Indulge in the sweet and savory goodness of our Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips Recipe. These tender root vegetables are oven baked to perfection with a delicious honey glaze. Perfect as an easy side dish for a weeknight dinner and they’d made the perfect addition to a holiday dinner.
This post has been updated from the original, posted November 15, 2016
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I adore these Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips. It’s a great dairy-free side dish that’s simple, delicious and can be served warm or at room temperature, ideal for a weeknight meal. Oh…but there’s a subtle sophistication to this parsnips recipe worthy of any special occasion as well.
If you love the sweet, nutty flavor of parsnips, try this Creamy Vegan Parsnip Gratin or these delicious mashed root veggies.
Why you’ll love these Roasted Carrots
- Easy: A weeknight meal needs an easy side dish that goes into the oven freeing you up to do other things.
- Colorful: Purple and orange carrots plus red onion, caramelized parsnips and oranges make this dish bright and beautiful.
- Delicious: When you roast vegetables in the oven on a sheet pan, their natural sweetness comes out. It’s a great way to make veggies that the whole family will love.
- Gorgeous: Would make an awesome Dairy-free Thanksgiving Side Dish.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Parsnips: When fresh parsnips are cooked, they become sweet, earthy and savory. If this is your first time making parsnips, you’re in for a real treat! A delicious way to get in some Vitamin C, iron, potassium, magnesium and fiber.
- Carrots: Go for the rainbow carrots for some added beauty and diversity of nutrients.
- Oranges: The vitamin C in oranges helps you absorb iron found in veggies like parsnips. Plus they’re full of natural sweetness.
- Onion: The red onions turn sweet in a good way!
- Fresh thyme: The thyme leaves add super savory flavor to the mix. Substitute with 1 teaspoon dried thyme if you don’t have fresh.
- Honey and olive oil: Mixed together they make a simple honey glaze that caramelizes the veggies when they roast. Runny honey works best for this carrots recipe. For a vegan version of this recipe that uses no oil, use maple syrup mixed with balsamic vinegar.
How to make it
Preheat your oven to 425 and line a heavy baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Step 1: Prep your ingredients. Give the parsnips and carrots a good scrub with a vegetable brush or peel them. Cut parsnips and carrots in long pieces of similar size, so they’ll cook evenly. Don’t discard the carrot greens, use them to make carrot top pesto.
Step 2: Wash the outside of the oranges to remove any pesticides or debris. The cooking process will soften the skins, making them edible. Cut the oranges in half through the stem, then cut each half in thin half moons. Do the same with the onion.
Step 3: Place parsnips, carrots, onions and oranges in a large bowl.
Step 4: Whisk together olive oil and honey in a small bowl and pour honey mixture over vegetables. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and mix until well combined.
Step 5: Transfer vegetables onto prepared baking tray. Evenly distribute fresh thyme sprigs throughout. For best results, use a large rimmed baking sheet and spread them into a single layer. If needed, use a second baking pan.
Step 6: Roast in preheated 425 degree oven for 35 minutes, mixing half way through. Veggies will be tender and golden when perfectly cooked.
Step 7: Remove the woody stems of the thyme, leaving the leaves. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Larger parsnips will be a bit woody in the center, so remove that part, or buy smaller parsnips. Small parsnips will be sweeter too.
- The orange skins will be soft and delicious after they’re roasted, so enjoy them!
- Large Carrots mean less peeling/less work!
- Include halved brussels sprouts next time…a great green addition.
- If you’re looking for gluten-free side dishes for holiday meals, this parsnip recipe would be fantastic for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and it’s the perfect vegetable side dish for Passover as well.
How to Serve Store and Reheat
- Honey roasted carrots and parsnips can be served at room temperature or straight from the oven.
- The perfect easy side for any main dish.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
- Reheat in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, until heated through.
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📖 Recipe
Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Ingredients
- 2 lbs carrots
- 1 lb parsnips
- 4 naval oranges
- 1 red onion
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a heavy baking tray with unbleached parchment paper.
- Prep veggies: peel parsnips and carrots and cut lengthwise into ¼" strips. Thinly slice onion. Cut oranges in half through the stem and then cut into ¼" thick half moons.
- In a medium sized bowl, toss cut veggies in olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Mix until evenly coated.
- Turn veggies onto prepared baking pan. Spread evenly and then add the sprigs of fresh thyme on top.
- Roast in preheated 425 oven for 35 minutes, mixing once half way through.
- Remove thyme stems and transfer to serving platter or bowl. Sprinkle on some chopped fresh parsley or fresh thyme leaves if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Andréa Janssen
I just love a great traybake and these roasted carrots and parsnips were perfect flavored and baked to perfection. The honey glaze made it even better!
Debra Klein
Thank you….a traybake is so easy too!
Stephanie
I had never made a dish with parsnips before. This is a great recipe and a welcome site at the dinner table.
Debra Klein
I’m loving the roasted parsnips this season….so so good!
Nora
What an awesome idea to roast those yummy veggies and add honey for perfection! Love it!
Debra Klein
Totally agree! Thank you.
Lucy
Carrots and parsnips are two of my favourite vegetables. These honey roasted ones are absolutely delicious and make a great side dish for so many meals.
Debra Klein
Thank you! Totally agree.
Ramona Sebastian
This is definitely the perfect combination of vegetables, but I have to say I never thought of adding oranges to it. I’m looking forward to trying this. Genius!
Debra Klein
The citrus is such a great flavor addition and I love how the oranges taste after roasting.
Jodi Eisenstadt
I doubled and tripled the seasoning but this dish still lacked flavor. Is it possible I had a problem because I parboiled the carrots and parsnips? I ended up mixing maple syrup, cumin, and extra herb seasoning in much larger amounts than the recipe required and the dish was a hit. The crowd really liked the addition of oranges.
Debra Klein
Interesting….I make this often and it’s flavorful and delicious. Boiling vegetables usually results in bland and boring…roasting generally locks in the natural sweetness of the carrots and parsnips, plus the olive oil helps the spices stick. I would try it again, as the recipe is written and taste the results. The roasted oranges are my favorite part….so, no surprise they were a crowd pleaser.
Aidel
Simply delicious! Easy to make and without much clean up afterwards