Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Honey Roasted Carrots & Parsnips are a delicious, easy side dish that works great with any meal. You can serve these roasted root veggies with a roast dinner, a weeknight meal, or a holiday feast like Christmas dinner.

Parsnips and carrots are root vegetables that are related to each other. They have the same shape and a similar sweetness. Both vegetables are delicious when roasted.

Jump to:

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These honey glazed carrots and parsnips are a delicious side dish that goes with almost everything.
You can serve honey roasted carrots and parsnips with a weeknight meal or a holiday dinner.
Roasting carrots and parsnips is a healthier option because they retain more of their nutrients than with boiling.
The honey glaze helps to give the vegetables a delicious caramelization.
This simple side dish takes just 30 minutes in the oven.
Honey helps to intensify the natural sweetness of parsnips and carrots.
A tasty side dish that the whole family will love!

Honey roasted carrots and parsnips on a black plate garnished with thyme.

Ingredient Notes

Parsnips. Fresh, firm, young parsnips are ideal. Look for the smallest ones you can find.
Carrots Look for firm, bright orange carrots with no cracks.
Thyme Fresh thyme is best, but if you don’t have it, use one teaspoon of dried thyme.
Honey You can use maple syrup instead.
Butter Melt the butter in the microwave. I use salted butter but unsalted butter works too.
Olive Oil Avocado oil, or any vegetable oil is also great for roasted carrots and parsnips.
Salt & Pepper

The ingredients to make this recipe on a wooden cutting board.

How to Make It

These instructions are intended as a visual guide. Complete detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

With a sharp knife, slice carrots and parsnips in half.
Slice the halves lengthwise in half (or thirds for thicker ends, so that all the pieces are of similar size.

The carrots and parsnips being sliced on a wooden board with a chef's knife.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, butter, and olive oil.
Put the parsnips and carrots on a parchment paper lined baking tray and pour the honey mixture over the vegetables. Toss with your hands to coat and spread them in a single layer.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves.
Roast until the carrots and parsnips are tender and caramelized.

Helpful Tips

Try to cut the vegetables into equal sized pieces to ensure that they cook evenly.
Make sure the vegetables are spread in a single layer on the baking pan. This will allow the pieces to cook evenly, and also let’s them brown instead of steam.
You can easily double or even triple this recipe. Just toggle the number of servings at the top of the recipe card. You will need two or more sheet pans. (See point above).
You can use just carrots for honey roasted carrots, or parsnips for honey roasted parsnips.
For a vegan version of these glazed parsnips and carrots, substitute maple syrup for the honey and replace the butter with more oil.
If you like a little bit of spice to balance the sweetness, try adding a pinch of red pepper flakes to the honey mixture before coating the veggies.
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.

Common Questions

Do I need to peel the carrots and parsnips?

There’s no need to peel carrots, they just need a good scrub. Smaller, fresh parsnips can usually be treated the same. However, larger, older parsnips will usually need to be peeled or they’ll have a woody texture. It’s also a matter of personal preference.

Do parsnips need to be parboiled before roasting?

It isn’t necessary to parboil the parsnips. But if you do choose to parboil, it will shorten the cooking time. Especially if your parsnips are very large.

Can I prepare the carrots and parsnips ahead of time?

Yes, you can peel (if desired) and slice the vegetables the day before you plan to roast them. Just keep them covered in cold water in the fridge until you want to use them.

Serving Suggestions

These delicious roasted vegetables go great with just about any main dish. They’re a great side dish for chicken like roast chicken or Cornish hens. And a perfect addition to a meatless meal like Stuffed Acorn Squash. This tasty side dish goes equally well with seafood like salmon and with steak or ribs, too.

The honey roasted carrots and parsnips being served on a plate with silver forks.

More Delicious Side Dishes

I have all kinds of delicious veggie side dishes for you to try! Check out some of these:

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!

Recipe