Roasted Baby Carrots With Honey
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These roasted baby carrots with honey make the perfect tender carrots with just the right amount of sweetness. This is the perfect quick side dish that goes with so many dinners, and the prep time is super fast.
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Why We Love Roasted Baby Carrots With Honey
Do you ever have those days where you’re pulling dinner together. You’re in a groove, you’ve got a protein like a pork roast, crispy chicken thighs or some steak and potatoes in the slow cooker ready to go and suddenly you’re stuck needing just one more thing to fill out the dinner.
Roasting a pan full of vegetables is usually my go to, though my second go to method is on the stovetop like with these honey mustard carrots. This carrot recipe is low prep, fast and delicious.
These roasted baby carrots with honey are especially nice because it tends to make pickier eaters happy for one. I almost always have a bag of baby carrots hanging out in the fridge which makes honey roasted carrots an easy recipe to fall back on.
Ingredients For Roasted Carrots With Honey
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- Carrots– I’ve used baby carrots because they tend to be more naturally sweet, and because they are low prep. Regular carrots peeled and chopped into even pieces also work in this recipe.
- Olive oil- Avocado oil is also a great substitute, but you need some oil to keep the butter from burning at the higher temperature
- Butter– Brings out the flavor of the carrots
- Honey- Adds just the right amount of sweetness to the glaze. Real maple syrup can also be substituted in a pinch, or for babies under one year old.
- Salt
- Granulated garlic – You can use garlic salt, but I’ve found my results are usually either too garlicky or not enough with garlic salt.
- Chopped parsley and cracked black pepper– This is an optional Garnish
How To Make Roasted Baby Carrots With A Honey Glaze
- Mix The Glaze– Melt the butter and mix together with the oil, honey, garlic and salt
- Coat The Carrots– Rinse and dry the carrots well, then toss them in the glaze in a mixing bowl.
- Spread Carrots On The Pan- Spread the carrots in a single layer and the glaze onto a rimmed baking sheet. Parchment paper or aluminum foil can help so cleanup is simpler.
- Roast and enjoy– Slide the carrots into a preheated oven to 400 degrees and roast for 30-40 minutes. Carrots should be soft when you pierce with a fork. A little brown is ok on the carrots, but don’t let them become black. Season with salt and pepper to taste over the cooked carrots, or fresh parsley before serving.
How Many People Does A Pound Of Carrots Serve?
A pound of carrots as a side dish will serve between 4-6 people. If the carrots are the only side dish I would lean towards assuming this recipe will feed four. If you have multiple side dishes at dinner, you can stretch your estimate to six people per pound of carrots.
This is also a great recipe to use if you have a lot of baby carrots.
Should You Steam Carrots Before Roasting?
The honey can really heat up in this recipe and we don’t want the carrots to burn. You can steam or par boil your carrots before roasting but only for a few minutes. Making the carrots too soft will cause them to be gloopy once you add the glaze.
If you steam or parboil your carrots when you roast them you only need to do so for a few minutes.
In this recipe, we’ve mixed the butter and oil half and half. This helps to keep your carrots from charring too much while still giving them the sweeter flavor roasting will give carrots. Steaming or par boiling isn’t necessary, but some families prefer it.
What To Serve Roasted Baby Carrots With
These roasted baby carrots go with so many different dinners! Here are a few of our favorites.
Pork Loin In The Crock Pot– tender delicious pork where the slow cooker does all the work!
Classic Meatloaf – This classic beef meatloaf pairs deliciously with these easy carrots.
Mini Turkey Meatloaf Muffins– Mini meatloaf muffins and baby carrots is a match made in kid-friendly heaven! Perfect for dinner.
Turkey Burger Sliders– While the burgers are grilling, pop the carrots in the oven for an easy side dish.
Glazed Ham– This sunday or holiday style honey orange glazed ham is excellent with these carrots. Even though they both have sweetness, neither dish is so sweet it is too much. Serve with a green salad too and you’re done!
Lemon Garlicy Roasted Greek Potatoes– Fork tender and delicious, these roasted potatoes go with everything!
Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Potatoes– These twice-baked potatoes are stuffed with gooey cheese and broccoli, and are oh so delicious!
Other Side Dishes You Will Love
Golden Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
Stuffed Cheddar Broccoli Twice Baked Potato
Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Baby Carrots With Honey
Equipment
- Baking sheet pan
- Foil or parchment paper
- Medium sized bowl
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby carrots rinsed and dried well
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Chopped parsley and a little cracked black pepper Optional Garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the pan with parchment paper of aluminum foil sprayed lightly with pan spray.
