Cinnamon carrots with a brown sugar glaze cooked up in a slow cooker is an easy, traditional, and throw-back carrot side dish recipe that will have you getting your Vitamin A all year round.
I think it’s easy to think of traditional meals like roasted carrots, green bean casserole, and corn casserole as “special edition” holiday sides, but vegetables are good year-round too.
That’s not to say that cinnamon and brown sugar don’t remind me specifically of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I had no problems serving them along with some seasoned lamb last night either.
Why you will love Cinnamon Carrots!
Cinnamon carrots with brown sugar glaze are such an easy side dish recipe.
You get the benefit of carrots cooking all day, and right before you serve, put a gorgeous glaze on them that my husband literally said “YUM!” on the first bite last night.
They will remind you of hometown cooking! Growing up, my grandmother was always the best cook.
I knew trips to see her would include vintage favorites like Watergate salad and these giant cookies (bigger than my hand) full of chocolate chips and walnuts that, miraculously, she never burned.
Tins of homemade chocolate-dipped Oreo’s, tons of Amish macaroni salad– basically, grandma liked food, and we all got to enjoy the benefit.
I can’t say that I didn’t come home after long summers with her, just a few pounds heavier.
Looking back- it was worth it.
Ingredients
- Brown sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Ginger
- Salt and Pepper
- One large bag of baby carrots (1-2 pounds) – the peeled and cut variety
- melted butter
- non-stick cooking spray
How to make Cinnamon Glazed Carrots.
These cinnamon carrots are smothered in melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar, making the sweetest glaze so complementary and so pretty on baby carrots.
- Prep the Crockpot by spraying non-stick cooking spray on all sides and bottom. Dump baby carrots into a prepared slow cooker.
- Pour 3 MELTED tablespoons of butter on top.
- Mix well, so all carrots are evenly coated. Turn the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours. After 3 hours, carrots can easily go from tender to slightly burned, so check on carrots every 15 minutes till complete to avoid any overcooking.
- Add brown sugar to a bowl.
- Next, add ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and salt and pepper.
- Mix all glaze ingredients well.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the carrots in the crock pot and stir. Brown sugar should melt almost immediately and create a delicious glaze.
Expert Tips & FAQ’s
Yep! There are times that you do not want to slow-cook carrots, and they can be cooked any way you like and then the buttery brown sugar can be added on top. Simply preheat the oven to 375. Add baby carrots to a bowl and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes (make sure to check and rotate if necessary, overcooked carrots shrivel up!). Carefully remove with a spatula or tongs and place in a bowl. Then add the brown sugar mixture, mix up and serve.
There will be NOTHING that takes the place of a fresh carrot in taste and texture, but there are times that I have forgotten to cook and still want to turn canned veggies into something delicious. You can use well-drained cannot carrots on the stove, which already come precooked. Just drain, dump and then add brown sugar, butter and spices right in. Cook till warm, about 2-3 minutes.
Glazed carrots with cinnamon and sugar butter go great on holidays and are a fantastic menu item to serve at a carrot-friendly Easter dinner. They complement turkey, ham, roast beef, and chicken fairly well.
If you want to slow-cook carrots for the flavor but are short on time, slice carrots for a quicker cook. This usually cuts the time down by about an hour or more.
We stick with mainly baby carrots for length and timing and multi-colored baby carrots.
Related Carrot Side Dish Recipes
Carrots are an amazing and often underused side dish.
If you want to stick with the baby carrot theme, try these oven-baked Parmesan roasted carrots, which are a great side dish for chicken.
Absolutely a potluck favorite, carrot raisin salad is a slightly crunchy, slightly sweet, and slightly savory side dish salad that makes a great entrance at group lunches.
Oven-roasted carrots can be made in many ways, but we love the crinkle cut carrots in the oven.
Looking for a quick carrot side dish? Try Sauteed carrots on the stove!
Lastly, while not a traditional hard carrot, these air fryer carrot fries are great for a snack!
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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Carrots
Ingredients
Cinnamon Glazed Carrots
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 large bag of baby carrots 1-2 pounds of peeled and cut
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.
- Dump entire bag of baby carrots into crock pot.
- Melt and pour 3 tablespoons of butter on top of baby carrots and mix.
- Slow cook carrots on high for 3-4 hours. After 3 hours, check on carrots every 15 minutes until fork tender. Overcooking can result in some of the bottom carrots being burned.
- Mix together brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt and pepper.
- Pour brown sugar mixture over baby carrots and stir. Brown sugar should melt almost immediately and create a delicious glaze.
- Serve carrots immediately while hot and melted.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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