Glazed Carrots are usually made on the stove but they are so much more amazing roasted!!! Tossed with brown sugar and butter then roasted so you get gorgeous caramelised edges with a caramel-like sauce, this a super quick and easy carrot side dish that’s so outrageously delicious, you could just have a bowl of this for dinner. (I did!)
If you’re out of oven space, try this stove top version – with the same caramelisation!
Glazed Carrots with caramelisation!
Maybe it’s because I live in Australia and not North America, but it never occurred to me to make glazed carrots without caramelised edges. Yet, when I had a scout around the internet before publishing this recipe, I was somewhat bemused to see that the standard recipe seems to be made on the stove without any caramelisation.
So really, they’re boiled carrots coated in a sugary syrup. (I’m being cheeky. 😂)
But when you roast them so you get caramelised edges? Yes!!
Carrots love to be roasted!
Roasting beats stove top everyday, even if they’re sautéed until golden. Roasting carrots intensifies the flavour and natural sweetness in a way you can’t achieve on the stove!
How to make Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
The key here is to roast in a hot oven so the brown sugar and butter turns into a glaze that coats the carrots beautifully before the carrots become overly soft and wrinkled. Plus, they roast faster – just 25 minutes!
Cut peeled carrots on the diagonal into 4cm / 1.75” lengths.
Same size – Halve thicker end so all the pieces are roughly the same size, to ensure they roast evenly.
Toss the carrots with the glaze ingredients – brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup), melted butter, oil, garlic salt and pepper. I use both oil AND butter here because butter provides better flavour but it burns at high temperatures. So by combining with oil, we get the best of both worlds!
Roast for 15 minutes – Place the carrots in a preheated 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced) oven and roast for 15 minutes. Then take it out of the oven and give the carrots a toss to coat in the glaze which will have melted on the tray.
Roast for a further 10 minutes until the edges of the carrots have caramelised.
Final toss – The glaze on the tray will have thickened more and becomes caramel-like so when you toss the carrots one last time, they coat the surface beautifully. Then all that’s left to do is transfer into a serving bowl!
Note on roasting time – 25 minutes total roasting time might sound short, but we’re using a hot oven so they roast faster. A hot oven works best so we can get caramelised edges without the carrot getting too soft and wrinkled.
What to serve with glazed carrots
Glazed carrots will pair beautifully with most non-Asian meals though I wouldn’t use them with mains with a sweet sauce – too much sugar. It would be ideal to pop in the oven at the same time as this Baked Chicken Breast or Roast Chicken, or this Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling.
Have it as your side for a quick one-pan Baked Chicken and Rice, Meatloaf, or make complete a meat-free meal by adding a side of Mushroom Rice.
Some more quick dinner ideas that will pair beautifully with these Glazed Carrots:
Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs (reader favourite!)
It’s a also a classic for holiday dinner tables, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But honestly? These Glazed Carrots are SO GOOD you might do what I did yesterday – just have a big bowl of these as a meal! – Nagi x
Glazed Carrots FAQ
Any! Baby carrots, dutch carrots, standard carrots (pictured), multi coloured carrots. All types of carrots are suitable for this recipe – just cut larger carrots to size (see video or above steps).
Just 25 minutes in a hot oven – 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced). A hot oven works best so we can get caramelised edges without the carrot getting too soft and wrinkled.
Roasting honestly brings out the best flavour in carrots, but if you’re out of oven capacity, use this Stove Top Glazed Carrots recipe.
Well, these are Glazed Carrots so they are sweet! 🙂 This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of brown sugar for 1 kg / 2 lb of carrots. But it can be reduced down to 1 tbsp whilst still ending up with a beautiful glaze – I do this depending on what I’m serving as the main.
YES! The best way is to get them out of the oven when they are tender-crisp, not super soft. They will keep in the fridge for 2 to 5 days, then reheat in the microwave and give the carrots a good toss to coat in the glaze before serving. Be sure to use a rubber spatula to get every bit of glaze off the tray!
Watch how to make it
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Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb carrots , peeled (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar , loosely packed (Note 2)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp butter (30g) , melted (or olive oil)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Parsley , for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced).
