Honey glazed carrots are the perfect sweet side dish for a weeknight dinner, but easy to scale up for a holiday celebration! You’ll love the tender carrots and buttery honey glaze.
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Pin RecipeVeggies can be a tough sell with kids, but honey glazed carrots? Well, you can trust me, they’re always a winner!
Just like when you pair steamed broccoli with cheese or sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, when you pair carrots with honey, magic happens! The honey plays up the natural sweetness of the carrots, resulting in a side dish your whole family will love.
Best of all, this is a side that’s easy enough to whip up for a weeknight, but it has an air of sophistication to it that makes it perfect for a holiday meal too. Just double, triple, or quadruple the recipe so you have enough to feed everyone at the table!
Easy Honey Glazed Carrot Recipe
Aside from the simplicity and deliciousness of these honey glazed carrots, you’ll love this recipe for its versatility. There’s a whole lot you can do to change things up—either try some of your own ideas or our suggestions below!
Although we made this recipe with whole carrots, this is also a tasty way to use up baby carrots that have been sitting in the fridge for a while. (Anyone else buy them because their kids swear they love them, and then they sit uneaten for weeks? Sigh.) It’s also fun to buy a bunch of rainbow carrots and add some color to the dish!
Ingredients
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Carrots
- Water
- Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter instead, but you’ll want to add less salt when it’s time to season the dish.
- Honey
- Garlic powder
- Fresh thyme – Dried thyme can be substituted if that’s what you have; add a few generous pinches.
- Kosher salt & black pepper
Variations
- Add some variety – You can use half carrots and half parsnips if you’d like.
- Try different herbs – Rosemary and sage work well here, too.
- Go sweet – As written, these honey glazed carrots are a nice balance of sweet and savory flavors, but you can skip the garlic powder and thyme and add ground cinnamon instead for a dish that goes all in on the sweetness.
- Make it vegan – Omit the honey and use maple syrup or brown sugar.
How to Make Honey Glazed Carrots
- Simmer the Carrots: Combine the carrots, water, butter, and thyme in a large pan set over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the carrots can be easily pierced with a knife. Tip: Keep a close eye on the carrots as they simmer. If the water evaporates, add a bit more; you can always drain off the excess. As soon as the carrots are tender, move onto the next step to prevent them from getting mushy.
- Finish: Add the honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Remove the sprigs of thyme and serve.
How to Store Leftover Glazed Carrots
If you have any carrots left over, they can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat them on the stove over low heat until warmed through before serving, or warm them up in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions
While these carrots are a delicious addition to any holiday dinner, they also pair well with all sorts of main dishes for a simple weeknight dinner! Here are a few of our favorites:
FAQs
Ideally, you’ll want to make these carrots the day of or at most, the day before serving. If you do need to make them ahead of time, store them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat on the stove over low heat until warmed through.
If you’d like to garnish these carrots, a sprinkle of chopped fresh thyme would be perfect. Flaky sea salt or even shaved Parmesan are excellent pairings with honey glazed carrots, too. If you want to add some crunch, add chopped pistachios or walnuts.
These carrots reheat beautifully! Just place them in a pan over low heat on the stove and cook until warmed through. You may need to add a splash of water if they start to dry out.
The best way to soften carrots is to simmer them in water on the stove. You’ll want to add enough water to just cover the carrots, then bring the mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Cook until the carrots can be easily pierced with a knife, adding more water if needed.
More Easy Side Dishes
Honey Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 bunches sweet carrots with tops, washed and cut into ½” slices
- ¾ cup water plus more if needed
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the carrots, water, butter, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until carrots are just soft enough to be easily pierced with a knife. Do not over cook. If the pan gets too dry before the carrots are done, add a little more water.
- When the carrots are cooked, add the honey, garlic powder, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Remove the thyme sprigs before transferring to a serving plate.
