This Glazed Carrots Recipe is the ultimate way to dress up carrots! Glazed with a sweet and savory combination of sweet maple syrup, tangy orange juice, and garlic, this flavorful side dish takes just minutes to make!
While I love roasted carrots and can eat my weight in raw carrots when dipped into hummus, my picky family tends to only get excited about carrots when they are served in muffin or cheesecake form.
Unless I serve these glazed carrots. They are one simple carrot recipe we ALL devour!
Reasons to Love Glazed Carrots
- Super Easy Recipe. Made in one pan in about 20 minutes, it is incredibly easy to make these
- Sophisticated Flavor. This recipe for glazed carrots goes beyond simply glazing the carrots with maple syrup. The acidity of the orange juice brings such a bright, refreshing flavor to the glaze on the carrots and the garlic and butter to balance out the dish. These glazed carrots are sweet, tangy, and rich. Just perfect!
- Kid-Approved Veggie. Even with the nuanced flavor, this is one vegetable side dish, that kids will willingly devour thanks to the maple syrup glaze.
- Simple, Wholesome Ingredients. Made with 7 simple ingredients, this recipe for glazed carrots is naturally sweetened and uses only a touch of butter.
- Versatile. Orange Glazed Carrots are easy enough for a weeknight, but tasty enough to be paired with Instant Pot Ham or Pineapple Glazed Ham for a holiday meal.
- Adaptable. You can easily make this recipe dairy-free and swap out the maple syrup for honey if desired.
Notes on Ingredients
- Carrots: Use peeled carrots cut into 1-inch chunks or baby carrots.
- Maple Syrup: Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup, or the taste will be artificial and overly sweet.
- Orange Juice: Use both the zest and juice of a navel orange for the ultimate orange flavor.
- Minced Garlic: A little bit of fresh garlic helps to cut the sweetness of this dish, but you can certainly leave it out for a sweeter version of glazed carrots.
- Butter: A bit of butter will help to round out the flavors and give the glazed carrots a rich finish.
Recipe Modifications
- Honey Glazed Carrots: Feel free to use honey in place of maple syrup for equally delicious results.
- Dairy-Free/Vegan Glazed Carrots: Use your favorite vegan stick butter or omit the butter altogether from the recipe.
- No Fresh Oranges? If you don't have fresh oranges, use prepared pulp-free orange juice and omit the orange zest.
How To Make Glazed Carrots
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One: Parboil Carrots. Before glazing the carrots, you want to simmer them in water until they are just fork-tender. You want them still somewhat firm so that they hold their shape when glazed.
Step Two: Glaze the Carrots
- Add the maple syrup, butter, orange juice, salt, and garlic to the saucepan and toss to coat.
- Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are coated in a rich maple glaze. This only takes a few minutes.
- Remove the carrots from the heat and stir in the orange zest before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Once glazed, dish up the carrots, add parsley for a pop of color (or keep the greens off the carrots to please the picky eaters 😉), and serve.
These Maple Glazed Carrots are a delicious side dish for your Easter dinner especially when paired with Baked Ham, Homemade Scalloped Potatoes, and Roasted Asparagus. But don't just reserve these carrots for the holidays! They are easy enough to whip up on a weeknight and pair well with Baked Chicken Tenders, Sloppy Joes, or Homemade Fish Sticks.
More Easy Vegetable Side Dishes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Green Beans Almondine
- Zucchini and Squash Saute
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Carrot Raisin Salad
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Need more inspiration for planning meals that your family will love? Sign up for my FREE Meal Plans and each week you will get a meal plan with a shopping list.
If you tried this simple recipe for Maple Syrup Glazed Carrots, I would love for you to leave a comment and review.
Maple Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- ¼ cup orange juice fresh or prepared
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon butter optional
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Peel and chop carrots into 1-inch coins. Place the prepared carrots in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the carrots are just fork-tender about 10-12 minutes. Once tender, drain the water from the carrots and return the carrots to the hot pan.
- Add orange juice, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and butter to the carrots and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Once the glaze has coated the carrots and begun to caramelize, remove the carrots from the heat.
- Stir in the orange zest and serve the glazed carrots.
Amy
Made these carrots for my family for our Sunday dinner and they gobbled them right up! The glaze makes them fancy but it's not even hard to do and makes a basic vegetable special instead of boring!
Erin
These were easy to make made a delicious side. Will definitely be making again!
catherine flint
i'm making this tonight and so excited to have this recipe with a glazed ham. i have a great oven roasted carrot with parmesan and garlic recipe but, so fun to try something different! my only, thing is I don't understand people suggesting peeling the carrots. they're amazing in any form not peeled. just me and thank you for what I know is going to be my new go to carrot recipe
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Catherine! As long as you scrub the carrots, you are right--no need to peel 🙂
Ku'u Coyaso
Thank you so much for this recipe. I'll be making it for potluck at church. It is delicious & perfect with my salad for dinner.
Ku'u
carol
You say cook carrots in stock pan and then you talk about pan roasted which is it?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Carol! These carrots are "roasted" on the stove--you can use a stock pan or large nonstick frying pan.
Karena
Thank you for this recipe!
Will condensed orange juice work?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes, it will work once reconstituted Karena.
Melinda Davidson
Your instructions call for zest but the amount of zest was not noted in the recipe. How much would you suggest?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Melinda! It is 1/2 teaspoon orange zest 🙂
Jenn
Raw carrots are good and all but I am ALLLLLLLLL about these pan roasted glazed carrots! Totally swoon-worthy!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Jenn!!! The maple glaze totally makes these swoon-worthy!
Ashley F
This is my new favorite way to do roasted carrots -- so flavorful!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY!!! I am so glad you loved this recipe Ashley!