This delicious honey roasted baby carrots recipe is a fantastic, simple side dish. It requires very little hands-on time and results in the tenderest and tastiest carrots.
This great recipe is so full of flavor! The combination of honey, mustard, garlic, and balsamic with the sweetness of the carrots is phenomenal.
It does call for a bit of roasting time, but there's really only about 10 minutes of active time, making it the perfect side dish for a dinner party or holiday meal.
You'll love this easy carrot recipe - it's a great weeknight side dish, but it's special enough to serve at a celebration like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.
You'll roast the whole carrots, so you don't even need to chop them - making this the simplest side. Roasting carrots brings out their natural sweetness and I think you'll find this will be a new favorite side dish that's a hit with the whole family.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients to make this delicious fresh carrots recipe!
- Baby Carrots (use baby rainbow carrots if you want more color) - you'll use 1 ½ pounds of carrots. For me, this was two small bags of carrots, but you can also buy 1 big bag of carrots as well.
- Olive Oil - it doesn't need to be extra virgin olive, as you'll just be roasting the carrots at a high temperature. You can also use avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- Kosher Salt - feel free to swap this for sea salt if you'd prefer.
- Ground Black Pepper - this adds just a little heat and a lovely peppery bite.
- Melted Butter - use unsalted butter if possible. This adds a lovely, rich flavor to the carrots.
- Honey - the addition of honey is so important to this recipe - it adds a wonderful bright sweetness to the dish!
- Dijon Mustard - pungent and lightly spicy, this mustard adds rich flavor to the glaze. See our full post on substitutions for dijon.
- Balsamic Vinegar - sharp and complex, it adds a little acid to the glaze. You can swap for red wine vinegar if necessary.
- Fresh Garlic - this recipe calls for two cloves, but if you are a garlic lover, feel free to add more!
- Optional Toppings - Chopped Fresh Parsley
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Lay in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 12 mins in the oven.
Melt the butter, honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and garlic together in a small bowl. Stir to fully combine.
Remove carrots from oven and toss with glaze in a large bowl.
Spread out on the sheet pan again and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the carrots from the oven. Allow them to cool for a minute or two and place them on a serving platter or bowl.
Top with chopped parsley.
More Great Side Dish Recipes
Check out our full list of Healthy Side Dishes or try another easy side dish!
- Rainbow Carrot Salad with Quinoa - a beautiful salad with layers of flavor.
- Asian Style Green Beans - tangy beans ready in a few minutes.
- Roasted Broccolini - this easy recipe is the best way to cook broccolini.
- Roasted Golden Beets - fantastic, tender beets with loads of flavor.
Substitutions & Variations
Want to make some changes? Try these substitutions or optional ingredients.
- Fresh Herbs - you can top the carrots with chopped herbs like fresh thyme, oregano, or sage.
- Sweetener - you can swap the honey for maple syrup or brown sugar.
- Larger Carrots - you can use regular size carrots, just peel them and cut them into smaller pieces (1 ½ inches long, ½ an inch wide)
What to Serve with Carrots
Carrots are a great side dish for lots of meals, but here are a few main courses that pair well with honey mustard carrots.
Storage
The cooked carrots will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.
Tips for Making this Recipe
Cooking Tips - Lining the baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil will make cleanup easier and will keep the carrots from sticking to the pan.
Recommended Tools - I highly recommend using a rimmed baking sheet to roast the carrots. This will keep the honey butter sauce from dripping in your oven.
If you try these glazed carrots, let us know! Connect with us on Instagram and share your photos or leave us a rating.
Honey Roasted Baby Carrots
This delicious honey roasted baby carrots recipe is an excellent side dish! Full of flavor and so simple to make.
Ingredients
- 24 ounces (2 bags) of baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- optional - chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl and lay in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
- Combine the melted butter, honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and garlic together in a small bowl. Stir to combine fully.
- Remove carrots from the oven and toss with glaze in a large bowl.
- Spread carrots out on the sheet pan again and bake for an additional 15 minutes till fork tender.
- Remove the carrots from the oven. Allow them to cool for a minute or two, and place them on a serving platter or bowl.
- Top with optional chopped parsley.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 113Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 212mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 0g