Pan Fried Honey Garlic Carrots

Everyone loves the cominbation of aromatic garlic with the sweet stickiness of honey. These pan-fried Honey Garlic Carrots are a delicious side that one just cannot get enough of! All in one pan, these carrots are fork tender, savoury, and delicious!

Who doesn’t love root vegetables? I love the fact that they’re available all year round. They’re also inexpensive and loaded with nutrients. And, they can take almost any seasonings and/or flavours you’re willing to throw at them.  Pan Fried Honey Garlic Carrots are one of the easiest side dishes you’ll ever make. And, the really cool thing about this dish is everyone loves it!

I absolutely love root vegetables! I would turn down green, leafy vegetables any time for something like turnip, potato, beets, parsnips, carrots, etc. In fact, you can find many of my favourite root vegetable recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen. They’re super versatile and healthy too. If I’m not pan frying or roasting them, I’m preparing them as a soup or even a snack! For example, have you ever tried to make your own Vegetable Chips? So good!

When it comes to sides, I’m always in the mood to eat Maple Glazed Squash, Rosemary Roasted Radishes, or Oven Roasted Beets. And, if I’m to recommend soups using root vegetables, it would be a disservice not to mention my all-time favourite soup, which is this Poor Man’s Soup. Oh my, I could eat that every day and never grow tired of it! I have another soup that has both root veggies and lentils. It’s certainly a protein-filled vegetarian soup perfect for colder weather dinners.

CARROTS – ONE OF MY FAVOURITE ROOT VEGETABLES

We are getting very close to the beginning of the growing season here at the Thomas-Ewing household. When we bought our house a few years ago, little did I know that it would be the garden that gave me the most joy. Sure, the house is nice and comfortable, but after living in downtown Toronto for so long with just a balcony to grow a tomato or two, owning a backyard and having room to grow fruit, berries, and vegetables is a dream come true! The carrots you see here were grown and nurtured by yours truly!

As I get older, I hate for summer to end. It’s odd because I used to really despise summer. I dreaded the hot and humid temperatures, but I now realize that it wasn’t summer that I didn’t like so much as it was living in a crowded, smoggy city. That daily commute, packed like sardines in a subway car that wasn’t airconditioned, certainly didn’t help much! Every single day I am thankful that those days are behind me.

There is something very calming and satisfactory about mixing different soils with fertilizer to get the right growing conditions. And that moment when you first witness those little yellow-ish green stems pushing their way up through the dirt is indescribable. All summer long, a grateful gardener will watch hydration levels, trim and cut away suckers, prop and lift heavy produce-bearing bushes, pull weeds, and gaze in complete wonderment as flower blossoms slowly turn into a favourite fruit or vegetable.

I had no idea how much gardening would consume me – not just in the summer months, but also in the cold of winter when I can be found shopping for seeds online, working on a visual representation of my raised bed planting guide at my computer, or researching which flowers or herbs to plant beside certainly fruits or vegetables.

All of this makes me think differently about preserving my home-grown produce. Because I grow so much, by the end of the season, I have a pantry full of canned tomatoes, salsa, relish, pickles, jams, jellies, beets, carrots, beans, etc. And time after time, when in the cold winter months I open a jar, I can’t help but smell the contents of that jar knowing full well that I managed to lock that summer fresh taste and scent into it. If you waste not, you want not, so with that in mind, let’s use up some of my home-grown carrots!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Carrots
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• Butter
• Garlic – Please use freshly minced garlic for best results.
• Honey
• Parsley – This is optional, but does add colour and freshness to your dish.

HOW TO MAKE PAN FRIED HONEY GARLIC CARROTS

Add the carrots to a skillet along with the olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper. Over medium heat, fry the carrots for 5 minutes on each side. Refrain from moving the carrots around too much while they are frying. Leaving them to fry will help to brown them slightly.

Once the carrots are fork tender, remove them from the skillet and transfer them to a plate. Set them aside. Next, add the butter and garlic to the skillet. Fry the garlic for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned. Add the honey to the skillet and stir to incorporate into the butter and garlic.

Lastly, add the carrots back to the skillet and toss them gently to coat with the honey. Allow the carrots to reheat in the honey garlic sauce for 2 minutes. Plate, garnish, and serve immediately.

FAMILY DINNER OR THANKSGIVING – IT’S ALL GOOD!

I remember back to my childhood when my mom would mostly alwasy boil carrots rather than roast or fry them. She would mash them with salt, pepper, and a little bit of brown sugar. She would plate up her version of mashed veggies using her big ice cream scoop.  Sitting on the plate next to roasted chicken, with a side of Preserved Mustard Pickles, was a perfectly moulded mound of mashed potatoes as well, and a pool of hot chicken gravy.  Oh, I miss my mom’s cooking!

I could go on and on about how delicious these Pan Fried Honey Garlic Carrots taste and about how good they are for you. But, I don’t think I have to do that.  It’s a simple, rustic, home-style dish that tastes great. It gets vegetables onto the table quickly and easily, costs next to nothing in terms of ingredients, and is loved by one and all.  Perfect for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, but also, a great accompaniment to any cool fall/winter evening family meal! And, don’t forget that with Easter just around the corner, carrot recipes are always sought after, so save this one!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!