These brown sugar and butter carrots are a delicious sweet and savory side dish. Made with baby carrots and honey, these are an easy and affordable holiday dinner menu item.
Table of Contents
One of the best side dishes to go with almost any meal is Brown Sugar and Butter Carrots, which combine tender carrots, rich butter, and sweet brown sugar for a delightful treat. They are easy to make, taste great, and are good for you.
Brown sugar has got to be one of my favorite ingredients out there. It is so versatile and can be used in sweet or savory dishes and even in drinks. It has such a depth of extra flavor that works well with a variety of other ingredients.
I’m not sure if there’s a day that goes by that I’m not using it for a pinch of something here or there.
From an obvious use like an Apple Sponge Pudding Cake to a make-ahead breakfast item like Cranberry Almond Baked Oatmeal, brown sugar even makes an appearance in dinner recipes like Brown Stew Chicken.
And it pairs perfectly with carrots to give that earthy vegetable flavor a touch of sweetness to balance it out. I’ve roasted carrots with brown sugar plenty of times, but this recipe is better if you’re short on time or don’t feel like turning the oven on. This one comes together quickly to help you get dinner on the table!
How to Make Carrots on the Stovetop
Empty a 16-ounce bag of baby carrots into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, continue to boil the carrots until fork tender for about 15 minutes.
Drain excess water out and leave the carrots in the pan.
Add 1/4 cup butter, 3 tablespoons honey and 1/3 cup brown sugar.
Stir everything together and continue stirring frequently while they’re cooking so nothing burns or sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Continue cooking the carrots with the sauce ingredients for about 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and you can serve as it or garnish with some fresh, chopped parsley.
These also freeze pretty well too! After they’ve cooled, pour the carrots and all the sauce into a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze till you’re ready to use them.
When you want to serve them, just thaw in the fridge the night before and then reheat in the saucepan until heated through.
This carrot recipe is a delicious and healthy side dish for holiday meals. They are easy to make with simple ingredients and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
I highly recommend giving this buttery carrots recipe a try for any weeknight meals!
Looking for more one-pan recipes
One-pan meals are a great way to save time and energy, and they’re also a great way to get your family to eat healthy. Here are some recipes to try!
- Ranch Glazed Carrots
- Marry Me Chicken
- Simple Mac and Cheese Recipes
- Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
- Hawaiian Pulled Pork Nachos with Mango and Pineapple
Brown Sugar and Butter Carrots
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Baby Carrots
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 3 Tbsp. Honey
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 2 Tbsp. Parsley fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Add carrots to a medium saucepan and cover with water. Heat over medium high heat until it reaches a boil. Continue boiling for 15 minutes or until fork tender.
- Drain water but keep carrots in pan.
- Add the butter, honey and brown sugar to the pan. Continue stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes.
- Optional: add chopped parsley as garnish.
Nutrition
Be sure to PIN THIS POST to save for later!
