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Glazed Carrots

Glistening orange, with a brown sugar-butter glaze, these glazed carrots call for a mere three ingredients and are certain to brighten your holiday table, or even just your regular old dinner table!

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brown butter glazed orange carrots cut length wise on a white oval platter with a linen

The Ultimate Last-Minute Side Dish.

Just when you thought that side dishes don’t get any simpler than a green salad, along came these glazed carrots. Calling for just three ingredients and ready in about 15 minutes, our glazed carrot recipe is made for busy weeknights, harried holidays, and everything in between. Cooked carrots feel like the forgotten side dish, a thing so obvious—we always have carrots, butter and brown sugar on-hand, don’t you?—that it’s overlooked. But no more! Carrots are so inexpensive, so healthy, and these brown sugar glazed carrots are so easy, this simple, no-brainer recipe has a pretty stratospheric ROI.

black cast iron skillet with glazed orange carrots

“Glazed Carrots” is Kind of Just a Glitzy Way of Saying Sautéed Carrots

And now you know! While some glazed carrot recipes call for oven time, or pre-boiling the carrots, we’re all about keeping things simple as can be. And we’re NOT all about mushy, lifeless carrots. A quick sauté is all you need—your carrots will be cooked, but not overcooked. Their sweet flavor will be perfectly preserved, brought to life with a glaze comprised of:

  • Butter! It always comes down to butter, doesn’t it? When a recipe has just three ingredients, that means two things. 1) the recipe will be easy. 2) don’t make any subs! So, use real-deal, unsalted butter—no substitutions, please.
  • Brown sugar! Brown sugar—either light or dark is fine—complements the sweetness of the carrots, and helps to give them their shiny glaze.
  • A little salt and pepper. OK so we fibbed a little—if you count the salt and pepper, this is a five-ingredient recipe. But we don’t count them, because they’re just a given! Right? That’s TMP math for you.
butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper in small bowls next to a bunch of carrots with stems on
Carrots cut in half length wise in a cast iron skillet with butter
browned soften carrots in a cast iron skillet topped with brown sugar
easy glazed carrots in a cast iron skillet

How to Make Glazed Carrots

A little sweet, a little savory, and just the right amount of crisp. Most importantly, they require none of that precious Thanksgiving day oven space. Three ingredients, and a few minutes on the stove and you've got yourself a lovely little accompaniment that will give all the traditional stars of the show a run for their money. Now that's my kind of side dish. Here’s how to cook them:

  1. Peel the carrots and cut super thick ones in half lengthwise.
  2. Melt the butter and add the carrots.
  3. Cook slowly, stirring sometimes. Let the carrots cook—their natural sugars will sweeten as they cook, making them into something resembling lightly caramelized carrots—and the butter brown.
  4. Finish with a sprinkle of brown sugar. Stir it in over the heat, so that it melts into the browned butter and creates a glaze thick enough to coat the cooked carrots.
  5. You did it! Add a little salt and pepper to taste, and pop that beaut on the table.
glazed carrots in a cast iron skillet

Tools You’ll Need:

Other Easy Side Dish Recipes—No Oven Time Required!

If you’re planning to make these glazed carrots for Thanksgiving, then it’s quite possible that your favorite thing about the recipe is that it doesn’t call for ANY oven time at all. Here are a few other stove top side dishes you might like, too!

lose up of orange glazed carrots with salt and pepper
easy glazed carrots on a white serving platter

They’re Basically Buttered Carrots—What’s Not to Love?!

If you don’t think that this is one of the best carrot recipes ever, we’ll eat our hat. Or maybe just your leftovers, because we’re crazy about these carrots. If you so just so happen to make these tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy crocking!

Glazed Carrots

  • Serves: 4
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  10 min
  • Calories: 251

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs carrots
  • 4 tbsp butter, cut into 4 pieces
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. Peel carrots and trim green tops to desired length. —If some carrots are thicker than others, cut the thicker ones in half lengthwise.
  2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add carrots to skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender, and the butter has browned. —The butter will begin to darken and developed a nutty odor.
  3. Stir in brown sugar and cook uncovered a few more minutes until the brown sugar thickens and coats the carrots. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories251
  • Protein2 g
  • Carbohydrates30 g
  • Total Fat7 g
  • Dietary Fiber6 g
  • Cholesterol31 mg
  • sodium376 mg
  • Total Sugars24 g

Glazed Carrots

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Edita Fuentes

    Can you bake them, and how long ahead you can make them?

    The skillet is what makes the glaze so we suggest sticking to the stove top method.

  • Beatrice

    How many carrots can be prepared for 15 guests

    HI Beatrice, depends what else you are serving with the meal but we would recommend tripling this recipe for 15 guests. Hope you enjoy!

  • Missie Johnson

    Do I use a Cast Iron pan to make the glazed carrots? Thanks 😊

    You can use any pan you have on hand.

  • Laraine davey

    Could you make the Glazed Carrots ahead of time and reheat?
    Thank you,
    Laraine Davey

    Yep! Just make sure they are slightly undercooked to avoid mushy carrots.

  • Lori

    This was the beat Glazed Carrot recipe I have ever made. At the end after the brown sugar got all melty I added in a few sprigs of rosemary and kept heating until I could taste the rosemary spice! It put it over the top!

    Thank you Lori! We are so happy to hear that!

  • Jenn

    These were the most delicious carrots I have ever made, thank you for the recipe!

    Thank you Jenn, we are so glad you loved it!