- Cut carrot on the diagonal into 4cm / 1.75” lengths. Halve thicker end so they are all roughly the same width.
- Toss in a bowl with sugar, butter, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto tray, spread out.
- Roast 15 minutes. Toss, then roast a further 10 minutes until soft and caramelised on the edges with plenty of glaze left on the tray.
- Final toss then serve – Give the carrots a final toss in the glaze on the tray then transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley if using. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
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(He’s the gold one on the left 🥰)
These were so good! And I am NOT a veggie person, so that’s saying something. I actually went back for seconds! Huge bonus that they’re easy to prep ahead of time, so I can just shove them in the oven instead of juggling food prep and my 10-month-old (she liked them too!).
I questioned the garlic, when roasting at 425; thought it would burn, and it did. However, scraped it off and the carrots were great. Would make again, just without the fresh garlic. Either leave out or use garlic powder.
Can you make a day ahead and re-heat in microwave?
I made this by recipe to a t and it was watery what did I do wrong? The glaze didn’t glaze it melted into a watery mess.
Has anybody tried to make these ahead of time and then reheat them in the crockpot?
Delicious! I’ve even frozen them so they are ready to cook from frozen still absolutely yummy
I usually make glazed carrots on the stove but I looked for an oven recipe to serve as a side for a 14-person dinner. These were a big hit — no leftovers! I am also now convinced oven is best, even when not cooking for a crowd.
l’m not particularly fond of carrots so, was cooking these more for the pop of colour than anything else but, they were the star of the dinner. Everyone had 2nds and even 3rds. Including me. My only regret is not making a double quantity.
No one cooks them on stove they have always been roasted.
I made it as directed and it was delicious. The sugar burnt a bit quickly and I just moved the bulk burnt bits our of the way so the carrot was just tinged.
I made these tonight! The trick should’ve been that I needed to wait until the oven was at the temperature required and then leave it in for the correct amount of time because it was slightly woody in the middle, because of that wooden stand that runs through the middle, but my goodness, it was still absolutely delicious
Can I use frozen baby carrots for this recipe, with some modifications? I have made the stove top version with fresh carrots and they are delicious, but I have a heap of frozen baby carrots that i would like to use the oven method for. Do you think this would work?
I made these carrots and they were still hard after 25 minutes. They ended up needing to cook close to an hour to soften and the “glaze” to actually become a glaze.
I made this recipe for my mother in law on Mother’s Day. She LOVED them. We will have them again and again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I find the directions unclear.
Do I toss carrots with sugar mix then roast 15 minutes then toss carrots back in bowl again then roast more then back in bowl???
Hi, I love your recipes. Thanks for sharing. I want to take these carrots to a pot luck. Can I bake them then put them in a hot crock pot to keep warm and carry to the party? Thanks
Excellent! Especially since I made them with an equal mixture of carrots and parsnips! I’ll do this again.
Fantastic recipe. I will admit, I was a bit eager and like a few others had put the sugar mixture in to roast, but I didn’t have any issues with scorching or burning. I added the following to help with some additional nutrients and fragrance:
1 Tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
I also included 2 Tbsp of minced ginger. My apartment smells INCREDIBLE!!
The recipe instructs you to put the sugar on the carrots before roasting so it caramelizes. A lot of the glaze stays on the pan, so you have to mix it all together at the end.
This is the comment I was looking for lol sounds amazing thanks Shane
These are delicious! My whole family loved them. Your recipes that I’ve tried have all been fabulous!
Oops. I accidentally put the sugar mixture on BEFORE roasting 😬
You’re supposed to! 🙂
You’re supposed to?
The recipe instructs you to put the sugar mixture on before roasting.
Hi. I am a little confused about part of the directions for the glazed carrots and I noticed that you thought what I thought. It did say to mix the carrots with the glaze before baking, so the carrots would be coated with the glaze while baking. But after that, in the directions it says to put the carrots in the glaze (after they come out of the oven). Does that mean that any glaze left on the baking sheet should be added to them? I want to get this right, as I am making these for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Can you please clarify what you think that last direction means (after they come out of the oven)? Thanks so much! Wendy