Honey Glazed Carrots with Chili Powder
Pleasantly sweet and spicy, honey glazed carrots with chili powder are delicious. Earthy carrots, braised with honey, chili powder, and butter make a familiar side dish outstanding!
I love carrots, don’t you? They’re so familiar, probably because carrots are cheap, nutritious, and always available. Are carrots ever out of season? I don’t think so. I particularly love organic carrots. I’m not a huge stickler for organic products but you can taste the difference with carrots. The organic carrots just taste sweeter.
And I’m not fond of so-called “baby carrots.” Don’t get me going on those tasteless things. They’re either dry or slimy. Yuck.
I have a plethora of recipes for carrots on my site. (That one’s for you, dad, for some reason “plethora” is one of his favorite words.) Carrots in the slow cooker, braised and glazed carrots, carrots roasted, carrots in soup, carrots in tacos (yes! tacos!), sheet pan dinners with carrots, carrot pesto, carrot vinaigrette…. Carrots are obviously one of my favorite foods, and hopefully, yours too.
Make these honey glazed carrots with chili powder soon. A perfect side dish for any meal, including holiday dinners, I’m betting you’ll come back to this recipe time and time again. I know I do.
About these honey glazed carrots:
These honey glazed carrots are prepared in a skillet on the stove, just like these popular brown sugar glazed carrots with bourbon. After you’ve peeled, washed, and sliced the carrots (I like to slice them at angle, on the bias, for more visual interest), heat a little olive oil in the skillet. Add the carrots, and brown slightly, for about 5 minutes. This step is important because the browning process deepens the sweet flavor of carrots.
Next, add just 1/4 cup of water to the pan and put the cover on. Since carrots are pretty hard and crisp, this step will soften the carrots by steaming them. After about 5 minutes, the carrots should be fork tender. If not, put the cover back on and steam them a minute or two longer.
To glaze the carrots, add butter, honey, and chili powder and stir well until all the carrots are coated. Stir and cook until all the water is evaporated and the carrots have a nice shiny glaze.
This shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. The carrots will look beautiful, a shiny vibrant orange, and will taste even better, sweet and spicy. Enjoy!
Make these glazed carrots your own:
This recipe is pretty simple so there aren’t a lot of ways to vary it but here are a few suggestions for you:
- Don’t have honey? Use brown sugar or another sweetener like agave syrup, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Make this recipe vegan by omitting the butter, adding more olive oil, and using a vegan sweetener.
- Chili powder not your thing? Leave it out, or use paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, or another spice of your choice. Cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg would be great, too. I love these crockpot carrots with cinnamon glaze. Or try herbs like thyme, basil, or parsley.
Make ahead hints, leftovers & reheating:
Prep ahead: If you would like to get a head start on dinner, peel and slice the carrots and put them, ready to cook, in a zip top bag for up to 3 days. Or cook the carrots, and store them in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Gently reheat on the stove or in the microwave oven when ready to serve. Perfect for holiday dinners to avoid the last minute rush. You could also put the cooked carrots in a slow cooker to reheat if you want to free up the stove.
Carrots are so good!
Like I said, I have a plethora of carrot recipes for you. Here’s just a few of my favorites:
- Roasted carrots with cumin seeds
- Roasted carrots with thyme and nutmeg
- Vegan tacos with roasted carrots, mushrooms, quinoa, and black beans
- Carrot ginger soup with coconut milk–this one will warm you up through and through!
- Sheet pan dinner with sausage, carrots, and cabbage
- Carrot vinaigrette salad dressing
- Carrot pesto (yes, orange pesto!)
Honey Glazed Carrots with Chili Powder
Pleasantly sweet and spicy, honey glazed carrots with chili powder are delicious. Earthy carrots, braised with honey, chili powder, and butter make a familiar side dish outstanding!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a medium-sized skillet.
- When oil is glistening and hot, add carrots and salt and saute for 5 minutes, stirring once.
- Reduce heat to medium, carefully add 1/4 cup of water (watch out for steam!), cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Remove cover and if water has not evaporated, continue to cook, stirring frequently, until water evaporates. Carrots should be fork tender at this point, but if they are not, continue to cook, stirring frequently, until they are tender.
- Reduce heat to low and add butter, honey, and chili powder. Stir to combine. Cook until butter is melted and chili powder coats carrots.
- Serve immediately.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 of 6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 72Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 256mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.
Post, recipe, and photos updated 2/17/2020.
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