These Baked Carrots with Brown Sugar are beautifully glazed and topped with crunchy pistachios - the perfect side dish for your special occasion holiday table, Sunday dinner with the family, or Tuesday night with salmon patties and Netflix.
When I was growing up, sweetened carrots were called "candy carrots" in my house. One of my mom's many attempts to convince us that vegetables could be fun. Well, mission accomplished.
What you'll need to make this recipe:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients.
Carrots: use small carrots, or large carrots cut into sticks. I love making this with small carrots (not baby carrots, which or short and wide, so they take longer to cook). But use what you have!
Butter: salted butter is my preference, but if you're using unsalted, just add a pinch of salt.
Pistachios: substitute walnuts, pecans or pine nuts, if desired.
Full ingredient list and measurements for this carrot recipe included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Prep carrots
Preheat oven to 400℉. Prepare a cookie sheet or baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Wash and dry the carrots and lay them into the pan.
Sprinkle the carrots with the brown sugar, salt and black pepper. Then pour over the melted butter.
2. Bake carrots
Bake the carrots in the butter and brown sugar mixture for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the carrots in the buttery sauce. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until the carrots are golden brown and tender.
3. Prep topping
While the carrots are roasting, dice the flat leaf parsley and roughly chop the pistachios.
When the carrots are tender and browned, remove from the oven. (If you’re looking for a deeper caramelization on the carrots, broil for the last 3-4 minutes.) Once the carrots are out of the oven, add orange zest to the pan and toss the carrots in the zest.
4. Garnish and serve
Plate roasted carrots on a serving dish. Pour extra brown sugar syrup from the pan over the carrots. Top with parsley and pistachios.
FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
The carrots I use are thinner and longer than baby carrots, so your cook time will be longer if using baby carrots. Or you could slice the carrots in half lengthwise, and reduce the cooking time.
You can slice the carrots, but if using larger carrots it would be better to cut the whole carrot into sticks and then follow the rest of the instructions. Carrot coins will be harder to keep in a single layer and they may not caramelize like the single-layer sticks that stay in contact with pan and the brown sugar sauce during the roasting process.
You can! Melt the butter over medium heat and add salt, pepper and brown sugar to a medium saucepan or large skillet. Add the raw carrots and toss them in the beautiful glaze. Cover the pan and lower the heat and cook, tossing occasionally, until the carrots are tender and cooked through. Monitor the heat so the sugars don't burn. if you need more liquid in the pan, add a few tablespoons of water or orange juice. When the carrots are finished cooking, toss in the orange zest and plate with the parsley and pistachios.
It's my favorite way to prepare this delicious side dish! Because I love serving this easy recipe during the holiday season, and especially at our big holiday dinner, I often bake them fully the day before an event, toss them in the orange zest, let them cool, then cover and refrigerate. The next day, right before serving, I transfer the sweet brown sugar glaze carrots to a serving plate, cover and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. When finished, top with parsley and pistachios and moments later they're on the dinner table and the whole family is digging in.
This popular side dish is a great addition to Easter Dinner, Thanksgiving - really any holiday event or fun family dinners. For a regular weeknight dinner, I like serving them with salmon patties and roasted red potatoes. Also delicious with Flounder Piccata and garlic and lemon seasoned green beans.
To store, transfer the glazed carrots to an airtight container. Leftover carrots can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Baked Carrots with Brown Sugar
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Ingredients
1 pound small carrots, or large carrots cut into sticks
¼ cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, diced
1 teaspoon orange zest
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Prepare a sheet pan or baking pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Wash and dry the carrots and place carrots into the pan. Sprinkle the carrots with the brown sugar, salt and black pepper. Pour over the melted butter.
- Bake the carrots in the butter and brown sugar mixture for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the carrots in the buttery sauce. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until golden brown and tender.
- While the carrots are baking, dice the flat leaf parsley and roughly chop the pistachios.
- When the carrots are tender and browned, remove from the oven. (If you’re looking for a deeper caramelization on the carrots, broil for the last 3-4 minutes.) Once the carrots are out of the oven, add orange zest to the pan and toss the carrots in the zest. Plate on a serving dish. Pour extra brown sugar syrup from the pan over the carrots. Top with parsley and pistachios.
Notes
You can bake this recipe fully the day before an event, toss them in the orange zest, let them cool, then cover and refrigerate. Transfer the sweet brown sugar glaze carrots to a serving plate, cover and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes, then top with parsley and pistachios.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Vickie
This is our favorite carrot recipe! it is perfect just like the recipe, no need for any adjustments for us!
Christina Jolam
Mine, too! Thanks for the great review. So glad you loved the carrots!