not overcooked. 8 minutes is probably enough time in the pan.
• Cut the carrots into any shape you want but try to keep them evenly sized so that they cook at the same rate. 
• Test for doneness by cutting into a carrot. They should be tender with a bit of bite, not mushy. 
• If the glaze separates (which is rare) take the pan off the heat. Whisk in just a tablespoon of cold water and see if that fixes the glaze. 
• Holiday meal tip: Glazed carrots taste fine served at room temperature If you transfer them to a serving dish and they sit out for 10 or 15 minutes while you finish serving the rest of the meal, they’ll still taste great. 
• If you’re hosting a big holiday meal, space in the oven is usually limited. Fast, stove-top side dishes like glazed carrots are a life-saver! Particularly at the last-minute on Thanksgiving, your oven will be brimming with lots of other Thanksgiving sides, browning the tops and keeping everything toasty. 

How’d They Turn Out? We’d Love To Know!

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