Maple Bacon Carrots

When you serve these pan-roasted maple bacon carrots with a sticky maple syrup glaze, get ready for compliments and recipe requests!

The carrots are tender and sweet, and you’ll love the way the savory, crispy bacon flavor pairs with the taste of real maple syrup.

This delicious side dish is a perfect accompaniment for main courses like grilled meats or fried chicken, or to take to a potluck or holiday buffet.

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Bacon enlivens the taste of many of our favorite vegetables, like our Best Bacon Green Bean Casserole, Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and our always-popular Bacon Fried Cabbage.

If you’d like to find more yummy dishes like this bacon carrots recipe, be sure to check out our roundup of 15 Best Side Dishes with Bacon.

Contents

Click on any of these headings to jump ahead:

1. Why This Recipe is Worth Making
2. Ingredients and Substitutions
3. Equipment Needed
4. Step by Step Instructions
5. Recipe Variations
6. Can I Use Turkey Bacon in This Recipe?
7. How to Make This Recipe Ahead of Time
8. How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
9. What to Serve with Roasted Carrots with Bacon
10. FAQs
11. Popular Bacon Side Dish Recipes
12. Carrots with Bacon and Maple Syrup Recipe
13. Pin for Later

Why This Recipe is Worth Making

• You’ll love the way the salty, savory bacon enhances the sweet, earthy taste of the carrots. A drizzle of maple syrup adds the perfect flavor note.
• The recipe is super simple, takes less than an hour to prepare, and only has 6 ingredients.
• You can make this side dish ahead of time, refrigerate and reheat it, making it the perfect party dish.
• Even people who aren’t usually big vegetable fans will devour these maple bacon carrots!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Bacon – You can use regular or thick sliced bacon for this recipe. Hickory or Applewood smoked bacon will add an especially nice flavor that pairs well with the carrots.

Carrots – As you can see in the photo above, I used big carrots for this recipe. Because the larger carrots spend more time in the ground, they develop a sweeter flavor. Feel free to use whatever size carrots you like.

Maple syrup – I used bourbon barrel aged maple syrup for this batch. Feel free to use your favorite real maple syrup.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper – I used Maldon salt flakes, which I also sprinkled lightly on top of the finished dish as a garnish. Feel free to use Kosher salt or regular table salt, and you can always adjust the amount of salt to suit your taste.

Fresh oregano – This herb adds a nice little punch of extra flavor and color at the end of cooking. If you don’t have access to fresh oregano, you can use a pinch of dried oregano, chopped fresh thyme, chives, or fresh parsley.

Equipment Needed

You don’t need any fancy cooking gear to prepare this recipe:

• Vegetable peeler
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large skillet
• Cooking spoon or spatula
• Slotted spoon
• Casserole dish

Step by Step Instructions

Here’s how to prepare this tasty side dish.

STEP 1: Peel and cut the carrots into sticks. I like to vary the length of the carrot sticks from about 1.5 to 3 inches, so they have a nice homemade look.

STEP 2: Cut the bacon strips into squares. These bigger bacon pieces are a nice contrast to the carrot sticks.

Pro Cooking Tip: It’s easier to dice bacon in even pieces if it’s very cold, so chop it right after removing from the refrigerator.

STEP 3: Cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are nicely browned and almost fully cooked.

STEP 4: Remove the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon. Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease.

(We think bacon grease is liquid gold! Here’s a post with full directions for how to save bacon grease, and here are 25 ways to use bacon fat.)

STEP 5: Add the carrots to the pan drippings and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add the maple syrup, stir to coat the carrots, and continue cooking until carrots are tender.

STEP 6: Add the reserved bacon. Stir to distribute, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

STEP 7: Cook for another minute or two until the mixture is nice and hot.

STEP 8: Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the oregano and a pinch of salt flakes.

Recipe Variations

Baby Carrots Recipe – To save time you can substitute peeled baby carrots for the peeled, cut carrots in the recipe.

If the carrots are very small, you may need to reduce your cooking time a bit so they don’t overcook. If they are larger and thicker than carrot sticks, you may need to increase the cooking time a bit so they’re tender.

Bacon Carrots Keto Friendly Recipe – To reduce the carbs in this recipe, simply eliminate the maple syrup. The bacon and carrots combination will still be SO tasty. If you like, you can substitute sugar free keto maple syrup.

Carrots with Bacon and Brown Sugar – Replace the maple syrup with 2 packed tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar. Add and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Honey Glazed Carrots with Bacon – Substitute 2 tablespoons of pure honey for the maple syrup in the recipe. Alternately, you can use hot honey for Hot Honey Carrots!

Maple Glazed Carrots with Pecans and Bacon – Sprinkle the finished carrots with 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans. This variation is also yummy with chopped candied pecans!

Maple Soy Sauce Carrots – To bring out the umami flavor of the bacon, add 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari sauce to the carrot mixture when you add the maple syrup.

Spicy Roasted Carrots – Sprinkle the finished carrots with a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (or more, or less, to suit your tastebuds).

Can I Use Turkey Bacon in This Recipe?

Yes, you can substitute turkey bacon by making one modification.

Since turkey bacon is lean, it does not produce drippings like regular bacon. So you’ll need to substitute 1 tablespoon of a different fat for roasting the carrots.

You can use 1 tablespoon of olive oil, butter, coconut oil, or other neutral cooking oil. (Here’s information about how long turkey bacon lasts with storage tips.)

How to Make This Recipe Ahead of Time

Prepare the recipe through Step 5 above. Let the carrots cool to room temperature, and transfer to a tightly sealed container. Put the drained bacon bits in a small airtight container.

Refrigerate for up to 2 days. To finish the recipe, pour the carrot mixture in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread the bacon bits in a single layer on plate lined with a double layer of paper towels. Microwave on 70% power until the bacon is hot, about 60 to 90 seconds.

Add the bacon to the carrots, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring to distribute ingredients. Garnish and serve!

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Leftover maple carrots with bacon can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat in a skillet over medium high until heated through. 

What to Serve with Roasted Carrots with Bacon

This easy side dish is the perfect accompaniment to a wide variety of grilled meats, poultry, casseroles, pasta, and main courses such as:

• Glazed Ham
• Roast Turkey
• Meatloaf
• Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
• Smoked Pork Tenderloin

FAQs

Popular Bacon Side Dish Recipes

If you love enhancing the flavor of vegetables with tasty bacon, try these delish dishes:

Baked Asparagus with Bacon and Parmesan Cheese

Best Deviled Eggs with Bacon

Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Corn

If you enjoy this recipe, we’d be thrilled if you would click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and leave a rating! We love reading your comments, too!

Here’s the full, printable recipe:

Got questions? Just ask! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this Carrots with Bacon and Maple Syrup recipe, I’d be thrilled if you clicked the little stars above and gave the recipe a 5-star rating.

Looking for more tasty side dishes? Check out our 15 Best Sides to Serve with Bacon Wrapped Scallops, with recipes from top bloggers. You might also enjoy the carrots bacon web story for this recipe.

You’ll also love our recent roundup of 60 Bacon Dinner Recipes!

If you post your creations on social media, tag #BENSABaconLovers so I can share! Thank you for your support. – Eliza

Nutrition Disclaimer: All nutritional information shared on this site is an approximation. I am not a certified nutritionist, and any nutritional information should be used as a general guideline.

Pin for Later

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