Oven-Roasted Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots Recipe

Ah, the holidays! A time when friends and families come together to swap gifts and stories, enjoy the crackling fire and merry decor, and feast on copious amounts of appetizers, soups, sides, and centerpiece entrees. If you've ever hosted a holiday dinner party, then you know just how much time you spend in the kitchen, whipping together these fantastic dishes. What you need are some delicious but super simple dishes that take mere minutes to prep and complement all the classic holiday eats, like ham or turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, breads, salads, and so forth.

And as you probably guessed by now, these oven-roasted brown sugar-glazed carrots crafted by chef and recipe developer Jaime Shelbert of Wholly Nourished are exactly that — "a great side for a holiday meal," in her words. With less than 10 minutes of prep and less than a half hour in the oven, these roasted carrots cook into a perfect side dish for your holiday feast. But, of course they will also make a welcome accompaniment at any other meal, too. There's just something about roasted vegetables that fits the holiday theme, and these carrots will not leave you (or your guests) disappointed.

Next to the overall ease and prep of this recipe, the best thing about it is the fact that you likely have all the needed ingredients in your home already. And, if you're missing a few, you can easily find them during a quick trip to the grocery store. All you'll need is butter, brown sugar, minced cloves of garlic, balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme (OK, you may not have this one, but dried works in a pinch), and of course lots of carrots, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise.

Start the recipe prep off by preheating the oven to 400 F and, if you have not done so yet, peel and halve the carrots lengthwise. Next, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Then add the butter, brown sugar, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and thyme to a small saucepan and put it on the stove over medium heat. Cook these ingredients until the butter has melted, stirring until everything is combined. "Alternatively, you can melt the ingredients in the microwave," Shelbert says.

Spread the carrots out onto the baking sheet in a single layer, then pour the brown sugar sauce evenly over them. Toss the carrots to coat them all, or use a brush to distribute the sauce. Now, bake the coated carrots in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the carrots are tender crisp (and smelling great). "The trickiest part is getting the doneness of the carrots just right," Shelbert says, so do check on them a few times. No one likes mushy carrots, so you still want them to have a slight crispiness to them. On the other hand, you don't want roasted carrots to be raw, either!

Once your carrots reach roasted perfection, you can pull them out of the oven. Optionally garnish them with a sprig of thyme, and then you can serve them alongside the rest of your holiday spread. "These are lovely alongside a savory main dish — an herbed cauliflower steak with white beans for the plant based eater or rosemary chicken for an omnivore for example," Shelbert suggests. However you serve these carrots, they're sure to contribute a savory, sweet, and truly irresistible flavor combination to your dinner!