Sweet And Tangy Carrots

A sweet tangy glazed carrots side that may be prepared ahead whether for a weeknight dinner, or your holiday table!

All images and text ©Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average, LLC

For this recipe, you will begin with cooked carrots. Boil a day ahead to help speed preparation of this colorful sweet tangy glazed carrots dish at mealtime!

A sweet tangy glazed carrots side that may be prepared ahead, reheated in casseroles via the oven or piled into your crock pot, is a huge ‘time save’ whether we are talking a Monday night dinner at home, or the Thanksgiving table with the thousand other things that need to be cooked and baked.

When you are feeding a whole mess of folks during the holidays, you need a whole mess of good food! Sweet And Tangy Carrots are colorful, TASTE AMAZING, and make enough to serve ten half-cup servings. AND this method is easily doubled!

I think this recipe is great not only because it’s delicious, but also because it’s make-ahead. By up to THREE DAYS! Prep it, cook it, cool it, and refrigerate it. This dish is served hot, but is surprisingly awesome at room temperature also.

How This Recipe Came About…

I absolutely HATE running out of food during a holiday dinner. It happened to me once (with the STUFFING!!!) but it will NEVER happen to me again. Not now that I have a tiny arsenal of clearly awesome side dishes that I simply double the recipes for at both Thanksgiving and at Christmas.

Sweet And Tangy Carrots are that pretty side dish that livens up the dinner table or the holiday buffet. The recipe is adapted from a Mennonite recipe I received from my aunt. Her recipe box is LOADED with genius recipes for tasty stuff!

The original method called for stewed tomatoes. I was never fond of the texture despite loving stewed tomatoes, so I replaced with a basic can of condensed tomato soup. Not only is the soup more palatable for me, but it seems to resonate with kids better, too. Yep, passed the lips of FOUR PICKY KIDS, with seconds has by three of them…

The beauty of this carrot recipe is that it not only gives your weeknight chicken dinner a lift, but it also serves as a quasi-starch if preparing for a holiday meal. Personally, I double it. It’s too easy not to. AND, carrots are that vege you can count on being available year-round, stores fresh for long periods in your fridge, and cook quickly and easily.

Do You Have What’s Needed For Sweet And Tangy Carrots? Check The List!

carrots, any color
green bell pepper
sweet white onion or Spanish onion
granulated sugar
apple cider vinegar
vegetable oil
whole grain or regular Dijon mustard
Worcestershire sauce
condensed tomato soup

What Kind Of Carrots Work Best In Sweet And Tangy Carrots?

Carrots are those versatile vegetables which I cannot live without. And whether you select a heap of full-size carrots or a biggie bag of baby carrots, this recipe will work regardless.

If making this around Easter, I seek out multi color carrots and slice them thin and on the bias for a pretty finish. At Thanksgiving, my weird cousin (you know who you are!) will ONLY eat orange carrots (I continue to question our DNA…), so I modify anything fancier than orange carrots for her…she’s going to read this and kill me.

How To Make Sweet And Tangy Carrots?

Grab your non-stick sauce pan and a whisk, as everything is essentially started and finished in one pan. Remember, you will begin with cooked carrots, so take advantage if you need to shave time from your schedule and boil them ahead. When ready to assemble, just pull them from the fridge about 30 minutes before.

Toss the chopped green pepper with the carrots and the chopped onion. Set them to the side while you mix the glaze by adding all of the remaining ingredients and bringing to a boil. Scrape the carrot mixture into the glaze, reduce the heat, and simmer over VERY LOW HEAT for 25 minutes.

If you are serving at a later time, butter a casserole dish and load the prepared carrots into it. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. To heat, set in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Carrots will be bubbling when they’re ready. If going slow cooker, set the dial to low and place the prepared carrots inside two to three hours before serving.

Is It Better To Use Fresh Carrots Or Can I Use Frozen?

Whenever possible, go fresh. It’s healthier for you, economically beneficial for the local farmer who grew and supplied it, and just smaller for the overall footprint by buying fresh and local.

However, if you do not have access to fresh vegetables, frozen are fine to use in this recipe.

How Do I Prep Carrots For Oven Baked Side Dishes?

Peel them. Then follow the recipe card associated with that recipe to learn if they must be left whole, sliced lengthwise down the middle, or sliced into coins. For this sliced carrots recipe, I keep it simple and rough chop them into coins of various sizes.

Do I Have To Use Condensed Tomato Soup?

The original Mennonite recipe my aunt shared called for home-stewed tomatoes. Since I did not have any homemade stewed tomatoes that I’d canned myself, it was going to be a store-bought can of tomatoes regardless.

When I considered how much I liked the recipe but disliked the texture of the stewed tomato, I experimented with diced tomatoes, chopped fresh tomatoes with brown sugar added, and tomato puree. The condensed tomato soup was the LAST ingredient I figured would be the key to this recipes success for my palette. But it works!

If the tomato soup is too unappealing, consider starting at home plate with the Mennonite version and add stewed tomatoes in lieu of the soup.

How Long Do Sweet And Tangy Carrots Take To Prepare?

I boil my carrots for about five to eight minutes before I feel they’re ready for this dish. I don’t want them soft, just al dente. They will finish cooking in the sauce. That said, my sauce takes mere moments to bring to a boil. Once all are combined, I simmer for twenty-five minutes to both soften the carrots and allow the flavors to marry.

Modifying The Norm To Make It Not Entirely Average…

When I was growing up, carrots and mustard or roasted carrots with brown sugar were hugely popular at my other aunts house. She was very cosmopolitan in her cooking!

Carrots with mustard sauce would be a unique way to sauce these up in a not entirely average kind of fashion. I’d likely start by substituting a portion of the tomato soup with a bit more prepared mustard. I might even skip the Dijon and go honey mustard.

Ooooh, a cracker crumble topping of say Ritz or Goldfish or a combination of the two coated with some melted butter might REALLY set these off! Bake until the cracker crumble just begins to brown and the carrots are bubbling!

Can Sweet And Tangy Carrots Be Made Ahead?

Yes, and this answer is twofold; the carrots themselves must be cooked before beginning this recipe, so that step may be made ahead by boiling the carrots up to a day in advance.

The remainder of the recipe may also be made ahead by up to three days. Cook it, assemble it, cool it, refrigerate it, and re-heat it when ready to serve.

Can Sweet And Tangy Carrots Be Frozen?

Yes, and surprisingly well in fact! Make ahead and freeze using aluminum foil and a casserole with a plastic lid. Or, make, freeze, remove from casserole and load into a vacuum bag and vacuum and seal. Mark the date and contents on the package with a marker and pop right back into your freezer.

What To Serve Sweet And Tangy Carrots With?

Oh my, so many dishes come to mind. Let me mention just a few weeknight favorites in addition to knowing these are simply side dishes that go fabulously with your holiday ham or turkey.

Consider Juicy Pan Seared Heritage Pork Chops With Dijon Au Jus, Herb Crusted Pork With Zinfandel Reduction, or French Onion Salisbury Steak! Trust me, any of these will have both your kids and your kitchen thanking you for hard work and good use! View additional weeknight and holiday side dishes below.