These slow cooker glazed carrots are an easy side dish that is simple enough for busy weeknights yet delicious enough for a holiday dinner!
These candied carrots are coated in brown sugar, butter, honey, and cinnamon, and cooked to perfection. The result is tender, sweet carrots that just melt in your mouth. Your whole family will love these slow cooker carrots!
Two of our favorite side dishes are butter roasted carrots and Instant Pot glazed carrots, so I wanted to add a crockpot carrots recipe to my site as well. I’ve made this recipe a few times – several times with honey and once with maple syrup and both were really yummy, but my family preferred the taste of honey. (The maple syrup taste reminded me of breakfast.)
I also tested sliced carrots and baby carrots and there wasn’t really a difference there other than I’m lazy and the baby carrots were easier to use.
We love the combination of the tender carrots and the sweet glaze – it’s the perfect side dish. (And the slow cooker version doesn’t take up precious oven space, which is a great option to have when making Thanksgiving dinner!)
Crockpot Glazed Carrot Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the best glazed carrots recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Baby Carrots or Whole Carrots, Sliced on a diagonal into even pieces that are about 1/2 an inch thick
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Kosher Salt
- Honey – You can also use maple syrup if you like it – our family prefers honey.
- Butter, cubed – I like to use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you may need to add more salt.
You will also need a 6-quart crock pot.
How to Make Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
- First, prepare the carrots – if you’re using baby carrots, dump them out of the bag and dry them off. Discard any that look bad and cut off any ends or green bits. (I’ve gotten some funny carrots recently.) If you use regular carrots, wash and peel them, then slice them into thick diagonal slices.
- Next, place the carrots in your crockpot.
- Then, sprinkle the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon over the top and drizzle the honey or maple syrup over the carrots.
- Mix well to fully coat the carrots in the brown sugar mixture.
- Then, spread the cubes of butter over the top of the carrots.
- Cover the crockpot.
Slow cook on Low for 5-6 hours or cook on High for 3-4 hours.
- Stir gently every hour or so.
- Once you can pierce the carrots with a fork, gently remove them with a slotted spoon and set them off to the side in a bowl.
Thicken the Brown Sugar Glaze
- Using oven mitts and an extra set of hands, take a rubber spatula and scrape the sugar syrup into a small saucepan.*
- Bring the glaze to a simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring as needed until it thickens. If you prefer a thicker glaze, cook it for a bit longer – I like to cook it until it has the consistency of corn syrup. Just don’t cook it too long or it will start to harden into caramel!
- Pour the sweet glaze over the cooked carrots in a serving dish or pour everything back into the crockpot on the “warm” setting with the lid on to stay warm while you wait for your guests.
*You can leave the syrup in the crockpot and cook it on high with the lid off until it thickens, but unless your crockpot has a saute function, this will take a really long time.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Replace the cinnamon with apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice to add a punch of flavor.
- If you don’t have a crockpot, you can make brown sugar glazed carrots in an instant pot.
- Add your Favorite Toppings – toasted pecans, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, or orange zest will all completely change the dish but will add a different layer of flavor.
- Double the Recipe – a 6 quart slow cooker can easily fit double or triple the recipe, but the cook time might need to be increased.
Crockpot Maple Glazed Carrots
Replace the honey with real maple syrup if your family likes maple flavored things. (Do not use pancake syrup – it will taste overly sweet and artificial.)
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Storage
Once cooled, store leftover carrots in an airtight container in the refrigerator in the brown sugar glaze for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. They may harden up into a chunk of butter when they cool.
Reheating
Reheat leftovers in the microwave or on the stove in the glaze.
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby carrots or whole carrots, peeled and sliced into ½ inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ cup butter cubed
Instructions
- First, prepare the carrots – if you’re using baby carrots, dump them out of the bag and dry them off. Discard any that look bad and cut off any ends or green bits. (I’ve gotten some funny carrots recently.) If you use regular carrots, wash and peel them, then slice them into thick diagonal slices.2 pounds baby carrots
- Next, place the carrots in your crockpot.2 pounds baby carrots
- Then, sprinkle the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon over the top and drizzle the honey or maple syrup over the carrots.½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup honey
- Mix well to fully coat the carrots in the brown sugar mixture.
- Then, spread the cubes of butter over the top of the carrots.⅓ cup butter
- Cover the crockpot and slow cook on low for 5-6 hours or cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Stir gently every hour or so.
- Once you can pierce the carrots with a fork, gently remove them with a slotted spoon and set them off to the side in a bowl.
Thicken the Brown Sugar Glaze
- Using oven mitts (and an extra set of hands), take a rubber spatula and scrape the sugar syrup into a small saucepan.
- Bring the glaze to a simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring as needed until it thickens. If you prefer a thicker glaze, cook it for a bit longer – I like to cook it until it has the consistency of corn syrup.
- Pour it over the cooked carrots in a serving dish or pour everything back into the crockpot on the "warm" setting with the lid on to stay warm while you wait for your guests. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Variations
- Replace the Cinnamon – Use Apple Pie Spice or Pumpkin Pie Spice instead.
- Add Toppings – toasted pecans, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, or orange zest to add a different layer of flavor.
- Double the Recipe – a 6-quart slow cooker can easily fit double or triple the recipe, but the cooking time might need to be increased.
- Crockpot Maple Glazed Carrots – Replace the honey with real maple syrup if your family likes maple flavored things. (Do not use pancake syrup – it will taste overly sweet and artificial.)
Storage
Once cooled, store leftover carrots in an airtight container in the refrigerator in the glaze for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. They may harden up into a chunk of butter when they cool.Reheating
Reheat leftovers in the microwave or on the stove in their glaze.Special Equipment Needeed
- a crockpot or slow cooker 6 quart
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
