The BEST Glazed Carrots Recipe
A side dish served regularly at dinner time growing up were brown sugar carrots with a sweet glaze. Even though my sister and I were picky eaters, we always savored those sweet carrots last. (Proof that your whole family will love them!)
As I got older, I wanted to recreate that sweet carrot recipe – but a bit healthier and easier to make.
Healthier because instead of using regular sugar to sweeten these baby carrots, we’ll use half honey and half brown sugar.
And yes, I said even easier than canned carrots because all you are going to do is plop your ingredients into your Crock-Pot and let it do the work for you!
(Don’t have a Crock-Pot or slow cooker? You can also make a slightly different version of this recipe with these Instant Pot Glazed Carrots!)
While these glazed carrots can definitely make an easy side dish for busy weeknight dinners, they’re also a great recipe to make for your holiday dinners since they don’t take up much oven space! Serve them up for Easter, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas or any night of the week!
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Butter. This fat helps to balance out the sweetness from the sugars. If vegan, you can substitute with coconut oil or a dairy-free butter substitute.
- Carrots. This recipe was originally created with a 2-pound bag of mini baby carrots. Baby carrots have already been washed and peeled, helping you skip a step in the preparation process. You can always choose to use the carrot chips, or cut and peel regular carrots. The cooking time may vary depending on how thick you cut your carrots.
- Honey. A little bit of natural sweetness helps to balance the brown sugar. Feel free to substitute this with pure maple syrup if you’re vegan.
- Brown Sugar. Half of the sugar used in this recipe comes from brown sugar. It does a better job of caramelizing the carrots and creating that delightful glaze than unrefined sugars do. However, if you would like to make this recipe Paleo and refined sugar free you can always use coconut sugar instead.
- Water. A bit of water is needed to help steam the carrots and create enough moisture buildup in the slow cooker to make them tender. If you forget to add this, you will end up burning the carrots in the Crock-Pot!
Step-by-step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the full instructions, ingredient amounts, and a printable recipe.
Combine the ingredients
If you are peeling and cutting whole carrots, do this first.
Start by dumping all of the carrots in the bottom of the Crockpot. Pour the water over the carrots, then pile the brown sugar, honey, butter, and salt on top.
Pro Tip: This recipe is best in a 6-quart slow cooker. Scale the recipe (i.e. increase the water) if you’re using a larger cooker.
Slow cook the carrots.
Place the lid on the Crockpot.
If you have a little more time, cook these carrots for 6 to 8 hours on Low. But if not, High for 5 to 6 hours should do it.
They are done when the carrots are fork tender.
Pro Tip: If you’re home during the day, give the carrots a good stir after 4 hours on High or 6 hours on Low. Watch the carrots and add some water if needed. But do not remove the lid more than absolutely necessary, as this will slow down the cooking.
Serve.
These honey glazed carrots are delicious with additional brown sugar, honey or a sprinkle of your favorite herb!
We served ours up with a sprinkle of fresh parsley from our herb garden. Finely chopped rosemary, fresh thyme, or fresh dill would also taste great.
Pro Tip: If you want a thicker glaze, remove the lid of the slow cooker and allow to cook on high for an additional 30 minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
FAQs
It is so easy to prepare your carrots in the slow cooker. Be sure to add a bit of water so they steam and get fork-tender while cooking.
While boiling carrots is an easy way to soften them, you can use your slow cooker, as well! Simply toss the carrots into your Crockpot with a little bit of water and you’re good to go.
You can serve these Crockpot carrots with your favorite weeknight meal, like baked chicken or hamburgers. But they are also perfect for a holiday celebration, as well.
Any uneaten carrots can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
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Crockpot Glazed Carrots Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby carrots
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons honey*
- 3 tablespoons butter* cut into 8 cubes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Chopped fresh herbs optional
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: Place carrots, water, brown sugar, honey, butter and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker.2 pounds baby carrots, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons honey*, 3 tablespoons butter*, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cook in Crock-pot: Set slow cooker to High for 5-6 hours or Low for 6-8 hours. Stir carrots after 4-5 hours and continue cooking until carrots are fork tender. (If you want a thicker glaze, remove the lid of the slow cooker and allow to cook on high for an additional 30 minutes to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.)
- Serve glazed carrots with chopped thyme, rosemary or dill and enjoy!Chopped fresh herbs
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Notes
- Carrots: A bag of baby carrots is so simple to use and saves a step in preparation!
- Cook time: If you slice your own carrots, you might need to increase or decrease the time depending on their thickness.
- Lid: Don’t remove the lid more than absolutely necessary.
- Toppings: Get creative with topping these veggies. So many herbs, like rosemary, thyme, parsley, and even sage are delicious on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other Delicious Side Dish Recipes
If you’re looking for sides to entertain a crowd, try one of these at your next holiday celebration:
why do you change from a crockpot to a slow cooker in the middle of the recipe???
The terms crockpot and slow cooker are used interchangeably in this post. I’m sorry for the confusion!
Can I double all ingredients to feed 10??
You can! Just be sure the pan is big enough.
When you say to make the pan is big enough, to double the recipe, Can it still be done in a 6 quart crock pot? Thank.
If there is space for the carrots and they aren’t touching the top, a 6-quart crockpot should work. You might have to increase the cooking time, though. If you have a larger crockpot that would work, too.
I used Swerve brown sugar substitute to make this more diabetic friendly and it worked just fine. Couldn’t taste a difference from the full sugar version.
That’s great to know about the Swerve, Cat! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating! 🙂
These look great. I have made brown sugar carrots before but that recipe didn’t have honey in it. I will have to give this a try as my family loves carrots and we try to make them in as many different ways that we can so we never get tired of them.
That’s so awesome! I bet your carrots are just as tasty, Sarah!
I’m wondering if I can cut this recipe in half? What would my cooking time be?
Great question, Kim! I bet if you reduced the cook time to about 4 hours on Low the carrots should be done! Would love to know how it turns out for you!