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Orange Glazed Carrots are a quick and easy way to dress up carrots. Glazed with a combination of tangy orange juice, sweet maple, and garlic, the natural flavor of the carrots shines through, creating a unique yet simple side dish that everyone will love.
Looking for more recipes starring carrots? Don't miss roasted carrots, carrot cake muffins, carrot raisin salad, and carrot cake oatmeal.
Kristen's Keys for Glazed Carrots
To make glazed carrots that are sweet enough for the kids, yet sophisticated enough for adults, pay attention to the following tips.
- A fresh orange is best here. That will allow you to add both the zest and juice of an orange, which really amps up the orange flavor.
- Use real maple. It helps to create a sticky, sweet glaze that compliments the natural sweetness of both the carrots and orange juice. Pancake syrup will make the dish cloyingly sweet.
- Garlic and butter balance out the glaze. A touch of butter and a bit of minced garlic keeps gives the carrots depth and keeps the dish nuanced rather than simply sweet.
How To Make Orange Glazed Carrots
Boiled under fork-tender, then quickly glazed, these carrots comes together with minimal effort, yet feel incredibly special.
Step One: Parboil Carrots
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
If using whole carrots, peel and chop into 1-inch coins. Baby carrots need no preparation.
Place the carrots into a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until just fork-tender.
Step Two: Glaze the Carrots
Drain the carrots and return to the warm pan. Add the maple syrup, butter, orange juice, salt, and garlic to the pan, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and the glaze begins to thicken. This only takes a couple of minutes.
Step Three: Finish and Serve
Remove the carrots from the heat and stir in the orange zest for deep, bright citrus flavor.
Transfer to a serving dish, add parsley for a pop of color (or keep the greens off the carrots to please the picky eaters 😉) and serve.
Recipe Modifications
- Swap Maple Syrup for Honey: Feel free to use honey in place of maple syrup for equally delicious results. Brown sugar is not a suitable substitute.
- Dairy-Free/Vegan: 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.
Serving Suggestions
- As a Family-Friendly Side Dish. These glazed carrots are easy enough for busy weeknights and pair well with Baked Chicken Tenders, Sloppy Joes, Homemade Fish Sticks, Chopped Steaks, Shake and Bake Chicken and so much more.
- As a Part of Easter Dinner. Impressive enough for any holiday feast, especially when paired with Baked Ham or Instant Pot Ham, Homemade Scalloped Potatoes, and Roasted Asparagus.
More Easy Vegetable Side Dishes
Orange Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ¼ cup orange juice, ~1 large orange
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, or honey
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Peel and chop the 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 ¼ cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, 1 clove garlic (minced), ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon unsalted 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 ½ teaspoon orange zest and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question. Is it a ¼ oj concentrate or actual juice? Sorry for the silly question. Sounds sooo good!!!
This is for actual juice, not concentrate. Enjoy!
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!
These were easy to make made a delicious side. Will definitely be making again!