These Cinnamon Brown Sugar Carrots are the perfect kid-friendly side dish that you can easily make all year long! Pan glazed carrots are perfect for even your pickiest eaters!
Side dishes can make the meal so check out some of my delicious gluten free side dish recipes.
Perfect for Thanksgiving, even your pickiest eaters will love this skillet carrot recipe.
You are going to love how easy this recipe is to make. Carrots are sweet all year round, and when you cook them with brown sugar and cinnamon, it takes them to a whole new level!
You will remember my roasted sweet potato recipe, this one uses honey but is the same basic concept! You can also try these Parmesan Carrots from my friend over at Noshtastic.
This buttered carrots recipe pairs beautifully with most foods, especially:
- Herb Roasted Chicken with Orange
- Sticky Asian Marinaded Chicken Legs
- Maple Bacon Wrapped Cornish Game Hens
The hero of this recipe is carrots. We get a farm box each week from a fun company called Ugly Produce. They buy the fruits and vegetables that don't meet the grocery store's "pretty" standards. This produce tastes the same, so we love getting this weekly box.
Carrots are not only nutritious, but they are great if you have a picky eater. Carrots don't get mushy like zucchini (thank goodness!)
There are lots of ways to cut your carrots for this recipe. I always remove the green top and bottom ends first. There are some fun recipe ideas for carrot greens if you are inclined :-).
Ways to cut carrots:
- Take a knife and slice the carrot in half lengthwise. Depending on how long your carrots are, you can cut it in half to make shorter slices. Next, slice each half lengthwise as you see in the carrots I used in this recipe.
- You can also slice the carrots into "rounds". To do this I cut at an angle to make my slices more oval shaped. This makes the carrot a bit longer so kids have to either cut it in half or take a bite. My kids are older but if you use round circle slices, they can be a choking hazard for little kids.
How to cook fresh carrots on the stove:
There are also lots of ways to cook the brown sugar-glazed carrots in this stovetop carrots recipe, but this is the way I like it because it makes the sweet glaze on the carrots.
- The first step is to add butter to a pan. Turn the temperature to medium and allow the butter to melt.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and water.
- Add the carrots and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered for 30 minutes.
This recipe is naturally gluten free, and you can make it paleo by substituting maple syrup for the brown sugar and ghee or coconut oil for the butter!
Looking for another kid-friendly carrot recipe? Give this maple ginger carrots recipe a try!
Things You Need To Make This Recipe:
- A large 12" cast iron skillet.
- You will want a sharp knife to cut the carrots or this handy vegetable slicer.
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Cinnamon Brown Sugar Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots peeled and sliced thin
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp butter (*see note)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then whisk in brown sugar, cinnamon and water.
- Add carrots, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, until carrots are tender and glazed, about 30 minutes
Notes
- You can use peeled bagged mini carrots instead of cutting big carrots up.
- Feel free to use vegan butter if you are dairy-free.
- These brown sugar carrots can be made up to 2 days ahead. They will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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Danielle
We love roasting carrots with a little bit of sugar. It really brings out all the flavour.
Sandi Gaertner
Roasting definitely makes these sweet 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Tasty and healthy option for my snacking time. Have to try it out for my family and sure they will enjoy these glazed carrots, which look so yummy.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Veena 🙂
Natalie
YUM! These sugared carrots look so delicious and perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Natalie. I agree these would go great with turkey 🙂
Tisha
Love the combo with the carrots! Definitely something the whole family will love!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Tisha 🙂
Emily Hill
I've always wanted to make these carrots. I know my kids would love them!
Sandi Gaertner
That is great Emily, we all need that go to side dish our kids will enjoy 🙂