Honey glazed rainbow carrots en papillote, a fragrant and elegant side dish.
We make a parchment parcel and cook the rainbow carrots with star anise, honey, orange, rosemary and a splash of broth. The result is a deliciously savory side dish where the sweetness of the carrots is brought out by honey and orange, and then delicately spiced with star anise and rosemary.
Carrots en papillote are one of my favorite winter vegetable side dishes, and I love to use rainbow carrots as it adds more color to the plate and depth of flavor. Carrots are nutritious vegetables full of antioxidants, and rainbow carrots each have their own nutritional benefit. Purple carrots contain anthocyanins which may prevent heart disease, whilst orange carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which promotes healthy vision. This rainbow carrot recipe is nutritious, beautiful, and delicious. Ticks all the boxes!
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Honey-glazed rainbow carrots en papillote is a great side dish for main courses, including this lamb rump roast, alongside caramelized balsamic shallots.
Ingredients
Here is everything you'll need to make this delicious, elegant side dish recipe.
- Rainbow carrots
- Honey
- Star Anise
- Orange
- Rosemary
- Butter
- Vegetable or chicken stock/broth
- Salt and pepper
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/375 degrees Fahrenheit
Peel and chop the rainbow carrots into bite-sized pieces
Lay a sheet of aluminum foil with a sheet of baking parchment paper on top. Fold the edges to seal the two pieces together, and then create a parcel by folding in half and folding over the sides to seal, leaving one side open. Place the parcel on a baking tray.
Place the carrots, star anise, rosemary, honey and salt and pepper inside the parcel, then pour in the vegetable stock and seal closed by folding over the final edge.
Bake the honey-glazed rainbow carrots en papillote in the oven for 30 minutes.
Carefully open the parcel with a fork to avoid the steam. Check the carrots are cooked, cook for a further 10 minutes if not.
Remove the honey-glazed rainbow carrots en papillote to a serving dish or directly onto a plate and serve.
Hint: this recipe works best with fresh rainbow carrots, try to avoid frozen ones.
Substitutions and variations.
Here are a few ways you can adapt this easy carrots recipe to suit you.
- Star Anise - can't find any? Try a stick of cinnamon instead.
- Rosemary - try this rainbow carrots en papillote recipe with thyme instead.
- Vegan - use vegetable stock and a honey alternative like maple syrup.
- Carrots - any type of carrot will work for this recipe.
This carrot side dish tastes delicious with meat or fish and a healthy white wine sauce as a light dinner party menu option.
Equipment
- Vegetable peeler
- Chopping board and knife
- Parchment paper/greaseproof paper
- Baking tray
Storage
Store any leftovers in the fridge and use them within 2-3 days.
These ingredients do not stand up well to freezing.
Top tip
Use a fork to open up the honey-glazed rainbow carrots en papillote, as the steam inside will be very hot.
FAQ
Carrots come in a range of bright colors, including orange, purple, pink, and yellow. The inside of the rainbow carrot might be a different color from the outside!
Rainbow carrots do not have a discernable difference in taste; they are all as delicious as each other.
Yes! I love serving rainbow carrots with hummus, like this beetroot and walnut hummus recipe.
Other dishes to try
Recipe Card
Honey Glazed Rainbow Carrots En Papillote
Equipment
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 kitchen knife and chopping board
- 1 aluminium foil
- 1 parchment paper/greaseproof paper
- 1 Baking tray
Ingredients
- 500 grams Rainbow carrots
- 3 star anise
- 2 tablespoon honey
- ½ orange
- 230 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Peel and chop the rainbow carrots into bite-sized pieces
- Lay a sheet of aluminium foil with a sheet of baking parchment paper on top. Fold the edges to seal the two pieces together, and then create a parcel by folding in half and folding over the sides to seal, leaving one side open. Place the parcel on a baking tray.
- Place the carrots, star anise, rosemary, honey and salt and pepper inside the parcel, then pour in the vegetable stock and seal closed by folding over the final edge.
- Bake the honey glazed rainbow carrots en papillote in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Carefully open the parcel with a fork to avoid the steam. Check the carrots are cooked, reseal and cook for a further 10 minutes if not.
- Remove the honey glazed rainbow carrots en papillote to a serving dish or directly onto a plate and serve.
Caroline says
I loved the star anise in this recipe, it tasted so good! The honey was not too sweet either, it worked really well as a side dish.
Natalie says
My kids loved your honey glazed carrots! I am always excited when I find a veggie recipe my kids love, thanks!
Shelby says
These make such a delicious-looking side dish! And you can add leftovers to a bowl of pasta the next day and they taste amazing!
Holly says
So simple yet impressive looking and tasty. The star anise is a nice and unexpected touch.
Jess says
This is so delicious!
nancy says
never really liked carrots until this recipe. thank you!
Jacqui says
These are so good! I used vegan butter and agave instead of honey and they still turned out fabulous. Very delicious.