Sliced carrots, onions and peppers cook up in a delicious sauce to make Carrots Lyonnaise. An incredibly easy side dish that's super versatile and comes together in minutes with just a few pantry staples. It’s perfect as a side for your holiday bakes and roasts, and even for those weeknights when you want to whip up something healthy.
Sauteed carrots are my go-to whenever I’m looking for an easy side dish. My easy glazed carrots have been a huge family favorite for as long as I can remember, but this time, I wanted to experiment and try another version of the dish with similar flavors, but more saucy and flavorful.
And these sauteed carrots and onions do just that! I also added in some red peppers to make it more substantial, and you could also throw in some green beans, just like I did with my glazed green beans and carrots recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Sauteed Carrots Recipe
- Family favorite: It’s sure to be a hit with the kids and fussy eaters too! It is really THAT good.
- Simple and easy: The dish is so easy to make, it is the perfect last minute side dish you can throw together whenever you’re in a rush.
- Loaded with flavor: The broth and bouillon add tons of flavor and deliciousness to the veggies.
- Versatile: You can play around with the mix-ins and veggies too! It is actually a great recipe to use up your leftover veggies.
Ingredients
- Carrots: Start with fresh carrots. Pick the best quality, ripe carrots you can get your hands on, ideally ones that have the same size, and don’t have any blemishes or soft spots on their surface.
- Onion: For a bit of sweetness.
- Flour: For the roux, to make the sauce thicker.
- Butter: For the rich flavor. Use either unsalted or salted butter- whatever you prefer.
- Chicken bouillon: For that delicious flavor. I love using granules, but you could also use the powdered version if you have that at hand.
- Broth: Use either chicken broth or vegetable broth. This lends the Lyonnaise sauce an extra dimension of flavor.
- Peppers: Red peppers are great, because they have a beautiful color. You could also use yellow or green peppers if you prefer using those.
- Seasonings: I kept it simple and used only some salt, pepper and sugar to season the carrots.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Spice it up: Add a pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne into the dish to add some extra flavor and heat to the dish.
- Dairy-free: Make the sauteed carrots dairy-free by swapping the butter with olive oil or any vegan butter of your choice.
- Gluten-free: Skip the flour and thicken the sauce with some cornflour or arrowroot powder to make the carrots gluten-free.
- Vegetarian: Swap the chicken broth and bouillon with vegetarian versions to make a vegetarian version of the dish.
How to Make Carrots Lyonnaise
There’s hardly any prep time needed to make these sauteed carrots. Simply wash, peel, pat dry the carrots, and slice them into even thickness.
Step 1: Cook carrots: In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add in the carrots. Let them cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Step 2: Sweat the onions: In a skillet, saute the onions in butter until they start to soften.
Step 3: Prepare the base: Now add the bouillon, seasonings and flour and cook for a few minutes on medium heat.
Step 4: Prepare the sauce: Slowly pour in the broth and use a whisk to gently mix everything together until the mixture looks thick and saucy.
Step 5: Cook carrots and peppers: Now add in the carrots and sliced peppers and season if needed.
Step 6: Finish up and serve: Take it off heat, garnish and serve.
⭐ Hint: Be sure to cut your carrots into even slices so they cook evenly!
If you love carrot recipes like this one, you may also enjoy these smoked carrots this Roasted Broccoli and Carrots or our sweet Honey Maple Carrots recipes.
Storage Directions
- Refrigerator: You can store your leftover carrots lyonnaise in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure you store it in an airtight container to preserve its freshness.
- Freezing: You can choose to freeze these carrots if you want them to last longer. If you’re doing that though, I would recommend leaving the peppers out, as they can lose their texture when you freeze, thaw and reheat them.
- Reheating: To reheat the sauteed carrots, simply transfer them to a pan and let them warm up over medium heat. You might also want to add a splash of water to loosen up the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
These delicious sauteed carrots and onions make for the perfect side dish to your meaty mains like crockpot steak bites or some old-fashioned Salisbury steak.
And of course, they can also work perfectly with a Thanksgiving turkey dish. I love serving them with slow cooker turkey wings and my air fryer turkey legs.
If I’m making these as a part of my holiday feast, I love finishing it all up with an indulgent dessert like my better than sex cake.
Recipe Tips
- Size matters: Slice the carrots (and onions and peppers) such that they’re roughly the same size. This will ensure that they’re all perfectly cooked.
- Don’t overcrowd: Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan with too many carrots. Doing this will cause them to soften and lose their crunch. Work in batches.
- Experiment: Instead of slicing the carrots, cut them into sticks to bring a bit of variation to the dish.
- Quality matters: The quality of cookware you use also matters, especially when it comes to making stir-fries like these. Choose a heavy-bottomed stainless steel or cast iron pan to ensure that the heat distributes evenly throughout the pan.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Just add a splash of water to get the sauce to the right consistency, and make sure you pause at every 30-40 second interval while reheating.
More Easy Carrot Side Dish Recipes
Do you like carrots? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
How to Make Video
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Carrots Lyonnaise
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large pot bring water to a boil. Add carrots, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Set aside.
- In a large skillet sauté onion in butter until tender.
- Add flour and stir until incorporated. Stir constantly for a couple of minutes. Onion mixture will start to look dry. Add bouillon and stir. Add sugar and stir and then salt and pepper. Continue to stir mixture.
- Using a whisk, gradually add broth. Bring to a boil. Stir constantly. Cook for a few minutes or until thickened.
- Add carrots and peppers, if using. Combine until thoroughly incorporated. Taste to see if salt is needed. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Size matters: Slice the carrots (and onions and peppers) such that they’re roughly the same size. This will ensure that they’re all perfectly cooked.
- Don’t overcrowd: Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan with too many carrots. Doing this will cause them to soften and lose their crunch. Work in batches.
- Experiment: Instead of slicing the carrots, cut them into sticks to bring a bit of variation to the dish.
- Quality matters: The quality of cookware you use also matters, especially when it comes to making stir-fries like these. Choose a heavy bottomed stainless steel or cast iron pan to ensure that the heat distributes evenly throughout the pan.
Nutrition
This post was originally published October 2018. It's been updated with new images and content.
Betty Phry says
This was delicious and a perfect accompaniment to our Christmas dinner.
Karin and Ken says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! We usually make it for Christmas too. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. All the best. Karin