- Rinse and dry the carrots well, then place them in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, olive oil, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour the honey mixture over the carrots and toss to coat.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until carrots are tender. Check by piercing a carrot with a fork to make sure they are tender. Roasting time may vary depending on the size of the carrots.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately, sprinkled with parsley if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
I tried this recipe and I absolutely love it. I sent it to my sister-in-law. She made it in my brother who is so picky actually loved it as well. The only thing I added was a little bit of rosemary
Delicious and so easy! You could use the honey mixture with any type of carrot. I sliced my baby carrots in half to speed cooking time and give them crispy edges. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Love this recipe! I sometimes add a bit of minced ginger to it. Always taste great.
Delicious, we crushed the whole pan.
I’ve made this a few times, and we love it. I’ve alternated honey and 100% Maple syrup sometimes, but they always came out yummy! Thank you.
They smell so good cooking as we speak! What a clever idea to mix butter with oil! I love the butter flavor but was always afraid of the high temp. Thank you for sharing this!
so delicious I love this more than my kids do. I’ve used both Maple Syrup and Honey to sweeten and I don’t use Pepper or parsley just salt and garlic powder. very good
So glad you enjoy!
I did them in the air fryer for 20 min, same temp, and they were so good! The second time I did them I added some thyme. Delicious and easy!
Thanks for the Air Fryer tip Becca. I haven’t tried this recipe in the air frye, but sounds like it worked great!
Awesome only thing I did different was reduced temp to 325 for an hour cook time as I was roasting meat at the same time, I did toss them half way thru the time to recoat the carrots. The carrots were savory sweet everyone loved them at Christmas easy side dish that we will repeat.
Great way to adapt Suzy, so glad everyone loved the dish! -Kristy
Can you make any of this the day before cooking?
You can always cook everything and reheat. -Kristy
I wasn’t a fan of this recipe. The honey doesn’t incorporate with the fats, and just slid right off the carrots during cooking. All the honey ended up in a corner of the pan, cooking into a charred mess. The carrots didn’t retain much of the coating or flavor. If I were to do this again, I’d oil the pan and carrots, sprinkle the garlic (maybe plus other herbs) on top, and skip the honey. It just burns. Bummer, and now I have a baking sheet to try to rescue.
Hi Crystal, I”m sorry that was your result with this recipe. It sounds like the carrots may have still been a bit too damp. Extra water on the carrots can cause the glaze not to adhere enough to the carrots. I would recommend even if you roast the carrots as you’ve described in the future, make sure to dry the carrots extra well before you start. All the best, Kristy
Baking soda and vinegar or coke gets your pans clean, easy peasy!
Thanks for the tip Danielle 🙂
Did you use parchment paper like the recipe called for? No cleanup should occur. Merry Christmas 2021
Why are the carrots peeled? When I was first married I read many of the vitamins/minerals are in the skin of the fruit/vegetables. I Googled the information for you.
“In fact, carrots are more nutritious when the skin is left on. Carrot skin is perfectly edible, just like beet skin, zucchini skin and the skin of most other vegetables.”
Researchers with Tufts University point out that while carrot peels do contain some wonderful nutrients—vitamin C, beta-carotene, and niacin, some vitamin C is also in the carrot.
While there are vitamins in the carrot peels, most people in general prefer carrots peeled. Carrots grow underground and therefore need scrubbed extra well if you eat the skins as they otherwise tend to be covered in dirt. The baby carrots this recipe starts with typically come pre-peeled. Luckily in your own home you are welcome to peel or not peel your carrots as you see fit, chef’s choice. -Kristy
When do you add the garlic?
Oh sorry Janet, looks like I had it right in the article but missed it in the recipe card. the garlic goes into the honey butter mixture before you toss the carrots in it. I’ve edited the recipe card to reflect this, thanks! -Kristy
This recipe was delicious! Of course the first time you make anything it’s trial and error, but they turned out way better than I expected. The only change I will make for next time is roast them about 15 minutes, turn them over and roast for maybe 10 more minutes. I really enjoyed them though and definitely recommend!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Carrie! It’s not uncommon for ovens to vary in temperature or just that your carrots were thinner than mine causing them to cook faster. I’m so glad you liked the recipe, you made my day! 🙂 -Kristy
This recipe was delicious! Of course the first time you make anything it’s trial and error, but they turned out better than I beexpected. The only change I will make next time is to roast them about 15 minutes, turn them over and roast for maybe 10 more minutes. I really enjoyed them though and definitely recommend!