Buttery peas and carrots is a simple side dish to make. This is comfort food the whole family will love. This easy recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Simple Side Dish Recipe
Dinner doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious. That is why home cooks need to have a handful of recipes in their back pocket that are quick and easy to make, yet still, taste great.
Cooking the main course is a snap; just throw a roast or chicken into the oven, and the whole family is happy. Side dishes, on the other hand, can be a little more tricky.
A great side dish is one that pleases everyone and plays well with lots of different proteins. It gets bonus points if you can make it with staple ingredients you already have in the house.
It doesn’t get much better than peas and carrots when it comes to a simple side dish that is versatile and a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes.
Carrot Notes
Most people prefer tender-crisp carrots. That means the carrots are soft on the outside but still offer a little crunch in the middle.
For larger chunks of carrots, it can take up to 9 minutes at a boil to reach the tender-crisp stage. Since this recipe calls for sauteing the carrots beforehand, reducing the boiling time to 6 – 8 minutes is adequate.
It is worth noting that you will need to adjust the boiling time accordingly if you cut your carrots into smaller sizes or prefer harder or softer carrots.
Find out more on how long to boil carrots.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Frozen peas
- Baby carrots or regular carrots
- White onion
- Butter
- Water or chicken stock
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to Cook Peas and Carrots
- Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion, stir, and cook the onions for a couple of minutes.
- Add carrots and cook until they are tender.
- Add frozen peas, water or stock, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for 6 minutes or until the peas are cooked through.
Recipe Tips
Hold off on adding all the salt until the end. It is easy to overwhelm the balance of this side dish with too much salt. Especially if you are using chicken stock to replace the water, leave out half the salt at the beginning of the recipe. You can taste and add more salt if you think it is necessary right before serving.
Please treat your peas right. Frozen peas are perfect for this dish. In fact, unless you have access to straight-from-the-garden peas, flash-frozen peas have the best flavor. You don’t have to thaw peas, but at least remove any large ice crystals before adding them to the chicken stock to avoid watering it down.
Add spices for additional flavor. Do you want to add a dash of flavor to your peas and carrots? Mix a bit of the spice used in the main course into the peas and carrots before serving.
Popular Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
- Buttery Mashed Potatoes
- Calico Beans
- Copper Penny Carrots
- Cracker Barrel Carrots
- Cucumber Onion Salad
- Fried Okra
- Homemade Coleslaw
- How to Cook Lentils
What to Serve Peas and Carrots With
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Buttery Peas and Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 pound baby carrots or 4 large carrots
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion or shallots
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup water or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat butter in sauté pan over medium heat. Use a pan that has a lid so you can cover it for the final cooking step.
- When the butter foams, add finely chopped onion.
- Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add carrots and cook until they are tender.
- Add frozen peas and stir to coat them well.
- Add water or chicken stock, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until the peas are cooked through.
Erin buscetto
Delicious! I swapped out white onion for red since I needed to use it up worked perfect! I also added grated Parmesan cheese for added flavor. Definitely use chicken broth if you have it brings the dish together.
Erin buscetto
Delicious! I swapped out white onion for red and also added grated Parmesan cheese. Definitely use chicken broth if you have it.
Shanna
These were delicious. So much better than canned. Yum yum.