I don't want to brag or anything, but turning vegetables into candy is my superpower. The first time I made this CANDIED CARROT recipe my family was beyond impressed.
These candied carrots are easy to make and there's no curling individual carrot strips involved! Not only does this Candied Carrot make a fantastic topping for carrot muffins, carrot cake cupcakes, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and other cakes, and more, but you can even eat them straight up. They are also a nice addition to a dessert for a holiday meal.
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I had become so used to hiding veggies in things like brownies , cookies, and pancakes in order to get extra healthy vegetables into my kids, that the first time I made these, it actually seemed a bit brazen to be flaunting veggies ON TOP of my baking!
So, I was even more surprised by my kids' reactions; my daughter loves them so much that she begged me to make them again! So rest assured, even picky eaters will love these.
🥘 Ingredients
You only need 3 ingredients to make candied carrots:
- fresh carrots *Use regular carrots - Do NOT use baby carrots
- water
- white granulated sugar
*See recipe card for quantities and full recipe
🔪 Instructions
My recipe is a bit different than many of the other recipes out there because it's EASY! You don't have to do any fancy wrapping of carrot pieces around objects to make candied carrot curls.
Other recipes I've come across require wrapping every single piece of carrot around a wooden skewer! Seriously. I don't know about you, but I have much better things to do with my time?! It's a great way to get candied carrot with a lot less effort.
For these, you simply use a julienne Y-peeler/vegetable peeler to shred them. You only need to use a couple of carrots anyway.
Shred whole carrots with julienne/vegetable peeler.
In a small saucepan make a simple syrup by heating water and sugar till the sugar dissolves.
Bring to a boil, add the shredded raw carrots to the sugar mixture, and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave to stand for another 5 minutes
Remove carrots with a slotted spoon, draining off as much liquid as possible, and spread the carrots out on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer.
Let them dry for 24 hours in a cool, dry place OR bake in the oven on low (200 degrees F) for 2 hours or until carrots are dried (as in the photo)
* I let them dry overnight, then put them in the oven for about 20 minutes to dry out completely
💭Candied Carrot as a Garnish
These candied carrots are the perfect topping on my Carrot Cake Dessert Pizza!
And make a great garnish on these Carrot Cake Doughnut Muffins
🌡️Storage
Store candied carrot in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. Candied Carrot does not stand up well to freezing.
🍽Equipment
For this candied carrots recipe, you will need a medium saucepan, a slotted spoon, a vegetable peeler and julienne Y-peeler tool (to get long strips) (affiliate links), and a baking sheet with parchment paper for drying.
The little extra time these take to make this easy candied carrot recipe is totally worth the cool look (and taste) you get as a garnish/topping on your muffin, cupcake, cake, or dessert.
So if you're looking for an easy and great recipe for candy carrots for cake, dessert, or a carrot cake garnish, these candied carrots are ideal!
📋 Candied Carrot Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup shredded carrots *Do NOT use baby carrots
Instructions
*NOTE: The photos in this recipe card will NOT print unless you set them to print by selecting "recipe image"
- Shred carrots with julienne/vegetable peeler.
- In a small saucepan heat water and sugar till the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, add the carrots, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and leave to stand for another 5 minutes.
- Remove carrots with a slotted spoon, draining off as much liquid as possible and spread the carrots out on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Let them dry 24 hours in a cool, dry place OR bake in oven on low (200 degrees F) for 2 hours or until carrots are dried (as in photo) * I let them dry overnight, then put them in the oven for about 20 minutes to dry out completely.
Carrie templemon
Thank you it works great 👍
Terri Gilson
Glad to hear that, Carrie!
Melanie
I made these to top a carrot cake with for my husbands birthday and they turned out fantastic! Thank you for the recipe!
Terri Gilson
That's great, Melanie! Happy birthday to your husband!
Terri
Tammy
Hi. I’m making these now but won’t need them for a couple weeks. How long will they keep and what’s the best way to store them
Terri Gilson
Hi Tammy,
That's pretty far in advance to be making them, as keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature. I would try freezing them since you are making them so far in advance. Or at minimum, keep them in the fridge. However, you'll probably want to test them in the freezer before committing the whole batch. I would put a small amount in a freezer bag and freeze for a minimum of 24 hours. Then take them out place them on parchment paper and let them come to room temperature and dry out. You could always pop them back in the oven for a bit if they become limp. I'd love to hear how they fare! Good luck! Terri
Veggie
I love this recipe. It is soooo easy. Thank you for sharing.
Terri Gilson
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it easy to make!