Name: Instant Pot Glazed Carrots
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 19 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 pounds baby carrots; 1/2 - 1 stick butter OR stick margarine (see notes); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup light brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 cup water; 2 tablespoons liquid honey

Jump to Recipe

These Instant Pot Glazed Carrots are made with a delicious buttery brown sugar and honey glaze – and all you have to do is dump everything in the instant pot and switch it on! A festive side dish that basically makes itself.

bowl with glazed carrots in front of instant pot

I grew up with mom’s and grandma’s pressure cooker carrots. Barely a week went by without a steaming bowl of them with a dinner! I make mine in the instant pot these days, and if it’s for a holiday I throw in some brown sugar and butter to make them extra-delicious!

This recipe is so incredibly easy. And it’s your choice to thicken the glaze in the end, in case you prefer a thick glaze over a thin one (this recipe produces a fair amount of juices due to the way the instant pot cooks – but we barely ever have anything left, because it’s so delicious and flavorful).

Ingredients you’ll need

This is just an overview of the ingredients needed – scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for exact quantities and instructions.

ingredients for instant pot glazed carrots with text labels — Ingredients for Instant Pot Glazed Carrots: Baby carrots, butter OR margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, honey and water. Optional (not pictured): A little cornstarch.

Ingredient notes

Baby carrots: Feel free to use regular carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks. I use regular carrots when I make this recipe on a weekday (and only add 1-2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar – hey, we ain’t royalty!). But for a holiday, I do like to use the baby carrots – not only are they a little more festive, but with a lot of holiday cooking going on, I’ll take any shortcut I can.
Butter/margarine: Use stick margarine, if you’re going for the marge, and not buttery spread. It just works so much better. This recipe makes very buttery carrots, feel free to cut it in half if you prefer.
Honey: Feel free to leave this out. I prefer a runny honey as it’s easier to stir into the carrots.

Step by step photos

This is not even a real recipe, because there’s literally one step: Dump everything into the instant pot, seal the lid and switch it on.

instant pot with ingredients for glazed carrots

Once the cooking time is up, all you’ll have to do is quick-release the pressure according to your manufacturer’s instructions. Gently stir (do not mash up the carrots!!) and serve.

overhead view of instant pot with glazed carrots

If you want to thicken the glaze, remove the carrot to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Stir a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water into the juices left in the instant pot. Switch the instant pot to “sauté” and, stirring constantly, bring it to a boil until the juices thicken.

Recipe tips

I don’t always thicken the juices, mainly when I add a lot of butter (because more butter = even more juices in the instant pot). My family eats the juice/glaze either way, but they do love it when I take the time to thicken it.
Cook the carrots for 3 minutes if you want them to retain a bite, 4 minutes for butter-soft carrots.
Do not let the carrots sit once the instant pot indicates the end of the cooking time! They will continue cooking in the residual heat/pressure and turn to mush!

More easy holiday sides

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Instant Pot Glazed Carrots

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

To come to pressure: 10 minutes

Total Time: 19 minutes

These Instant Pot Glazed Carrots are made with a delicious buttery brown sugar and honey glaze - and all you have to do is dump everything in the instant pot and switch it on!

Ingredients

2 pounds baby carrots
1/2 - 1 stick butter OR stick margarine (see notes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons liquid honey

Instructions

Place ingredients in instant pot in order given EXCEPT for honey.
Close lid and set the valve to the "sealing" position.
Choose "pressure cook" (or "manual" on older models) and set timer for 4 minutes.
Once instant pot indicates cooking is over, manually release pressure according to manufacturer's instruction.
Open lid and add honey. Carefully stir carrots to serve. (See notes for thickening juices.)

Notes

Butter amount: You can make this recipe with anything from 2 tablespoons to 8 tablespoons of butter. The more you add, the more juices you'll end up with. My kids love it with the full stick of butter, my favorite is with 4 tablespoons (or half a stick). I made the recipe with the full stick for the photos.

Firmer carrots: Cook the carrots for 3 minutes if you want them to retain a bite, 4 minutes for butter-soft carrots.

Releasing pressure: Do not let the carrots sit once the instant pot indicates the end of the cooking time! They will continue cooking in the residual heat/pressure and turn to mush!

Optionally thicken juices: If you want to thicken the juices for a thick glaze, remove carrots from instant pot with a slotted spoon. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl, then stir into juices. Switch instant pot to "sauté", and, stirring constantly, simmer until juices have thickened.

Make sure to regularly scrape the bottom of the instant pot, the cornstarch tends to settled there! If you don't scrape it away and stir it into the juices, they will not thicken!

Instant Pot Glazed Carrots