This roasted parsnips makes for a wonderfully sweet side dish. Packed full of flavour but don’t worry it wont overpower any of the other dishes you may pair it with.
Parsnips are another one of those vegetables you just don’t hear about that often. They do have a very distinct flavour that some may not prefer, but just like brussels sprouts when they are cooked right they are amazing and well worth trying.
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Parsnips are a root vegetable, they look a bit like a fat white carrot. If you look up what does a parsnip taste like you will probably read that they tend to be sweeter than carrots and likened to a sweet potato which is definitely true but there is a difference. It will also say that there a hints of pepper and earthiness which I find to be very true.
It is this earthy peppery flavour that makes it not as desirable as say carrots or sweet potatoes. So to fix this and make parsnips one of our go to vegetables we just need to add a couple of ingredients to enhance (in a good way) and complement all of these parsnip flavours. Let’s take a look at these ingredients.
Ingredients For Roasted Parsnips
- Parsnips. Fresh and medium sized.
- Butter. This will add a lovely richness to the parsnips
- Honey. This is the sweet element, the honey will add to the natural sweetness of parsnips while at the same time balancing the earthy flavours.
- Whole grain mustard. The mustard on the other hand will bring down the sweetness by adding tang and acidity. It also complements the pepper side of the parsnip.
- Thyme and Parsley. If possible try to use fresh herbs for this recipe. I know it isn’t always possible and dried will work but the flavour of fresh just can’t be beat. These herbs add more of that earthy flavour and again help balance the sweet. They add a little more complexity to the dish without overpowering it.
How to make Roasted Parsnips
Preheat oven to 400F, 200C, use the Roast setting if your oven has one.
Peel and wash your parsnips just like you would for carrots. Slice them in half and then half again. If your parsnips are larger you may need to cut them in half again or at least thirds.
In a medium to large-sized saucepan or sauté pan, begin by melting the butter, honey, whole grain mustard, parsley, and thyme over a medium heat setting. Then, season it to taste with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
Next, add the sliced parsnips to the melted honey mustard butter. Give it all a good stir, or alternatively, you can jiggle the pan. Be sure to make sure that all the parsnips are evenly coated with the melted mixture
Next, tip the parsnips and any remaining honey mustard butter into a roasting tin, roughly 8×8 in size. Don’t worry if they are slightly piled on top of each other.
If you are slightly obsessive you can line the parsnips up so that they are all lined up.
Place the tin into the preheated oven and roast for around 40 minutes or until the parsnips are fully cooked.
Take them out after around 20 minutes, half way through and give them a good stir.
Use a fork to test to see if they are cooked, I find knives are too sharp and aren’t as accurate. Parsnips taste the best when fully cooked. A bit like potatoes, both of these vegetables are quite starchy.
Remove the parsnips from the oven and serve right away.
Perfect Pairings
Here are a few of my top suggestions for what to serve these sweet roasted parsnips with.
- Meat. Pretty much anything goes but I personally prefer them with roast beef.
- Potatoes. Mash or a good crispy roast potato like this one here are great pairing.
- Carrots. You can add carrots to the parsnips they go so well together and this makes it easy to add two vegetables but without having to make two separate sides.
- Leeks. My creamy leeks recipe add a great creamy element to the sweet of the roast parsnips.
- Pie try it along with a meat pie instead of say potatoes
I really hope that you will enjoy these wonderfully sweet roasted parsnips. And don’t forget to please leave a review it means a lot to me.
Roasted Parsnips with honey and mustard
This roasted parsnips makes for a wonderfully sweet side dish. It is packed full of flavour but wont overpower any of the other dishes you may pair it with.
Ingredients
- 1 lb small to medium sized Parsnips
- 1/4 cup (55g) Butter
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Whole grain mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- Salt and Black pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F, 200C, use the Roast setting if your oven has one.
- Peel and wash your parsnips just like you would for carrots. Slice them in half and then half again. If your parsnips are larger you may need to cut them in half again or at least thirds.
- In a medium to large sized saucepan over a medium heat setting, melt the butter, honey, whole grain mustard, parsley and thyme. Season it to taste with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Add the sliced parsnips to the melted honey mustard butter. Give it all a good stir or you can jiggle the pan, make sure that all the parsnips are coated with the melted mixture.
- Tip the parsnips and any remaining honey mustard butter into a roasting tin roughly 8x8 in size Don't worry if they a slightly piled on each other.
- Place the tin into the preheated oven and roast for around 40 minutes or until the parsnips are fully cooked.
- Take them out after around 20 minutes, half way through and give them a good stir. See my note below.
Remove the parsnips from the oven and serve right away.
Notes
- Use a fork to test to see if they are cooked, I find knives are too sharp and aren't as accurate. Parsnips taste the best when fully cooked. A bit like potatoes, both of these vegetables are quite starchy.
- See my pairing suggestions in the post above.
- If you are a little obsessive and like things to look a certain way then you can line up the parsnips so that they are all facing the same way, I am this person.
I am not a fan of parsnips but you made them look and sound so delicious I’ve decided I need to try this recipe~