Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots

July 31, 2024Teresa Ambra

Gluten Free Living – 2024

I LOVED how these Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots turned out. In fact, I enjoyed them so much I’m going to put this recipe on holiday menus in the future. They’re THAT good! This easy, healthy and low calorie recipe features carrots seasoned with several spices and herbs and then baked. After the carrots are fork tender (about two hours for really large carrots and about an hour for small carrots), then they’re brushed with a honey and apple cider vinegar mixture. The combination of flavors is absolutely breathtaking. It makes a vegetable like carrots shine. We found these carrots simply irresistible!

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Every month I usually have a cookout day where I grill several meats and vegetables (and sometimes fruit). Sometimes I add recipes that are baked in the oven. As I get older, it’s a lot easier for me to cook this way and then reheat leftovers rather than having to cook every day like I did when I was raising children.

I cooked up or grilled several different recipes the day I made these carrots. Those recipes included Grilled Chicken Thighs with Onions, Loaded Bacon and Cheese Potatoes, Chunky Maple Applesauce, Green Beans with Garlic Rosemary Butter and Roasted Parsnips. Everything turned out delightful but my favorite recipe was probably these carrots! I based it off a recipe I make for chicken but thought I’d try it with carrots instead of meat. The carrots turned out succulent and amazing.

I ended up finding carrots at the grocery that happened to be the largest I’ve ever seen before. Some of the carrots were two inches in diameter! No kidding. Even though I cut them down into halves and quarters, still the carrots took about two hours to cook completely. Smaller carrots will not take above an hour, so keep that in mind when you’re scheduling when to put these carrots in the oven.

If you need the carrots done more quickly, I recommend parboiling them in water for about 20 minutes until fork tender. Roll the carrots in seasoning mixture, bake about 15 minutes before brushing the honey mixture over top. (Complete directions are included below).

If you’re looking for a fantastic way to serve carrots for family dinners, company or even holiday dinners, give this amazing recipe a try. It is mouthwatering. I couldn’t stop eating them. 🙂 It’s also healthy, low calorie, vegan and gluten free.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots are spectacular!

These delectable carrots are perfect for company or holiday dinners!

I paired this vegetable with Roasted Parsnips and Grilled Chicken Thighs with Onions.

If you prefer, you can cut the carrots up like coins and bake that way.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Peel carrots and cut off the ends. Cut carrots in halves lengthwise if very large.

For these mammoth size carrots, I cut them in quarters. Still they were so large they took about two hours to bake completely! Regular sized carrots should only take about an hour.

Place seasonings in a bowl.

Stir ingredients to combine.

Place carrots in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the seasoning mixture.

For large carrots, bake 1 1/2 hours. Turn carrots over.

Sprinkle carrots with remaining seasoning. Bake 30 minutes longer, or until carrots are fork tender.

Meanwhile, combine honey with apple cider vinegar.

Whisk well, until combined.

Spread honey-apple cider vinegar mixture generously over top of carrots.

Return carrots to oven and bake about 5 minutes longer; turn carrots over and baste again with honey-apple cider vinegar mixture. Return to oven for another 5 minutes.

Here’s how to cook the carrots when you slice them: Peel carrots and slice in 1/8 to 1/4-inch slices (or coins).

Combine the seasonings on a plate and dredge the carrots in the mixture.

Spread the carrots in baking dishes. I used two 10-x15″ baking dishes because I was cooking 5 pounds of carrots at once! If you cramp the carrots in one dish, they will take much longer to cook.

Bake about an hour at 400 degrees. If carrots are fork-tender, remove from oven.

Combine honey and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup.

Brush about 1/3 of the mixture over top of carrots. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and turn carrots over; brush with 1/3 of honey mixture. Return to oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush carrots with any remaining honey mixture.

If desired, transfer carrots to a serving dish to serve.

Serve immediately.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots were wonderful with Grilled Chicken Thighs with Onions, Green Beans with Garlic Rosemary Butter, Chunky Maple Applesauce, Loaded Bacon and Cheese Potatoes and Roasted Parsnips.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots are also wonderful by slicing the carrots in coins. They pair perfectly with grilled steak!

