Cumin and Honey Roasted Carrots

These might be the most addictive carrots you ever make. These sweet and savory roasted carrots have quickly become a staple in our home.

I was influenced to create this recipe by one of the restaurants I used to cook in. We had this glazed carrot side dish at one point on the menu, and I loved how the carrots were just so tender and enrobed in a sweet buttery sauce. However, that dish was made on the stovetop and was very fussy. I wanted something easy peasy to just throw in the oven, but one that was still like the glazed carrots I had come to crave.

For this recipe, the carrots are roasted, for hands-off cooking, with honey and cumin. The cumin adds a really lovely savory component to the dish and helps round out the flavor.

This side dish is elegant enough to serve at a holiday dinner (I'm thinking these are perfect for Easter) but also easy enough to serve on a weeknight.

So let's get to making it! The text below offers some tips for making it, or you can scroll down to the bottom for the complete recipe.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.

• rainbow carrots (and of course regular orange carrots will work just fine too)
• butter (this adds a lot of flavor to the finished sauce)
• olive oil (this is used in conjunction with the butter so that the butter doesn't burn in the oven while the carrots roast)
• mild honey (you could also substitute maple syrup for this)
• kosher salt
• ground cumin + cumin seed (if you don't have cumin seed you can omit it, but using it adds a lot of flavor to the dish without needing to coat the carrots in ground cumin)

A Magical Sauce

This roasted carrot recipe is pretty straight forward. You add all the ingredients to the baking dish, stir it together, and roast the carrots until they are tender.

The carrots exude liquid as they roast, which mixes together with the butter and honey to create it's own sauce. It's really magical. However, in order for the sauce to coat the carrots properly, enough liquid has to evaporate out of the baking dish.

So when you are checking the carrots for doneness at the end of the 30 minute roasting period, you'll also want to check in on the sauce that surrounds the carrots. If there is too much liquid left, it won't stick to the carrots, so give it a few extra minutes if it it needs it to cook the liquid out.

Serving and Reheating Tips

This side dish is best served immediately after making. They won't need any additional garnish, as the finished dish has a "sauce" already on it.

If you have leftovers, they can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days and reheated in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through.