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I took the Ball preserving recipe for orange glazed carrots and kind of ran with it.  So, I’m giving them credit for this recipe, I just jazzed it up a bit and made it easier.  Insert my lazy girl “syrup” method for this recipe, too…. no making the hot syrup in a separate pot on the stove.  No sir.  We are letting the canning process make that in the jar for us!  Raw pack instead of hot pack.  This candied carrots recipe is easy, comes together quickly, and is a delicious side dish to quickly pull off the shelf and heat for a hearty meal.  

I absolutely LOVE canned carrots.  Plus, canning carrots is so stinkin’ easy.  Some people hate them but I could eat an entire quart, cold, straight out of the jar.  The flavor and texture is just **chef’s kiss** for me.  So, maybe, if you despise canned carrots… you might not enjoy this recipe either because I’m just exchanging the water and adding a glaze mixture and canning for the same time.  A simple blend of brown sugar, orange juice, and some carrots and you’ll be on your way!  The processing times I keep the same.  The carrots are soft, but not complete mush, but they definitely aren’t crunchy anymore.  If you have never had canned carrots, maybe try a tiny batch before diving in head first and finding out you hate them.  The chickens will appreciate the glazed carrots, but I don’t want ya wasting your time.

Choosing Carrots

What carrots do use for this recipe?  Cheap ones.  Ones I grew.  Ones I found on clearance.  Ones on sale.  I don’t discriminate, but rather wait until I find a bangin’ deal on some random carrots and can them using this recipe!  Any raw carrots you can find will work.  Even the baby carrots, which I see marked down and clearanced out pretty often in my local stores.  They’re already peeled for ya!  I just prefer not to use the baby carrots because, quite frankly, I can’t stand how they taste.  It’s unnatural and kinda chlorine-y like a carrot flavored public swimming pool.  But, if you like them, do ittttt!

When canning, plan on 2 pounds of carrots per quart jar and 1 pound of carrots per pint jar.  You may have some leftover, but this ensures you have enough for what you’re planning to can.  If you grow your own carrots, this recipe works out nicely for small batch canning since you can measure out per jar you fill.  Works best for me anyway!

​Orange Juice Substitutes

My friend ran into not having orange juice and used apple cider instead and OH MY GOSH was it not the most happy accident ever.  I actually made several batches using apple cider and they’re really great, too!  So, if you don’t have any OJ, hit up the cider or find you some AJ (apple juice… I’m so cool) and use that.  Outside of those, maybeeeee pineapple juice would be okay… but I def would steer clear of grape juice and cranberry juice.  Those both sound rather strange mixed with carrots :D

Equipment You May Want:

• Pressure Canner
• Pint Jars or Quart Jars
• Lids & Screw Bands
• Jar Lifter
• Jar Funnel

Ingredients:

• Carrots
• Brown Sugar
• Orange Juice
• Water
• Salt

This recipe is PER QUART JAR.

I repeat, PER QUART JAR.

If you want to do pints, cut the ingredients in half.

​Step 1: Process Whole Carrots

Plan on 2 pounds of fresh carrots per quart jar.  Place carrots in cool water to soak for scrubbing.  Rinse and scrub carrots thoroughly.  Set aside to drain on a towel.

Peel carrots with a sharp vegetable peeler if you want to.  The recommendation for canning is to peel your carrots.  I don’t, but that’s rebel canning.  So, do what you want to do here.  If you do peel your  carrots, I recommend you rinse them really well again after peeling.  And save those carrot peels for stock making later on!

Cut carrots into 3 inch pieces.  The larger and thicker top pieces can be cut in half lengthwise.  They look nice if they’re uniform sizes in the jars.

Pack carrots into quart or pint jars.  Wide mouth is easiest to use for this.  Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the carrots and add more, keeping them below 1 inch of headspace.

Step 2:  Add the Glaze

To each quart jar, add:

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

While I’m working, I have my tea kettle on the stove heating water while I work.  Once the sugar and juice has been added to the jars, I pour over hot water to fill the remaining space in the jars to 1-inch headspace, remove air bubbles, and add more water if needed to maintain that headspace.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to heat your glaze/syrup in a saucepan before canning so you can heat the canner faster, add to a sauce pan (PER QUART JAR of carrots):

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Heat over medium high heat, whisking to dissolve sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Then ladle over your quart jar filled with carrots.  

​Step 3: Canning

Wipe rims of jars with a vinegar damp cloth.  Place lid on top of jar and secure with a band.

Since this recipe is raw packed and we’re not starting with hot carrots and hot jars, heat the canner a little more slowly and gently than you normally do to give the jars time to heat up a little slower to prevent siphoning.

Pressure can quart jars of candied carrots for 30 minutes, process pints for 25 minutes, at your elevations recommended pounds of pressure for low acid food.

Once processing time is complete, shut off heat and allow canner to cool and depressurize.

Step 4: Storing

Once canner is depressurized, remove jars to a heat proof surface lined with a kitchen towel and allow to cool for 18-24 hours.

After cooling time, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated and consumed within a few days.  Do not reprocess unsealed jars; they will be an unappetizing texture.

Step 5: Serving

1.  Drain jar and heat in a large pot with some butter til warmed.

2.  Drain and arrange in a single layer on your air fryer tray and heat at 400F for about 12 minutes, or til slightly browned. 

3.  Open jar and eat them directly out of the jar with a fork like the carrot glutton you are.  (This may just be me).

​Notes:

You can substitute apple cider or apple juice for the orange juice in the syrup successfully.  It’s delicious!

You can decrease the amount of sugar to your liking.  You don’t need it at all if you don’t want it.  Kinda defeats the purpose of candied carrots, but, I’m not your real Dad.  Maybe look into canning plain carrots if this is the case.

​Home canning is the best!  Enjoy it!

Quick Orange Candied Carrots Pressure Canning Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Canning Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 quart

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• Pressure Canner
• Pint Jars or Quart Jars
• Lids & Screw Bands
• jar lifter
• jar funnel

Ingredients

• 2 pounds carrots
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Wash and peel carrots, if desired. Rinse well again after peeling. Slice into 3 inch pieces, cutting the large top ends in half if needed to have uniform sizes.
• Fill jar about with carrots, keeping under 1" headspace.
• While you are working, have a tea kettle with water heating.
• To each jar, add brown sugar, orange juice, and salt.
• Pour over hot water to 1" headspace, debubble and add more water as needed to maintain headspace.
• Pressure can at your elevations recommended pressure for 25 minutes pint jars or 30 minutes for quart jars.

Notes

Serving

1.  Drain jar and heat in a large pot with some butter til warmed.

2.  Drain and arrange in a single layer on your air fryer tray and heat at 400F for about 12 minutes, or til slightly browned. 

3.  Open jar and eat them directly out of the jar with a fork like the carrot glutton you are.  (This may just be me).

Notes:

You can substitute apple cider or apple juice for the orange juice in the syrup successfully.  It’s delicious!

You can decrease the amount of sugar to your liking.  You don’t need it at all if you don’t want it.  Kinda defeats the purpose of candied carrots, but, I’m not your real Dad.  Maybe look into canning plain carrots if this is the case.