Is there a more classic vegetable side dish than glazed carrots? Maybe steamed broccoli, maybe. Yet, as simple and classic as glazed carrots are, you need to know what to do in terms of adding sugar, salt and heat in order to get the right results.
Too much sugar and the dish will be cloying. Too much heat and the sugar burns. Not enough and the stock won’t reduce. That said, it isn’t difficult, and so well worth doing.
Classic Glazed Carrots Recipe
PrintIt’s traditional to serve glazed carrots hot, but they are also good at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled
- 2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
- 1 heaping tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
Method
1 Prep the carrots: Slice the carrots into 1/8 to 1/4-inch disks or diagonally. Try to cut the pieces so they are about the same size as each other, so they cook evenly.
2 Sauté carrots in butter: Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the carrots. Toss to combine and reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle the salt over carrots and toss again. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
3 Add sugar, pepper, stock: then add the sugar and white pepper (if using) and toss to combine. Add the stock. Cover the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
4 Reduce liquid to a glaze: Uncover the pot and increase heat to medium-high. Toss the carrots once or twice to keep them moving, and cook away most of the liquid. Turn off the heat and taste. Add more salt and sugar to taste.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
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Do you have any advice for making these with frozen carrots?
I prepared with salted butter and omitted the salt and pepper. This recipe is excellent, and very little sugar for a pound of glazed carrots.
I prepared the Classic Glazed Carrots recipe for a church covered dish supper, and it was fabulous! Everyone loved it.
My husband requested that I find a new carrots recipe so I came here first and was happy to find this simple recipe! He loved them. I don’t like carrots (or vegetables, for that matter) but I’m sure they’re awesome. The husband is picky about his vegetables and he approved so thanks for that. :)
Wow these were fantastic! I sliced them thin on a mandolin and they were delish and elevated to amazing status the next day!