Sautéed Carrots

4 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Sautéed Carrots are an easy recipe to pair with any dinner. They turn out crisp-tender and far more sweet and flavorful than typical steamed carrots.

When you’re making a big dinner, it can be hard to find vegetable Side Dishes that won’t take up space in the oven. Roasted Carrots are great, but if you need the oven for other dishes, Sautéed Carrots are definitely the way to go. They’re buttery, flavorful, and oh-so-easy!

Sautéed Carrots in skillet

SAUTÉED CARROTS

Sautéing is probably my favorite way to make cooked carrots at the moment. They come wonderfully tender without being mushy, and the sweet carrots’ natural taste really shines through! Sautéed veggies are also quicker to make than roasted vegetables, but as long as they’re prepared properly they’re just as tasty. 

Just like Sautéed Green Beans, these carrots only take about 15 minutes to make. Once they’re done you get perfectly flavored, buttery, crisp veggies. It’s a great way to toss together a vegetable dish on nights when you’re in a hurry but still want a healthy side. The easy recipe is wonderfully kid-friendly and has been a big hit with everyone I’ve served them to so far. 

This easy recipe is the perfect vegetable side for any dinner. The earthy and slightly sweet taste goes great with any number of flavors, and it’s made with just a handful of easy ingredients. Sautéed Carrots are just cooked in water, then tossed with butter, salt, and pepper. But, the minimal ingredients don’t stop them from being one of the most flavorful and delicious veggie dishes you’ll ever try. The bright orange color also brightens up the table, and you can bring even more color by using rainbow carrots. 

MORE VEGGIE SIDE DISHES

TIPS FOR MAKING SAUTÉED CARROTS

  • Prep: Start the recipe by peeling 4 medium-sized carrots. Hold the carrots at a 45 degree angle over a cutting board for the safest and easiest peeling. Once they’re peeled slice each carrot into coin-sized rounds. 
  • Cooking: Put a large skillet on the stovetop and set the heat to medium. Add ½ cup water and the carrot rounds to the skillet. Bring the water to a boil and then cover the pan with a lid. Continue cooking the carrots for 6-8 minutes. 
  • Flavoring: After the cooking in the water, remove the lid and add in the butter, salt, and pepper. As the butter melts stir it and the seasonings into the carrots so that they’re evenly coated. Continue stirring so the carrots cook evenly on all sides. Remove from the heat and serve after the water evaporates.

Sautéed Carrots in skillet

VARIATIONS ON SAUTÉED CARROTS

  • Seasonings: Try different kinds of herbs and seasonings to experiment with the flavor of your carrot recipe. Fresh thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, minced cloves garlic, onion powder, red pepper flakes, or fresh parsley could all add a lot to the taste. After cooking, you can garnish the recipe with a sprig of thyme for presentation. Another option is using warmer spices like ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is an especially great option if you’re serving the Sautéed Carrots for the holidays. 
  • Add-ins: For more ingredients to add in along with the carrots try onion, chopped nuts, peppers, or sesame seeds. You can also flavor the dish with a bit of lemon juice drizzled over the top. 
  • Honey Glazed Carrots: To make Honey Glazed Carrots mix in 3 tablespoons of honey at the same time that you add the butter to the skillet. It will make a nice, sweet carrot recipe. 
  • Oil: If you don’t want to use butter in the recipe, you can exchange it for olive oil, sesame oil, or coconut oil.

WHAT TO SERVE SAUTÉED CARROTS WITH

HOW TO STORE SAUTÉED CARROTS

  • Serve: To keep cooked carrots fresh make sure to only leave them out for 2 hours or less. 
  • Store: Cover the carrots or put them in an airtight container to store in the fridge. They’ll be good for up to 5 days. 
  • Freeze: You can also freeze this recipe for as long as 10 months. Just let the carrots thaw out in the fridge before you reheat them.

Sautéed Carrots in skillet

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Sautéed Carrots

Sautéed Carrots are an easy recipe to pair with any dinner. They turn out crisp-tender and far more sweet and flavorful than typical steamed carrots.
Yield 4 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 4 carrots
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Peel and cut the carrots into coins.
  • Add carrots and water to a large skillet (that you have a lid for) on medium heat.
  • Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes.
  • Remove lid, add butter, salt, and pepper, and stir.
  • Cook until water has evaporated.

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 336mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 10545IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Sauteed Carrots

Sauteed Carrots collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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