Maple Glazed Carrots are perfectly oven roasted with maple syrup, butter, garlic, and thyme for a simple and tasty addition to your Thanksgiving, Easter, holiday, or weeknight menu. This elevated side dish looks fancy but comes together with 5 ingredients in just 30 minutes.
Love carrots? Also try my Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots, Honey Glazed Crock Pot Carrots, and Maple Balsamic Rainbow Carrots.
Maple Glazed Carrots
These Maple Glazed Carrots have a bit of magic in them. Carrots are fabulous roasted on their own, but if you are looking for something a little extra for either the holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas) or just a special weekday meal, this dish is it. The tenderness and sweetness of the carrots is just right.
This recipe takes easy-to-cook baby carrots and adds a simple glaze of butter, maple syrup, garlic, and thyme. The result is a heavenly mix of sweet and savory flavors that pair perfectly with the carrots. It takes a boring old carrot and turns it into something super special.
Roasting carrots has never looked or tasted this good. You'll still get the browned, naturally sweetened carrots with the upgrade of this yummy maple glaze. These are tasty enough for even picky vegetable eaters to gobble up!
Plus the recipe has just 5 minutes of prep work with it and is only 5 ingredients. This Maple Syrup Glazed Carrots recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and healthy and I've included notes below to make it keto or vegan.
Maple Glazed Carrots - Perfect for Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas! Share on X
Why You'll Love this Maple Glazed Carrots...
- These Maple Glazed Carrots are so tasty, rich, and a delicious side dish! It's the perfect way to upgrade plain roasted carrots.
- Since this is made entirely in the oven, it has an easy prep, time, and clean-up factor. Many glazed carrots are prepared on the stove, which requires more work.
- The recipe has only 5 minutes of prep work and 30 minutes of hands-off cooking time.
- It's only 5 ingredients and you most likely have the ingredients in your fridge and pantry.
- They aren't overly sweet or sugary. There is maple syrup in the recipe, but not added brown sugar.
- Maple Glazed Carrots are only 100 calories per serving!
- Carrots are full of nutrients including vitamin A, and beta carotene, are high in fiber, and have luteolin.
Ingredients:
Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this Maple Glazed Carrots, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.
- Baby Carrots: Baby carrots are the perfect way to simplify this recipe because they require no prep work. They are simple, tasty and healthy. This is a great way to use that bag that's sitting in the fridge. You can also use larger carrots, just peel them and cut them into similar-sized pieces. For this recipe, I would peel the carrots because the peel can be bitter and this is a sweeter recipe.
- Butter: You'll need a small amount of butter to create the glaze for the carrots. I don't use a lot of butter in my cooking, but this is one place that it needs it. You can substitute your favorite vegan butter if needed.
- Maple Syrup: Look for real maple syrup, not the artificially flavored kind. Look for a bottle that says 100% pure maple syrup, like this one.
- Garlic Powder: A touch of garlic powder adds some depth of flavor and cuts the sweetness of the recipe. I like to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because the flavor is more evening disbursed and when roasting vegetables the fresh garlic can just burn and turn bitter.
- Thyme: Fresh thyme goes perfectly with the carrots. If you can't find fresh, you can use dried, just not as much.
Instructions:
This is an overview of the instructions to make Maple Glazed Carrots, but the full detailed printable recipe is below in the recipe card.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. You can line it with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, maple syrup, and garlic powder. This will make the maple glaze.
- Toss the carrots in the sauce with the thyme.
- Pour the carrots onto the prepared baking sheet. Evenly space the carrots onto the pan. You don't want to crowd the pan when roasting the carrots or they will steam instead of roast. Giving them some space will give them the natural caramelization.
- Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the carrots are fork-tender. You'll want them to be tender, but still have a bit of a bite.
- Transfer the carrots to a serving dish and garnish with additional fresh thyme leaves.
Variations
I love this Maple Glazed Carrots as written, but here are some fun variations.
- Add Toppings: You can jazz up the cooked carrots with some fun toppings like pistachios, crumbled goat cheese, crushed hazelnuts, pecans, or other fresh herbs like fresh parsley before serving.
- Make it Sweeter: To have just a sweet glaze, add some brown sugar to the mix instead of the garlic and thyme.
- Make it Honey Glazed Carrots: Swap out your favorite honey for maple syrup.
- Make it a Holiday Meal: You can easily double or triple this recipe by clicking on the 2X or 3X on the recipe card below. For a crowd, you'd want to make a larger portion.
- Make it Vegan: Substitute Vegan Butter or regular butter to make it vegan and dairy-free.
- Make it Keto: To make this keto, use a Sugar-Free Maple Syrup.
FAQ
Storage & Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can reheat the carrots in a 350-degree oven, the air fryer, or the microwave.
Freezing
You can freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Make Ahead
Since roasted vegetables taste best fresh, I would recommend making and eating these fresh, especially if you are serving them at the holidays. It's also a hard dish to prep ahead because the melted butter will just firm up in the fridge and you'll have trouble getting it out of the dish. If you do make it ahead, I'd recommend reheating in the oven or air fryer for best results.
Are roasted carrots better than boiled?
Roasted carrots are better than boiled carrots because roasting brings out the sugars instead and gives you more of a crunch and a less mushy final product.
Why do cooked carrots taste better?
Cooked carrots become less bitter and sweeter. Carrots are surprisingly one vegetable that is better for you cooked! Cooking allows the body to absorb the antioxidant, beta-carotene better.
Maple Glazed Carrots are Tasty & Healthy
These Maple Glazed Carrots are such an upgrade for this easy side dish! I love the rich flavors and creaminess of the carrots with this dish and the simple glaze that brings out both the sweet and savory aspects of the carrots. It's the perfect side dish. This isn't overly sweet or sugary, like some glazed carrots, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a healthy side dish.
Add these to your weekday dinner rotation or bring it out for Easter, Thanksgiving dinner, or Christmas dinner! I can't wait to see it your next holiday dinners.
Make it a Meal:
- Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash
- Vegetarian Stuffing
- Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
- Roasted Acorn Squash
- Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Simple Baked Salmon with Rosemary
- Blackened Mahi Mahi
More Healthy Carrot Recipes to Try:
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots
- Honey Glazed Crock Pot Carrots
- Maple Balsamic Rainbow Carrots
- Roasted Broccoli and Carrots
If you make these Maple Glazed Carrots, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!
Maple Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. You can line it with foil for easy cleanup.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, maple syrup, and garlic powder.
- Toss the carrots in the sauce with the thyme. Add salt.
- Pour the carrots onto the prepared baking sheet. Evenly space the carrots on to the pan.
- Roast for 30-35 minutes or until the carrots are fork tender.
- Transfer the carrots to a serving dish and garnish with additional thyme leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for later:
Leave a Reply