Honey Roasted Carrots (make ahead)

Honey roasted carrots are a beautiful and simple side dish that is perfect for Easter, or for an everyday dinner. With four simple ingredients, they are sweet, buttery and delicious!

Roasting vegetables is such a great way to concentrate their flavors, while getting those delicious golden caramelized bits. Our favorite roasted vegetables include balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, maple cinnamon roasted butternut squash, and these honey roasted carrots!

Whether you serve them for a holiday meal, or for a weeknight dinner, these honey roasted carrots are going to be loved by all!

Simple to prepare, they are buttery, slightly sweet, and perfect served with a variety of main dishes including slow cooker ham or a simple baked chicken breast.

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You can use any carrots

For this meal, I used farmer's market carrots that are smaller and shorter than standard grocery store carrots. You can also use grocery store carrots, however you're going to want to prep them differently.

Farmer's market carrots

For this smaller variety, trim off the green tops (you can reserve them to make pesto or use in bone broth) and scrub the carrots well. If you are cooking a holiday meal, these carrots are visually so beautiful on the table, and also have a ton of flavor.

Grocery store carrots

For these larger carrots, they are going to take forever to roast through in the oven. You'll want to either slice them in half lengthwise, or cut them into uniform 1 ½ inch pieces. You could even use baby carrots, and save yourself time in washing and chopping them!

Roasting the carrots

Roasting carrots concentrates their flavors, which brings out a buttery and sweet flavor. For this recipe, we are roasting in a 425°F oven for around 45 minutes, but the exact time will depend on the size of your carrots.

Don't overcrowd

I recommend spacing out the carrots as much as you can, which helps them roast rather than stem. If you are cooking for a crowd, you'll want to use 2 baking sheets.

Flip halfway

To ensure the carrots cook all the way through evenly, it's important to flip the carrots over after 20 minutes of roasting. At this point, you should start to see some caramelization and browning of the carrots.

Brush during the last 5 minutes

The finishing touch to these honey roasted carrots is to brush with additional honey mixture during the last five minutes. As it cooks, it thickens into a glaze, helping to add even more flavor to the carrots.

Variations

You could certainly get creative with these carrots, adding your own twist to them! Here are some suggestions:

• herbs- try adding some dried thyme leaves, rosemary
• aromatics- minced garlic would add a savory dimension
• spicy- try adding harissa paste or sriracha
• tangy- add in some balsamic vinegar or serve with balsamic reduction

Making them ahead

I am happy to report that you can roast these carrots through ahead, store, and reheat. Here are my tips:

• they are best served fresh, but still really good reheated
• cool and store for up to 24 hours (after that they aren't as good)
• reheat in a covered pan at 350°F for 20 minutes. Brush on some extra honey during the last 10 minutes for bonus points!

More healthy holiday side dishes

• Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf
• Creamy Parmesan Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower
• Instant Pot Carrots with Honey Glaze
• Whole Roasted Cauliflower
• Rosemary Roasted Root Vegetables
• Stuffed Acorn Squash with Mushrooms and Cranberries