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots is an excellent side dish. It’s also vegan, gluten free, low calorie and healthy.

Here’s the recipe.

SPICY HONEY-BRUSHED CARROTS

(Recipe inspired from my Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs)

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots

Teresa Ambra

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots is a delicious way to serve carrots that is absolutely irresistible. Your mouth will be watering from the first bite! The vegetable is seasoned well with spices and baked. Then a honey and Apple Cider Vinegar mixture is brushed on top and baked again. Amazing side dish for weeknight, company or holiday dinners. It's healthy, low calorie, vegan and gluten free.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 10

Course Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 69 kcal

Equipment

1 10×15" glass baking dish or 9×13" glass baking dish
1 vegetable peeler
1 sharp knife
1 cutting board
measuring cups
measuring spoons

Ingredients

2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
5 lbs. large carrots peeled (cut in halves or quarters if very large)
1/3 to 1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine the garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
Place carrots in a greased 9×13” or 10×15” glass baking dish.
Sprinkle with half of the seasoning mixture.
For large carrots: Bake for 1 ½ hours; for small carrots: bake 45 minutes.
Turn carrots over to other side.
Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture.
For large carrots: Bake about 30 minutes longer, or until carrots are fork tender; for small carrots: bake about 15-20 minutes longer or until fork tender.
While the carrots are baking, combine the honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well.
When the carrots are cooked through, remove from oven.
Brush carrots with the honey mixture.
Bake an additional 5 minutes; baste carrots.
Turn carrots over and bake an additional 5 minutes or until carrots are well glazed.

Notes

NOTE: My carrots were “mammoth” size! Some were over two inches in diameter! I cut some of them in halves and some in quarters. If you cut the carrots in smaller pieces they will cook much quicker.

NOTE: This recipe makes enough to serve a crowd! Half or quarter the recipe if you need less servings.

NOTE: If you want this recipe to cook more quickly, cut the carrots in 1/8-inch slices. Or, you can parboil the carrots and cook about 10-15 minutes before using them in the recipe. Season with seasonings and bake until tender. Then spread the honey-apple cider vinegar mixture over top as directed above.

FOR CARROT COINS:

5 lbs. carrots, washed and peeled

3 tablespoons plus one teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons plus one teaspoon chili powder

2 ½ tsp. sea salt

1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons paprika

1 ¼ teaspoons cayenne pepper

Combine spices on a plate and dredge the carrots well in the mixture. Place in two 10×15” greased baking dishes. Bake about 1 hour at 400°. Remove baking dishes from oven.

1 cup honey

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Combine honey and vinegar in a measuring cup. Spread one-third of the mixture over top of each dish of carrots. Return to oven and bake approximately 5 more minutes to glaze the carrots. Remove from oven; turn carrots over and brush with additional one-third honey mixture. Bake 5 more minutes; remove from oven and brush any remaining honey mixture on the carrots before serving. Yield: 15-20 servings.

NOTE: If you don’t wish to slow-cook the carrots in the oven and need the dish to be cooked more quickly: parboil the carrots until fork-tender – about 20 minutes. Roll carrots in seasoning and bake in baking dish at 400 degrees about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush generously with honey mixture. Return to oven. Bake 5 minutes and remove from oven. Turn carrots over and brush the other side generously with honey mixture. Return to oven again and bake about 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush carrots with any remaining honey mixture.

Nutrition

Calories: 69kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 135mgPotassium: 393mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 19241IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg

Keyword carrots, honey, side dish, vegetable

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Spicy Honey-Brushed Carrots are mouthwatering and irresistible!

They’re delightful served with Grilled Chicken Thighs with Onions, Loaded Bacon and Cheese Potatoes, Roasted Parsnips, Green Beans with Garlic Rosemary Butter and Chunky Maple Applesauce!

Whether you prefer to serve these carrots like coins or the full length, they’re great either way. You can also parboil the carrots so they don’t take quite so long to bake in the oven.