Brown Sugar Glazed Sheet Pan Carrots

It’s mid-July and that means it’s time for some summer harvest bragging. While many things are withering and shriveling my carrots, onions and herbs are showing off. And what better way to enjoy this produce than a simple sheet pan glazed carrot recipe?

This recipe encapsulates my all of favorite food philosophies –

Let’s start with the carrots – here are my 3 tips for success ::

1. Give them a good, swift scrub. Knock off the dirt and scale BUT leave them unpeeled. The peel adds a delicious ‘snap’ to sheet pan roasted carrots – that snap may be my favorite part of this recipe!
2. Use the vintage oblique knife cut to create uniform, beautiful, bite-sized carrots that will roast evenly in the oven.
3. Parboil the carrots so that the carrots can cook through without causing the brown sugar glaze to burn.

Fresh Ingredients

For the remaining fresh ingredients (onion, herbs and hot pepper)

• onion — chop roughly to the same size as the carrots
• herbs — fresh, finely chopped, seasonal herbs add flavor and are often inexpensively acquired (I used parsley, chives, rosemary and thyme – all from my personal garden)
• hot pepper — this element is optional but several thin slivers of hot pepper add a whisper of heat that’s unexpected and pleasant – at least I think so)

Glaze Ingredients

After assembling the fresh ingredients, the second step for these glazed sheet pan carrots is to make the brown sugar glaze. Simply combine

• brown sugar
• herbs, finely chopped
• oil, a neutral oil like canola or vegetable
• water
• sea salt
• pepper

Toss the veggies to coat and spread out over a prepared sheet pan. Last tip – a varied baking temperature : start by baking at 350° and then finish at a high temperature (425°) until the carrots are tender but not mushy.

Sweet and tender, with a whisper of heat from the chiles and flavor support from the sweet onions and earthy fresh herbs. Ahhh – all the flavors that make summer gardens worth the trouble!

Brown Sugar Glazed Sheet Pan Carrots

• 6 c carrots, oblique cut (or 1″ pieces)*
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped (or one medium onion)
• 1/2 c finely chopped herbs**
• 1/2 c brown sugar , packed
• 3 T neutral cooking oil
• 1 T water
• 1 t sea salt
• 1/2 t pepper, finely ground
• 2 cayenne type red peppers, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare rimmed halfsheet baking pan with non-stick spray. Bring a medium pot of water to boil (leaving 4″ of space at the top, enough for the carrots to join without overfilling).

Once water is boiling, parboil cut carrots by placing them in boiling water for 3 minutes and then draining.

Immediately place in a large mixing bowl with remaining ingredients. Toss to coat and combine. Evenly spread out on prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350° and then bump up the cooking temperature to 425° for remaining 10 minutes.

Cooking is complete when carrots are cooked through, tender but not mushy.

Serves 6

*scrubbed and unpeeled

**mostly parsley + chives with 1 t each rosemary + thyme