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candied carrots with brown sugar cinnamon glaze in a white bowl with a wooden spoon
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Candied Carrots

This Candied Carrots recipe is the sister recipe to Candied Sweet Potatoes. This dish offers an amazing combination of sweet and savory flavors, elevating boring veggies into a delectable side dish that's sure to please everyone at the table. With just a few simple ingredients and minimal effort this is the perfect caramelized treat for any occasion.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, soul food, Southern
Keyword candied carrots, candied carrots recipe, candied carrots with brown sugar
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 5 servings
Calories 248kcal
Author Brandi Crawford

Equipment

Ingredients

Glaze Thickener

Instructions

  • Heat a pan or pot on medium-high heat and add the butter.
    ½ cup unsalted butter
  • When melted, add the white sugar (or sweetener), brown sugar (or sweetener), ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir. You want to ensure the sugar melts down, but don't overcook the glaze.
    ½ cup brown sugar or sweetener, ½ cup white sugar or sweetener, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Once the sugar has melted, add in the vanilla extract and stir. The glaze will thicken.
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Pour in the water and stir until the glaze caramelizes.
    ¼ cup water
  • Add in the diced carrots and stir until the carrots are fully coated in the glaze.
    2 pounds carrots
  • Reduce the heat to low and place the lid on the pot.
  • Simmer and cook the carrots for 8-12 until the carrots are tender. Cook time will vary based on the size of your carrots.
  • Combine the flour in a separate bowl and stir until the flour is fully incorporated to create a slurry. Add 2 tablespoons of the glaze from the pot to the bowl with the flour slurry. Stir to fully combine. This is important. If you don't fully incorporate the mixture, you will end up with clumps of flour in your glaze.
    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon water
  • Open the pot and pour the slurry into the pot and stir. The glaze will thicken.
  • Cool before serving. The glaze will thicken even more upon standing.

Notes

  • We love the glaze. It's the best part of making this dish. It's served Southern style which includes a good hefty amount of glaze, if it's too much for you consider using half of the servings noted for the glaze ingredients.
  • If making candied carrots for the first time, you may want to test out your desired level of sweetness. You can start with half of the recommended servings above. From there, continue to build and taste repeatedly until the dish suits your needs.
  • You can omit any of the spices in this recipe, make it suit your taste.
  • Watch your carrots closely. The dish will cook at varying speeds based on the size potatoes you use. You may need more or less time. 
  • You can use cornstarch instead of flour if you wish. I have better results using flour here.
  • If your glaze has clumps of flour, you used flour that is not fresh/expired or you didn't fully incorporate it with liquid prior to adding it to the pot.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 18g