Honey Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots
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Tender Honey Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots are seasoned and baked to perfection and make the most perfect Easter holiday (or any day) easy side dish.
Looking for other dishes using carrots? Check out my recipe for Roasted Honey Garlic Glazed Carrots, Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots, and Instant Pot Beef Stew.
Why This Recipe Works
Roasting — Roasting the carrots not only softens them but brings out their natural sweetness. Actually, it mellows their natural sweetness, while also letting it shine, if you know what I mean.
Simple ingredients — Even if you don’t have baby carrots on hand you can use whatever you do have sitting in your veggie drawer (see Expert Tips, below). And I feel like we all have that bag of carrots we’re not sure what to do with! Plus, the addition of honey, balsamic, butter, and simple spices make this recipe a cinch to put together any night of the week.
Kid-friendly — Sick of serving your kids the same old veggies? Well this is a new twist on what is probably a household staple — the carrot stick. I’m going to be honest and tell you at first, they might turn their nose up at cooked carrots, but once you get them to take a bite, you’ll win them over to the roasted carrots side!
Great with other veggies — If you are low on carrots or you want to roast two veggies at once, his preparation works great with other tubers too, like parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes.
Here’s How You Make It
- First, preheat the oven to 400. Next, toss the trimmed baby carrots with the oil then salt and pepper. Layer them on a baking sheet in a single layer (no overlapping).
- Then, in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, seasonings, vinegar, and garlic and stir until the butter is melted and the sauce begins to boil. Take it off the heat at this point and pour it right over the roasted carrots with honey.
- Pop the baking sheet into the oven for 20 minutes, or until you can pierce a carrot easily with a fork.
- Serve the roasted carrots warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
I tend to peel the carrots a bit before roasting. They are already “baby” so you don’t want to take too much more off of the carrot before roasting. However, you don’t have to peel them. But do rinse them under water and scrub gently with a veggie brush (if you have), and pat dry before preparing them for roasting.
Main Dishes to Serve with This Recipe
So you have your side dish of roasted carrots set and ready to go, but what about the main dish? These hearty mains go great with this baked carrots recipe.
- Sweet and Spicy Thai Chicken is a great dish that pairs well with baked carrots. The slightly sweet chicken and the sweet and balsamic carrots make a great combo.
- In the mood to pair these carrots with seafood? Then a lovely Baked Honey Cilantro Lime Salmon or Blackened Shrimp Po Boys should do the trick!
- Pork tenderloin with an Island Glaze and these oven roasted carrots would be an amazing meal!
- If you’re looking for a warm, comforting meal, it doesn’t get much better than these honey roasted carrots with Roasted Garlic Butter Beef Tenderloin and potatoes.
- For a healthy, kid-friendly meal all around, try this with my Baked Cauliflower Mac n Cheese.
Expert Tip
- Baby carrots are simply smaller, thinner full carrots. If you only have larger carrots, make sure you slice them in half lengthwise so that they are half the thickness and cook properly. If you want to use baby carrots that are in a bag, that’s okay so long as they aren’t super thick. And, finally, if you can’t find baby carrots with the tops on (pictured), then no worries, just use what you can find.
- These roasted carrots will be okay in the fridge for up to 3 days. I must warn you, they do tend to get kind of mushy after being refrigerated about 24 hours. So it’s best to eat them all as soon as you can.
- They freeze easily, but again, will be really soft when thawed. That’s why, if I have any leftovers, I like to add them to another dish like a pot pie, a stew, or I have even been known to mash them up for baby food when my babies were little (watch the honey though if you have a baby younger than a year).
Make these Recipes Next
- Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
- Baked Monte Cristo Sliders
- Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze
- Classic Deviled Eggs
- Sticky Sesame Chicken
- Easter Recipes
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Honey Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby carrots, tops trimmed at about 2 inches, (see note)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss carrots with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste and arrange carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, honey, Italian seasoning, balsamic vinegar, and garlic in a small sauce pan and stir over medium high heat until completely melted and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over carrots.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until tender and easily pierced with a fork. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have not used any of the recipes yet but they all look very delicious looking forward to cooking them.
Hi Jennifer! I hope that you find some recipes that you love! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
These carrotts sound like a little bit of Heaven!
Indeed they are! Hope you love them, Patti! 🙂
GO VEGAN -FULL SUPPORT !!
Can i prEp these the night before?
Hi Sarah- you could peel the carrots and prepare the glaze/sauce the night before but I wouldn’t cook them until the day of!
Did you use baby carrots in this pic? They look like big whole carrots but the recipe calls for baby carrots and slice in half. can’t wait to try these
Yes- I used whole baby carrots!
Made these the other night as a side dish with dinner and omg!! I think I could’ve skipped the main course and just had these… so so good! Definite keeper in my book:)
I hate cooked carrots. I’ll happily chomp on raw carrots, I love them grated as part of a salad, but cooked… no way. I cook them for my family, as they love carrots, but I really don’t like them. Don’t know why. And then I tried these… Roasted carrots are a revelation! I’m always telling my family that just because they didn’t like something once, doesn’t mean they’ll never like it, that our tastebuds change and develop as we get older, so they should always be willing to give things another try. Well, I took my own advice and I’m glad I did – I ate more of them than my daughter did, and she is a huge fan of carrots!
I added a pinch of crushed dried chili pepper with the seasoning, just to give a little bit of a kick. These will definitely be a regular addition to the menu in my house 😊
Yay! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
i have made these carrots twice now. The first time, I didn’t have balsamic vinegar and they were good. The second time, I had the balsamic vinegar and that put them into the awesome category. You are right, they are the best side dish ever. Thanks for the great recipe.
Hey roasting veggies is the ONLY way to cook them!!! like cauliflower. i hated cauliflower and so did my husband, until i roasted it! could you give me your input on my recipe? i am a HUGE fan and would be honored!
Oooooh I can almost taste these carrots! Your photos inspire before I even read the recipes. The forks caught my eye…we have a post coming up this week where they are my choice for silverware. They are keepers just like your recipes!- Laurel
Thank you so much for your kind comment! You are so sweet!