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Honey Glazed Instant Pot Carrots
Honey Glazed Instant Pot Carrots are an easy, nutrition-packed side dish that cooks in minutes! The Instant Pot produces tender carrots every time, and the honey glaze, with a sprinkle of salt and fresh herbs, elevates a basic veggie into something truly delicious.
Recipe Snapshot
PREP + COOK TIME: 28 minutes (including time to pressurize)
METHOD: Instant Pot
OTHER TOOLS: steamer basket, peeler, knife, and cutting board
TOTAL INGREDIENTS: 7
What’s To Love About This Recipe
- Carrots are such a nutritious vegetable to add to your rotation! They are considered a superfood due to the rich concentration of vitamin A, fiber, and antioxidants. With this quick and easy side dish, you can enrich your meals with so many healthy benefits.
- This Instant Pot recipe is such a simple way to take naturally sweet carrots and elevate them with a honey-butter glaze, then garnish with fresh herbs. With only minutes of prep, you can serve this side dish for anything from a fancier holiday meal to a quick weeknight addition.
- Carrots require some attention during cooking to ensure they don’t burn or get too mushy. The Instant Pot helps in this way, letting the steam pressure and short cook time create perfectly tender carrots!
- Pressure cooking, along with sautéing, is one of the best ways to preserve the nutrients in carrots! Try this method the next time you need something flavorful, colorful, and super healthy to add to your plate.
Ingredients Needed
- Carrots – Use a pound of whole carrots for the best rustic flavor. Peel and slice them diagonally for presentation and also to preserve the structure during pressure cooking. Baby carrots are also an option, but they may be softer and slightly less flavorful than whole carrots.
- Water – Add water to the bottom of the Instant Pot to create the steam pressure.
- Butter and olive oil – Together, butter and olive oil will lightly brown the cooked carrots in sauté mode, creating a rich, flavorful finish. These produce a golden exterior, which adds flavor and improves visual appeal, too!
- Honey – Honey enhances the carrots’ natural sweetness and helps create a lightly-browned glaze during sautéing. (If you prefer a less-sweet dish, you can omit the honey.)
- Kosher salt – Kosher salt provides a nice balance to the sweetness of the honey and draws out the natural flavor of the carrots.
- Fresh herbs – Add fresh herbs to the finished dish as a colorful garnish if you like! Some tasty options are parsley, dill, or rosemary. You can also swap for dried herbs if needed, but they will have a more muted finish.
How To Make Instant Pot Carrots
- Peel and slice the carrots diagonally.
- Add water to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place the steamer basket in the Instant Pot, then add the carrots to the basket.
- Cover, seal, and set to high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has completed, carefully turn the valve to perform a quick pressure release.
- Carefully drain the water, remove the carrots, then turn the pot to sauté mode.
- Add the butter and oil, then return the carrots to the pot.
- Add honey and salt, and sauté the carrots for several minutes until lightly browned.
- Place carrots in a serving dish and garnish with fresh herbs.
Pro Tips
- Cut carrots into equal-sized pieces for even cooking and to ensure consistent tenderness.
- Thicker slices will hold their shape better than thin slices during pressure cooking.
- Carrots cook very quickly under pressure, so shorter cook times are key to avoiding a mushy texture.
- A steamer basket or trivet helps prevent carrots from sitting in the hot water and becoming soggy.
- If carrots are still too firm after cooking, seal the lid and return them to high pressure for 1 more minute.
- Honey helps the carrots brown and gives them sweetness, but you can leave it out for a less-sweet option. Dried herbs can be used instead of fresh herbs if desired.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Baby carrots will be slightly less flavorful, but you can swap them out for diagonally sliced carrots.
- This recipe can be doubled without changing the cook time, but the time it takes to reach full pressure will increase slightly.
- Try this method with other root vegetables (such as parsnips or sweet potatoes) added in with the carrots. Any additions may require adjusted cook times.
- Swap maple syrup for honey for a different, deeper flavor. (You can also leave the honey or syrup out altogether if you prefer a savory recipe.)
- Parmesan or savory herb variations can be used instead of a sweet glaze.
- Feel free to use any mix of herbs (dried or fresh) as a garnish to the cooked carrots. If you add dill, saute it just a bit with the carrots, butter, and olive oil in the Instant Pot.
- The Instant Pot keeps the carrots tender and foolproof, which allows you to experiment further with flavor! Try any of these tasty combinations to pair with your main meal:
- Buttery herb glaze
- Maple-sweetened variation
- Butter and Parmesan cheese
- Cinnamon and nutmeg
- Orange juice and thyme
- For an alternative method to prepare baby carrots or sliced carrots, try my Sauteed Carrots recipe.
How To Serve Instant Pot Carrots
The natural flavor of carrots is the perfect addition to any roasted meats, including beef, chicken, or pork. You can also pair glazed carrots with simple entrées like Juicy Bone In Pork Chops In The Air Fryer or Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken Drumsticks. Add a side of Mashed Potatoes for a well-rounded plate!
Honey-glazed carrots make a light but tasty side to serve with holiday meals or more decadent main dishes. They’re also simple enough to prep for portioned meals and reheat throughout the week!
Storing and Reheating
How To Best Store Leftovers
Fridge
Store leftover carrots in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. (The cooked carrots are not ideal for freezing due to a mushy, defrosted texture.)
How To Best Reheat Leftovers
Reheat leftover carrots gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. Sautéing them again in a skillet with a small amount of butter or oil can help restore the texture.
Instant Pot Carrots
Honey Glazed Instant Pot Carrots are an easy, nutrition-packed side dish that cooks in minutes! The Instant Pot produces tender carrots every time, and the honey glaze, with a sprinkle of salt and fresh herbs, elevates a basic veggie into something truly delicious.
Equipment
- Steamer Basket
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh herbs for garnish
Instructions
- Peel and slice carrots diagonally
- Add water to bottom of Instant Pot
- Place steamer basket in Instant Pot, then add carrots to basket
- Cover, seal, and set to high pressure for 3 minutes
- Once cooking time has completed, carefully turn valve to perform a quick release
- Carefully drain water, remove carrots, then turn to sauté mode
- Add butter and oil, then return carrots to the pot
- Add honey and salt, and sauté carrots for several minutes until lightly browned
- Place carrots in serving dish and garnish with fresh herbs.
Notes
- Store leftover carrots in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Sautéing with a little butter or oil helps restore texture.
- Cut carrots into equal-sized pieces for even cooking; thicker slices will hold their shape better than thin ones.
- Use short cook times to avoid a mushy texture (carrots cook quickly under pressure).
- If carrots are still too firm after cooking, return them to high pressure for an additional minute.
