Sauteed Julienne Carrots in Maple Thyme Glaze

These maple glazed sauteed carrots (julienne carrots) are such an elegant, delicious side dish to add to a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, International, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword julienne carrots, maple glazed carrots, sauteed carrots

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings people

Calories 197kcal

If you have young carrots, then you don't need to peel them. Just wash them and you are ready to start cutting.
If they are long, cut them in half to have approx. 4-inch long (approx. 10 cm) carrot stalks. Don't worry, it shouldn't be exactly this long. It is just a reference.
Then, cut them in quarters vertically 1/4-inch thick (approx. 5 mm). That's it. You are ready to sautee your julienned carrots.

Pre-heat the frying pan to high heat and add olive oil.
When the pan is hot enough, add the chopped carrots. You will hear the julienned carrots sizzle a bit. Add salt and pepper and let them cook in a single layer. Don't stir until 2-3 minutes so that your carrots can get a nice golden brown colour on one side and try to flip every carrot sticks to another side when you eventually stir them.
It will take 5-6 minutes before you can add the maple syrup and thyme.
Continue sauteeing your carrots on high heat, while the maple syrup is bubbling up. You are ready in another 5-6 minutes.
Serve it right out of the pan or add chopped raw/roasted walnuts/pecans.

You can choose to make whole, halved, diced or sliced carrots, but we recommend julienne/matchstick carrots. They are large enough to sautee them without falling apart, but not too large so you can get them ready quickly. This way, you don't need to pre-cook them in boiling water.
We recommend pre-cooking the carrots in boiling water if you sautee larger or thicker carrots.
We use young carrots as they are sweeter than large, thick carrots and surprisingly even sweeter than baby carrots.
Sautee the carrots in a single layer to get them ready quicker.
You can definitely use a wok or a heavy pan like a cast-iron skillet as they will help to keep the pan steady hot if you have to do a large batch.