Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots
These Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots are beautifully caramelized in a sweet and sticky glaze. The perfect side dish for your Sunday roast!
Servings: 4
Cost: £1 / $1
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for parsley)
- Peeler (optional)
- Baking Tray
- Small Bowl (for glaze)
- Spatula/Turner
Ingredients
- 1lb / 500g medium sized Carrots (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- few sprigs of Fresh Thyme
- sprinkle of Fresh Parsley, finely diced (to serve)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Trim the roots off your carrots and slice them in half lengthways, to make 2 even-sized, thinner carrots. If your carrots are large, I recommend quartering them. If your carrots are very thin/small, then you can leave them whole. It's important that all the carrots are of a similar size/thickness. (see notes)
- In a suitably sized tray, combine the carrots, a few sprigs of thyme and 3/4 of the glaze, ensuring you coat the carrots as evenly as possible. Roast for 15-20 mins or until the carrots just start to caramelize. If at any point you see the vinegar beginning to char on the baking tray, mix the carrots and nudge down the heat.
- Take the tray out of the oven, flip the carrots and pour over the rest of your glaze. Pop back in the oven until fully caramelized and sticky. This can take up to another 20-25mins depending on the size of your carrots. Please be vigilant and don't be tempted to whack up the heat. Anything over 400F/200C risks them burning the glaze.
- Serve by removing the thyme stalks and sprinkle with fresh parsley. I also recommend another pinch of salt at the end, just the balance out the sweetness. If you particularly love balsamic vinegar then use a brush to flick over some at serving, or if you particularly love honey, then feel free to give them a tiny drizzle.
Video
Notes
a) Size - 1lb/500g is about 10 medium carrots. Thinner carrots do work slightly better with this recipe as they'll go nice and caramelized, whilst still coming out soft through the centre. As such, I do definitely recommend at least halving medium-sized carrots. You'll find that larger carrots will cook too much on the outside and stay slightly al dente on the inside.
b) Timing - Carrots are one of those veg that tend to differ in cooking times, and obviously different sized carrots will take varying times to cook. I have in the past been tempted to crank up the heat, and as a result have burnt the glaze. 400F/200C max if your carrots are struggling to cook through.
c) Caramelized - Dark patches around the edges of the carrots are great, that's the glaze caramelizing. What you don't want is the glaze to be charring on the pan. If you see this starting to happen, just give the carrots a stir and slightly lower the temp.
d) Dried Herbs - I don't recommend subbing dried herbs for this recipe, fresh works so much better! I find dried thyme is slightly overpowering and tends to go more crispy in the oven. Fresh thyme infuses the carrots nicely without being all up in your face. Just pluck the stalks out at the end!
e) Calories - Based on sharing between 4 people, with no extra honey/balsamic added at the end.
f) Updated - Updated the method with more in depth detail, recipe still the same!
Nutrition
Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.77g | Protein: 1.52g | Fat: 3.75g | Saturated Fat: 0.525g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.537g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.484g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 506mg | Fiber: 4.4g | Sugar: 17.05g | Vitamin A: 54650IU | Vitamin C: 10.7mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 0.7mg