Roasted Brown Butter Carrots

Whole Roasted Carrots

Whether you are looking for a healthy side dish for an easy family dinner or an elegant side for the holidays to serve alongside your ham or turkey, these whole roasted brown butter carrots are perfect for just about any occasion!

Roasting carrots brings out the natural sweetness in this amazing vegetables. You can keep it simple with salt, pepper and olive oil like with these easy oven roasted carrots, but sometimes it’s nice to add a little extra flavor to take them up a notch. These browned butter carrots certainly fit that bill.

• easy oven roasted carrots

Browned Butter Carrots

Browned butter is one of those simple but amazing flavors that really punches up the intensity of already delicious butter. From savory dishes like Brown Butter Pasta to sweet treats like Brown Butter Rice Krispies, taking an extra few minutes to brown the butter adds immense flavor that is undeniably good.

For these Brown Butter Carrots, we add in a little garlic, thyme and honey to really round out flavors that pair wonderfully with sweet carrots.

• Brown Butter Pasta
• Brown Butter Rice Krispies

Roasting Whole Carrots

For this elegant side dish, we are using whole carrots. They are absolutely stunning served up on a holiday dinner table in their whole form.

Whole carrots take longer to roast, but they are worth the time for a special occasion. If you are looking for a simple and delicious weeknight dinner side, then feel free to chop them up and cut down on the baking time. They will be equally as tasty served up in a bowl.

Another great option is to halve whole carrots. You get the same impressive presentation, but cut down on the baking time.

How to make brown butter carrots

To get started, wash and peel one pound of whole carrots. Place them in a 9X13 baking dish. Chop 3 cloves of garlic and remove enough thyme leaves from fresh sprigs of thyme, so you have one teaspoon of fresh thyme. If you don’t have access to fresh thyme, you can substitute 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme.

Add 1/3 cup butter to a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 4-8 minutes until it is browned. Use a light colored pan so you can easily see when the milk solids have browned on the bottom of the pan. Be sure to keep a close eye on the butter and stir often.

Garlic Honey Thyme Butter

Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the butter is brown and add in the garlic and thyme. The butter will foam, but just whisk it and it will settle. Stir in the honey, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour the butter over the carrots. Don’t allow the butter to sit in the hot pan too long or it can burn the milk solids in the butter.

Bake the carrots at 400F for 40-60 minutes. The cooking time will vary based on the size of the carrots.

What to serve brown butter carrots with

When the carrots are fork tender, remove them from the oven and toss them in the extra butter in the pan. Serve the whole carrots on a platter with any extra butter from the pan poured over top. Don’t waste that golden deliciousness! Add a sprig or two of fresh thyme to the platter for a special touch.

Here are a few of my favorite holiday entrees that would pair wonderfully with with brown butter carrots

Smoked Prime Rib

• Candied Bacon Double Smoked Ham
• Crock Pot Cranberry Turkey Breast
• Roasted Pineapple & Chipotle Honey Ham
• Traeger Smoked Pork Loin Roast

Notes

To speed up the cooking time, slice the carrots in half lengthwise.

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 126 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 10 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 27 mg | Sodium: 301 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 5 g