What Goes With Parsnips?
Wondering what goes with parsnips? Learn the best ingredient pairings, meal ideas, popular flavor combinations, and other helpful tips.
Knowing what goes well with parsnips gives you a starting point for putting meals together using the ingredients you already have on hand.
Whether you want to reduce food waste, get more creative in the kitchen, or improve your cooking skills, it starts with understanding what flavors pair well together.
What Are Parsnips?
Parsnips are cream-colored, carrot-shaped root vegetables in the parsley family. They have a semi-starchy texture and a sweet, nutty taste that’s slightly peppery and earthy.
The best flavor is right below the skin, so the best thing to do is to give them a good scrub with a vegetable brush. If you do peel them, remove as thin of a layer as possible.
Helpful Tips
When to buy
Parsnips are in peak season from October through May. Look at the seasonal produce guide to see what’s in season right now.
What to look for
Look for parsnips that are smaller in size as they’ll have a sweeter flavor and more tender texture compared to large parsnips that are known to have a woody core that’s tough and fibrous.
How to store
Store unwashed parsnips in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, but check on them often and plan to use them sooner than later as it really all depends on how fresh they were when purchased.
What Goes Well With Parsnips?
vegetables
Bitter greens, carrots, chile peppers, fennel, garlic, ginger, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, and shallots.
fruit
Apples, lemons, oranges, and pears.
spices
Allspice, anise, bay leaf, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, ground ginger, mace, nutmeg, pepper: black and white, and kosher salt.
herbs
Basil, chives, dill, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.
non-dairy/dairy
Butter, creamy cheeses, cream: coconut cream or cashew cream for dairy-free, parmesan, and yogurt.
Protein
Bacon, chicken, duck, fish, game birds, and pancetta.
pantry items
Balsamic vinegar, black beans, brown sugar, chicken and vegetable stock, honey, lentils, maple syrup, mirin, mustard, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, and dry white wine.
Popular Parsnip Pairings
- potatoes + butter + cream
- carrots + potatoes + nutmeg
- cream + nutmeg
- honey + mustard
- pancetta + pasta + parmesan
What To Make With Parsnips
Cooking parsnips brings out their sweetness and gives them the best flavor. They can be baked, broiled, braised, deep-fried, grilled, mashed, puréed, roasted, or steamed.
They pair particularly well with other root vegetables such as honey-roasted parsnips and carrots, potatoes, celery root, beets, turnips, and more.
Make mashed parsnips as an alternative to mashed potatoes, purée them for soup, add them to stew the same way you’d add carrots or potatoes, make baked parsnip fries (use in place of the carrots in this recipe) or thinly slice them using a mandoline, toss with olive oil, season with salt and bake them until crispy for homemade chips.
Similar to scalloped potatoes, you can make scalloped parsnips or gratin, or sauté diced parsnips in garlic butter then toss with pasta and bacon or crispy prosciutto.