Roasted carrots are divine. They get super sweet as the natural sugars caramelize in the oven, but when you add a honey balsamic glaze it just takes them to the next level! These Roasted Carrots with Honey Balsamic Glaze are sweet, tangy, and rich, all at the same time. And the best part? This Roasted Carrots recipe is incredibly simple. So you can have these heavenly carrots with a honey balsamic glaze as a side dish with dinner any day of the week, or save them for a special occasion like Thanksgiving, Easter, or even a date night in. Either way, they’re simple and delicious, and you won’t regret it.
Garnished with parsley for color.
Ingredients for Roasted Carrots with Honey Balsamic Glaze
This super delicious side dish is incredibly easy. Here’s what you’ll need to make these roasted carrots:
- Carrots: You can use basic generic carrots (the best price option), pre-peeled baby carrots (the easiest), or fancy carrots that have the tops still attached for the best presentation (trim the tops before roasting to prevent burning).
- Olive Oil: The carrots are coated in olive oil before roasting so they stay moist, which helps the natural sugars caramelize properly.
- Honey: Honey balances the acidic flavor of the balsamic vinegar in the glaze and creates the thick, shiny texture of the glaze.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar adds a deliciously deep and tangy flavor to the glaze.
- Butter: The richness of butter balances the acidity of the vinegar and helps create a nice sheen in the glaze.
- Salt & Pepper: The carrots are seasoned simply with salt and pepper to prevent the flavors from getting too muddy. We really want the carrots to shine!
What to Serve with Roasted Carrots
I love these carrots with a really herby main dish, like Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, or Herb Roasted Chicken Breast. The sweet and tangy roasted carrots will make a nice contrast to the more subtle, deep herbal flavors. And don’t forget a big ol’ pile of creamy mashed potatoes! The tangy balsamic glaze also pairs really well with something like Classic Homemade Meatloaf. These fancy-pants carrots also make a beautiful addition to any Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner.
Do You Need to Peel Carrots?
Peeling carrots is entirely optional, but carrots do grow underground so it’s important to clean them well either way. Some people find carrot skin to be slightly bitter, so if you’re sensitive to bitter flavor you may prefer them peeled. Otherwise, you can simply scrub them well with a vegetable brush and leave the skin on for a more rustic look.
Not into balsamic glaze? Try our classic Easy Roasted Carrots Recipe.
Roasted Carrots with Honey Balsamic Glaze
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 lbs. carrots ($1.69)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp honey ($0.24)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($0.55)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.14)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash and/or peel the carrots, then cut them into one-inch pieces.
- Place the carrots on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add ¼ salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and toss the carrots until coated. Transfer the carrots to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once half-way through.
- While the carrots are roasting, prepare the honey balsamic glaze. Add the honey and balsamic vinegar to a small sauce pot and stir to combine. Simmer the glaze over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove the pot from the heat, then add the butter. Stir until the butter has melted into the glaze. Set the glaze aside.
- When the carrots are finished roasting, drizzle the honey balsamic glaze over top and toss to coat. Serve warm!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
How to Make Roasted Carrots with Honey Balsamic Glaze – Step By Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash or peel two pounds of carrots and slice them into 1-inch pieces. Place the carrots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper, and toss until the carrots are coated in oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the carrots for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring once halfway through.
While the carrots are still in the oven, prepare the balsamic glaze. Combine ¼ cup balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsp honey in a small pot and simmer over medium-low for about 10 minutes or until it has thickened slightly.
Once the balsamic and honey mixture has reduced and thickened slightly, turn the burner off and add 1 Tbsp butter. Stir until the butter has melted into the glaze. Set the honey balsamic glaze aside.
When the carrots are finished roasting, remove them from the oven and pour the honey balsamic glaze over top.
Toss the carrots to coat in the honey balsamic glaze. You can do this in a bowl if you prefer so that you don’t lose any of the delicious glaze.
Serve the delicious roasted carrots warm! You can garnish with freshly chopped parsley if desired.
These loon amazing! If I need to veganize this/make it dairy-free, what would be the best swap for the butter? Would just straight unrefined coconut oil be good, or a vegan margarine be fine, or?
I’m not sure anything will be exactly the same as the butter, but I think you’ll have better luck with the vegan margarine. The sweet cream in the butter is what really finishes off the balsamic glaze and balances those acidic flavors, and coconut oil just won’t have that. A vegan butter might be a little closer.
Simple and delicious!
I just made these and they were fabulous!!! I wish I’d cooked the whole 2 lbs of carrots instead of just one. This will definitely be showing up on the regular.
If you’re like me and want to take a shortcut by pouring the vinegar, butter, and honey directly on the carrots, keep in mind that it is not nearly as good as the cooked glaze!
Made these tonight and they were THE BOMB!! Everyone raved!! Can’t wait to make them again and try more of your recipes. Thank you so much!
We just made this tonight and it was great! Instead of the oven we put the carrots in a pan and roasted on the grill. I really thought I had goofed when I threw the butter for the glaze in the pan first, but I just simmered it a bit longer and it worked out great. Thanks sooo much! Since finding your site I have been raving about all the fantastic easy recipies to my whole family. I love the step by step and layouts that make it super easy. My grocery list using bigoven has become a must as well! I wish I could hug you!
Made these for dinner tonight and my bf and I certainly enjoyed them. I tweaked the recipe a bit by using maple syrup instead of honey and totally skipped the butter. All in all thank you for such a simple yet delicious recipe xo
This glaze is delicious on roasted Brussels sprouts!
Wow I loved loved this dish. I love the glaze too I ate it with my meat and potatoes. De-lish.!
Made it tonight and served it to my family which varies in age from 7-55 and got all positive feedback from them. They LOVED it and it will be added to the bi-weekly rotation. Next time I will double because we loved so much!! Thank you Beth!!
Hi
Great recipe! Love the glaze!
I love roasted carrots. Add some pistachios and I’m a happy girl!
Anon – The cooking time probably won’t change that much. Just keep an eye on them and take them out when they start to look wrinkled and slightly brown. They don’t cook very fast so there is some wiggle room :)
😔🙁just when I start to think maybe I was wrong
I have a package of organic baby carrots in the fridge. They’re not as thick as the carrots you used. Should I change the temp/cooking time?
I made these for my husband and I and we LOVED them!!! Nice sweetness to them, but very subtle. I actually just added the balsamic vinegar and honey straight to the carrots after cooking. Thanks for the great recipe:-)