Christmas Parsnips

A super easy Christmas Parsnips recipe – maple roast parsnips. A foolproof Christmas side dish that’s perfect every time.

When you’re cooking a Christmas Dinner, it always seems to be a little stressful.

And that's why we've put together a really delicious range of Christmas Side Dishes that are super easy to prepare and cook.

Maple roast parsnips are one of the easiest Christmas Dinner vegetables to prepare and cook, and they always taste just so good, you won't be able to resist just popping them in your mouth!

And don’t worry, if you’re cooking for more than four people I’ve scaled up the ingredient quantities at the bottom to help out with making this easy vegetable side dish.

Christmas Parsnips Recipe

Serves 4 – recipe for 6, 8 and 12 below

Prep Time – 15 minutes 

Cook Time – 30 minutes 

Total Time - 45 minutes

Our Most Popular Alternative – Air Fryer Honey Roast Carrots And Parsnips

Equipment Needed

• Chopping board

• Sharp vegetable knife

• Saucepan

• Tablespoon

• Roasting tin

Christmas Parsnips Ingredients

Our easy roasted parsnips just needs three ingredients – you’ll love how easy this Christmas recipe is!

• 500g parsnips

• 2 tbs olive oil - you can swap this for butter if you prefer

• 2 tbs maple syrup

How To Cook Christmas Parsnips

You’ll really like how easy our maple roast parsnips for Christmas Dinner are to make!

Step 1 - warm up the oven

• Preheat the oven to 400F / 200C / 180C fan / Gas Mark 6 - you can grab our free printable oven temperature conversion chart here

Step 2 - how to cook parsnips ready for roasting

• Peel the parsnips and slice into evenly sized wedges. If you're wondering should you peel parsnips before roasting I usually use the rule of if they're young parsnips then I just scrub well and keep the skin, and if they're older parsnips I peel.

• Put them into a saucepan, cover them in cold water, add a pinch of salt and then bring the salted water to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes until they are just parboiled and a little tender - don't over cook them or they'll be too mushy to roast.

Step 3 - add the maple glaze

• Place an empty roasting tin into the oven to heat up - don't add any oil.

• Drain the parsnips and then return them to the pan.

Need a little feel good boost? Get our feel good December activities here 

• Then pour over the olive oil and maple syrup and toss gently in the pan to make sure all the parsnips are coated.

Step 3 - how to roast parsnips

• Get the heated roasting tin out of the oven and tip the maple glazed Christmas parsnips into the hot tray. Give the tray a shake to make sure they're evenly spread and in a single layer.

• Put the Christmas parsnips into the oven to roast for about 30 minutes (cooking time will depend on how thin/fat you cut the wedges)

Step 4 - serve the Christmas parsnips

• You'll know the parsnips are cooked when they start to caramelise and turn deliciously browned on the edges.

• Tip the maple roast parsnips into a serving bowl and add to your Christmas Dinner table alongside your other Christmas side dishes.

Christmas Parsnips Recipe Variations

Okay so we’ve given you a totally yummy way to serve your parsnips Christmas style, but you can make this glazed parsnips recipe in your own way, try…

• Adding in some carrots too amongst the parsnips and cook them together. 

• Add some spices, try a grating of whole nutmeg or sprinkling of cinnamon or black pepper on the roasted parsnips. You could also try these with ground cumin for a warm, spiced flavor.

• Skip the maple syrup and drizzle over some honey instead for a lovely sweet glazed parsnips recipe.
• Add some herbs - parsnips go great with fresh thyme.

Christmas Roasted Parsnips Recipe Tips!

• Prepare ahead of time – If you're wondering if you can pre-cook parsnips for Christmas I'd say yes, BUT... don't peel parsnips way ahead of when you cook them otherwise they tend to brown. If you want to make this Christmas Dinner side dish in advance, cook it completely and reheat from cooked and cooled.

Try Our Delicious Christmas Dinner Tray Bake Here

• How to reheat the parsnips – once cooked you can tip the parsnips into a bowl and then cool, store them covered in the fridge for up to a day and then reheat in the microwave for a few minutes then serve. They won't be as crisp as they were straight from the oven but they'll still be really tasty. And hey.. once they're covered in gravy you'll not miss the crisp bite anyway!

Christmas Side Dishes

Get even more tasty Christmas vegetables and Christmas Dinner side dishes here. 

• Christmas Sprouts

• Christmas Carrots

• Pigs In Blankets In Air Fryer

• Christmas Red Cabbage

• Honey Roast Parsnips 

• Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes

• Mustard Mash

• Christmas Vegetable Tray Bake

• Christmas Brussel Sprouts

Christmas Parsnips – Ingredients Quantities When Feeding A Crowd

If you’ve got guests for Christmas Dinner then here’s our easy scaled up Parsnips Christmas Dinner Recipe ingredients to feed 6, 8 and 12

Christmas Parsnips – To Feed 6

• 650g parsnips
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup

Christmas Carrots – To Feed 8

• 800g parsnips
• 3 ½ tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoon maple syrup

Christmas Carrots – To Feed 12

• 1.2kg parsnips
• 5 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoon maple syrup

Cooks Note! – The cooking time should be around the same 30 minutes, you can always check carefully and then reseal the package if they’re not quite done to your liking. 

Have you checked out our delicious Leftover Turkey Recipes?

Need Some Family Meal Ideas?

Check out our meal planning here – it’s filled with recipes, meal planning tips and pre-filled printable meal plans weekly or seasonally. We’ve got hundreds of the BEST family recipes and Family Tea Ideas your whole family will LOVE!

Christmas Roasted Parsnips Recipe

And if you've any leftover parsnips that need using up try this delicious parsnip soup recipe

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here