Sweet and sticky hot honey glazed carrots are the perfect way to sneak more vegetables into your dinner rotation. This no fuss recipe is perfect for a quick dinner or even a holiday meal.

The combination of spicy honey, smokey paprika and sweet carrots makes for a delightful dish that puts your average roasted carrots to shame.

I use Mike’s Hot honey for this recipe so it’s a cinch to throw together in 15 minutes or less, but you can certainly make a homemade version as well.

What Is Hot Honey?

Hot honey is honey that has been cooked with hot chili peppers or red pepper flakes to create a sweet and spicy condiment. A splash of vinegar or lemon juice is often added to help balance the flavors.

Homemade hot honey is super easy to make but it is also readily available to buy in stores. There are several different brands of hot honey to choose from but my personal favorite is Mike’s Hot honey.

Hot honey is such a versatile condiment that I love to use in my cooking. Hot honey is delicious on all kinds of dishes- drizzled on top of biscuits, pizza, roasted vegetables and even on crispy fried chicken, there is no wrong way to use it!

I have made several dishes with it on the blog, but my Hot Honey Fried Chicken is by far my most popular (and for good reason). It. Is. To. Die. For.

Why You Will Love This Hot Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe:

Name: Sweet and Spicy Hot Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 4 cups thinly sliced carrots (fresh and organic preferred); 3 tablespoons Mike’s Hot Honey; 2 tablespoons salted butter; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Easy Side Dish:

Ready to eat in under 20 minutes, this carrot recipe ranks in my top five favorite last minute side dishes to make for busy weeknight dinners. Impressive enough to serve at the holiday table, the spicy combination of hot honey and paprika will send your taste buds on a trip they won’t forget.

Easily adaptable, make this recipe dairy free by swapping out the butter with olive oil or avocado oil. Add additional hot sauce or red pepper flakes to the hot honey sauce for additional heat.

Simple Way to Use Up Leftover Carrots:

This recipe is a great way to use up any extra whole carrots languishing in your fridge. You can even substitute in whole baby carrots and just adjust the cooking time as needed.

Any kind of carrot can be used in this recipe, but I prefer sweet orange carrots over less sweet varieties. For an even more colorful dish, use a blend of colorful rainbow carrots.

Helpful Kitchen Tools:

Mixing Bowl: To mix up hot honey sauce.
Metal Spatula: To cook the carrots and keep the glaze from sticking to the pan.
Cast Iron Skillet: Use a cast iron skillet or other nonstick skillet to cook the glazed carrots.
Chef’s Knife: Use a sharp knife to cut thick carrots down into equal sized coins.

Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced carrots (fresh and organic preferred)
3 tablespoons Mike’s Hot Honey
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

How to Make Hot Honey Carrots

Wash and peel carrots, and thinly slice into coins. Large carrots may be cut into half moon shapes.
In a small bowl combine spices, brown sugar and hot honey.
Melt butter in the bottom of a pan and add the carrots in a single layer. Sauté over medium low heat until the carrots are just cooked through enough to pierce with a fork, but not overly soft.

4. When the carrots are cooked through, add the thick honey mixture to the tender carrots and turn the heat up to medium high to melt down the brown sugar and honey.

a fork piercing a sliced carrot over a pan of carrots

sliced carrots in a cast iron pan with a honey mixture dolloped in the middle

5. When the hot honey mixture begins to bubble, cook for about 5 minutes on medium high heat stirring frequently until the sauce reduces to a sticky glaze.

You will know the glaze is reduced enough when you can drag your spatula through the mixture and see the bottom of the pan without the glaze immediately filling in the path.

spatula dragging through a carrots in a honey glaze in a cast iron pan

6. When the glaze is reduced and the carrots are evenly coated in the sticky glaze, remove them from the pan.

7. Serve warm and enjoy!

upclose glazed carrots garnished with feta and herbs

How to Serve Hot Honey Glazed Carrots:

This easy recipe is the perfect side dish to serve as is with chicken, ham or roast. This dish also adds interest and intrigue to a traditional holiday meal, so this year, spice up your Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas meals with the savory flavors of spicy glazed carrots that hit all the right notes.

To kick it up a notch, sprinkle some feta cheese on top of the warm carrots for a sharp punch of flavor that will brighten the sticky spicy flavors in this dish.

a fork piercing a glazed carrots on a white plate with feta and herbs

For some color chop up some parsley and sprinkle on top of the warm carrots.

a fork piercing a carrot on a white plate

How to Store Leftover Glazed Carrots:

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The higher sugar content of the glaze helps preserve the carrots a little longer, but I prefer to eat mine within a couple days of cooking.

Printable Recipe Card:

a white plate of sliced glazed carrots with feta and herbs

Sweet and Spicy Hot Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe

Sweet and sticky hot honey glazed carrots are the perfect way to sneak more vegetables into your dinner rotation. This no fuss recipe is perfect for a quick dinner or even a holiday meal. The combination of spicy honey, smokey paprika and sweet carrots makes for a delightful dish that puts your average roasted carrots to shame.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Serving Size 4

Ingredients

4 cups thinly sliced carrots fresh and organic preferred
3 tablespoons Mike’s Hot Honey
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Wash and peel carrots, and thinly slice into coins. Large carrots may need to be cut into half moon shapes.
In a small bowl combine spices, brown sugar and hot honey.
Melt butter in the bottom of a pan and add the carrots in a single layer. Sauté over medium low heat until the carrots are just cooked through but not overly soft.
When the carrots are cooked through, add the honey mixture to the tender carrots and turn the heat up to medium high to melt down the brown sugar and honey.
When the hot honey mixture begins to bubble, cook for about 5 minutes on medium high heat stirring frequently until the sauce reduces to a sticky glaze.
You will know the glaze is reduced enough when you can drag your spatula through the mixture and see the bottom of the pan without the glaze immediately filling in the path.
When the glaze is reduced and the carrots are evenly coated in the sticky glaze, remove them from the pan.
Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

This easy recipe is the perfect side dish to serve as is with chicken, ham or roast. This dish also adds interest and intrigue to a traditional holiday meal, so this year, spice up your Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas meals with the savory flavors of spicy glazed carrots that hit all the right notes.
To kick it up a notch, sprinkle some feta cheese on top of the warm carrots for a sharp punch of flavor that will brighten the sticky spicy flavors in this dish.
For some color chop up some parsley and sprinkle on top of the warm carrots.

Sweet and Spicy Hot Honey Glazed Carrots Recipe

What Is Hot Honey?