Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots with Toasted Almonds are a colorful and delicious addition to your dinner table. They’re topped with a sweet lemony glaze and toasted almonds for a tasty combination of flavors and textures.
Spring is such an odd season in the Midwest, with a warm day followed by snow the next. One thing we can rely upon is cool weather veggies coming back in season, like carrots!
Carrots thrive in the cool temperatures of spring and fall, and I love seeing them heaped up on tables at the farmers markets when they finally make an appearance.
These Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots are a tribute to spring—tender roasted carrots, bright lemon zest, a sweet and sticky brown sugar glaze, and almonds toasted in butter.
They’re the perfect addition to a holiday dinner or a dinner party. I served them for an Easter dinner along with an Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb and Scalloped Corn with Bacon. They are a gorgeous addition to the dinner table!
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Ingredients
- I love the look of rainbow carrots for this recipe. Regular orange carrots work great, too! You can use either whole carrots or baby carrots.
- The carrots are tossed with olive oil and salt, and roasted to perfection in the oven.
- Brown sugar, butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest make an irresistible sweet lemon-y glaze that complements the carrots beautifully.
- Toasted almonds on top are the finishing touch!
How to make glazed carrots
Start with either whole carrots or baby carrots. I used rainbow carrots, which I can most reliably find at Whole Foods Market in the spring. I occasionally see them at my regular grocery store, too.
Trim the ends of the carrots and then halve any particularly large ones. Toss the carrots with olive oil and sea salt, and put them on a large rimmed baking sheet.
I like to line the baking sheet with a silicone baking mat for easy clean-up.
Roast the carrots for approximately 25 minutes at 400°F, or until they’re tender.
While the carrots cook, make the brown sugar glaze by boiling brown sugar and water together until it reduced slightly, then stirring in butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Then, toast the sliced almonds in a sauté pan with butter. Watch these closely and stir often—they can go from barely toasted to burnt really quickly!
Once the carrots are done, drizzle them with the glaze and toss to coat. Transfer the carrots to a serving platter and top with the almonds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, of course! If you can’t find rainbow carrots, you can use orange carrots. You can even use baby carrots if you’d like.
These Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots are best served just after making them. However, you can prepare parts of this recipe ahead, such as toasting the almonds, making the glaze, and washing/trimming the carrots.
Leftover roasted carrots will keep in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. You may notice that the almonds become soggy. You can always remove them and replace them with freshly toasted almonds, if you wish!
Serving suggestions
I served the Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots as a part of an Easter dinner. My friend Kelley of Haviland Events created the gorgeous Easter table.
China: Rose medallion china from Kelley’s collection (vintage)
Silver: Chantilly by Gorham (vintage)
Napkins: Pottery Barn in Pink Tulip
Flowers: Trader Joe’s
Here’s the rest of the Easter menu:
Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb
Scalloped Corn with Bacon
Banoffee Pie
More Easter recipes that I love:
Fire Glazed Ham
Thyme & Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes
Super Flaky Southern Biscuits
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or comment below!
📖 Recipe
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots with Toasted Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 lbs rainbow carrots, peeled and halved if large
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup water or vegetable stock
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Pinch of salt
- For garnish: fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss carrots with the olive oil and salt. Spread in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar and water or vegetable stock in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup butter and stir until melted. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted, about 5–6 minutes. Sprinkle with additional sea salt.
- Transfer the roasted carrots to a serving platter. Pour the brown sugar glaze over the top. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds and parsley. Serve immediately.
It says in the recipe combine vegetable stock? But it doesn’t list that in the ingredients. How much vegetable stock should I be using? Thanks
Hi Tayler, the vegetable stock and water are interchangeable, so you can use either one. I updated the recipe to make it more clear—sorry about that!