Ginger Orange Braised Carrots
Braised Carrots are tender rainbow carrots braised in ginger, orange and maple syrup. They’re an easy, flavorful side dish!
These braised carrots would be one spectacular addition to your Easter menu. They’re fresh, bright, and even more delicious than they look. I mean, rainbow carrots braised in orange juice, ginger, with a hint of maple syrup until tender, with that flavorful liquid reduced down to a thick glaze has to be good, no?
I just regret that this bundle of rainbow carrots was so small, because I wanted to eat all of these myself.
The Easter bunny himself couldn’t get these carrots away from me. 🙂
I always love wandering around the produce department at Whole Foods looking for the freshest and brightest fruits and veggies. I scooped this little bundle of carrots up immediately, knowing I wanted to try my hand at a braised carrot recipe.
It took place on the stove top in my Dutch oven, and was so much quicker than roasting — they were done in just 20 minutes — except for the giant one in the middle. That guy needed a few extra minutes. 😉
One thing to remember about buying carrots with their green tops still on them is that you need to cut the tops off immediately, or the carrots will go soft on you really quickly. Just cut the tops off, leaving about 1/2″ and they’ll stay in good shape for your braise. 🙂
This braising thing is a piece of cake. Just cook the carrots for 5 minutes or so in a bit of butter and olive oil, then add the liquid, reduce the heat to low, and cook covered until tender. Once tender, you can remove the carrots, crank the heat, and boil the liquid until thickened.
The liquid transforms into a syrupy glaze, perfect for drizzling over those gorgeous carrots. That fresh orange flavor, with a pop of spicy ginger, is one perfect combination.
Go ahead and serve these braised carrots for Easter or any old night this week, just buy more carrots than I did. You may not have to fight over them with the Easter bunny, but you will need to keep them away from somebody.
These carrots are absolutely that good. 🙂
See my Carrot produce guide for more info and recipe inspiration!
Additional carrot recipes you’ll love:
Carrot cupcakes by Sugar Spun Run
Ginger Orange Braised Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 10 ounces rainbow carrots
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 medium orange juiced
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger*
- salt and pepper to taste
- freshly chopped flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Scrub the carrots, but leave the peel on, if desired. Remove the tops of the carrots leaving 1/2" of the stem intact.
- In a large Dutch oven or deep sided sauté pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, salt, and pepper, to taste, and cook, sautéing lightly, until just starting to color, about 5 minutes. Add the water, orange juice, maple syrup, lemon juice, and ginger, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover, simmering gently until the carrots are tender, checking for doneness after 10 minutes. Once tender, remove the carrots from the pot and place on a serving platter. Increase the heat to medium, and cook the liquid until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the carrots, and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- When buying carrots with the green tops still attached, cut the tops off immediately to prevent your carrots from going soft very quickly. Use your carrot tops to make my Carrot Top Pesto!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
34 Comments on “Ginger Orange Braised Carrots”
Wow I love the name ‘rainbow carrots’. It’s such an enticing picture. The glisten of the glaze shows up so well and that does activate longing. Of course I haven’t had dinner yet. But I am sure that has nothing to do with it, I say with my tongue in my cheek. Good set of directions on the braising.
Your comment made me laugh at loud last night when I read it, Carol — I hope you had that dinner. haha I’m glad you found the carrots enticing, and they really are equally delicious! Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Beautiful carrots! I love simple but flavorful side dishes like this. Maple syrup glaze sounds incredible. Have a great weekend, Marcie!
Thank you, Ashley! These were definitely simple without tasting like it…the best kind of easy. 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
First, could you have picked prettier carrots?! These are carrots just dying to be photographed. Second, definitely adding this to our Easter menu and our regular meal rotation. They looks so delicious and light and flavorful!
I couldn’t resist these carrots, Kim — I’m definitely a sucker for pretty colors. 🙂 Thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
I love how you kept the orange theme with the juice and carrots! Mmmm, you know it’s a good recipe when I am actually thinking about it for breakfast!
Beautiful carrots, love that you dressed them up with such great flavors!
Thank you, Meghan! 🙂
These look delicious! And, I’m loving the flavor combination! You’re right – they’d look beautiful on an Easter table!
Thanks, Kristi! Have a great weekend. 🙂
Braising carrots is a great idea! I’ve roasted them before, and really enjoyed the sweetness that is brought out by all that time in the oven. But some nights, roasting just takes too long. This is a great alternative, especially with the sweet-spicy combo of citrus and ginger. And wow! Those rainbow carrots are absolutely stunning. I would have wanted these all to myself, too!
I think I like these better than roasted carrots, and that’s saying something, because I LOVE those. The flavor in these really pops! Thanks, Jamie, and have a great weekend. 🙂
I am so jealous that you can buy baby carrots, AND you can buy them with the tops on! Those are exactly what I was looking for last month. They look amazing Marcie, I want to eat them off the screen! 🙂
I’d send you some carrots if I could, Lisa! Funny how they’re so enticing just because they have the tops on? I really am a produce nerd. 🙂 Thanks, Lisa, and have a great weekend!
Rainbow carrots are just so so pretty! They always amaze me with the colors. And I’m with you – I love wandering around Whole Foods looking at all the produce! These carrots sound delicious Marcie – I can’t wait to give them a try!
They are so pretty, and I can’t stop buying them lately. 🙂 I hope you get to try them soon, and have a great Sunday, Ashley!
These carrots look gorgeous. Always looking for new ways to cook up our garden carrots so thanks in advance for this!
Thank you, Pamela! They taste even better than they look, and this recipe will be perfect for your nice, fresh garden grown carrots. 🙂
Oooo these sound delicious! I love a great side and carrots are always so good. This looks so crunchy. I like that it’s only 20mins! This is getting made tomorrow for Sunday dinner…I’m making stew and I think it will be a great side. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you, Z! The carrots are nice and tender, or you can cook them less if you like them on the crunchier side. This sounds like a great side dish for your stew tonight! Have a wonderful Sunday dinner. 🙂
Mmm … these sound and look delicious!
Thank you, Ginnie! 🙂
Hi Marcie, I love glazed carrots… even though it is breakfast time I could totally go for these now 🙂 They would make a great side dish to anything! Thanks for sharing at MM this week – pinned!
I made these again last night because the kids even love them! Thanks for hosting and have yourself a great week, Deb! 🙂
Hi again! I’ll be featuring these Sunday night at MM… heading to FL tomorrow and getting my post ready now! 🙂
Thanks, Deb — you’re so good to me! Have a wonderful and safe trip to FL! 🙂
Carrots are such a great side and these sound delicious and look so pretty! I love roasted carrots but braising them sounds even better especially with this awesome flavor combination. And only 20 minutes too – I’m sold 🙂
Thanks, Kelly! I think these carrots taste even better because the colors are so pretty — I hope you get to try them soon! 🙂
Such beautiful carrots Marci! The flavors sound amazing!
Thank you, Christin! 🙂
Thank you, Consuelo! They were delicious indeed. 🙂
Can I say that carrots are gorgeous? Well, these ones are! 😉 Such a great side dish!
I fell for these rainbow carrots! Thanks, Jocelyn. 🙂